Opinion
Civil Action No. 19-1072 (ESH)
08-27-2019
SAFINA MUNEER, et al., Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, et al., Defendants.
ORDER
Plaintiffs' complaint seeks a writ of mandamus to compel defendants to complete all administrative processing of plaintiffs' visa applications within 60 days or, alternatively, a writ of mandamus to compel defendants to issue the visas. Defendants have filed a motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, for summary judgment, arguing that plaintiffs' requests for relief have become moot because the Department of Homeland Security has adjudicated their visa applications and the consular officers' denials are not judicially reviewable. (See Defs.' Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 6.) In support, they have attached two sworn declarations stating that plaintiffs' visa applications were denied by consular officials. (See Declaration of Gregory Richardson, ECF No. 6-2; Declaration of Chloe Dybdahl, ECF No. 6-3.)
This action has been brought by the same lawyer who brought the case of Dvorak v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., No. 18-cv-1941, 2019 WL 1491743, at *1 (D.D.C. Apr. 3, 2019). The procedural posture of that case and this case are exactly the same, and the cases present identical issues. As explained more fully by Judge Friedrich in the Dvorak case, this court lacks jurisdiction under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) because plaintiffs' claims are moot. Further, as was the case in Dvorak, plaintiffs failed to file any opposition to defendants' motion to dismiss. Thus, under Local Civil Rule 7(b), the Court may treat this motion as conceded. See Washington All. of Tech. Workers v. United States Dep't of Homeland Sec., 892 F.3d 332, 344 (D.C. Cir. 2018).
Accordingly, it is hereby
ORDERED that defendants' motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction is GRANTED; it is further
ORDERED that defendants' motion for summary judgment is DENIED AS MOOT; and it is further
ORDERED that plaintiffs' complaint is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.
"[A] Rule 12(b)(1) dismissal for lack of jurisdiction generally is not a decision on the merits and therefore should be without prejudice." Montgomery v. Comey, 752 F. App'x 3, 5 (D.C. Cir. 2019) (per curiam). --------
/s/_________
ELLEN S. HUVELLE
United States District Judge Date: August 27, 2019