Dhimar v. Blinken

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND

MIHIR DHIMAR, Plaintiff,

Civil No. 22-2175-PJM

V.

ANTHONY J. BLINKEN,et al..

Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Plaintiff Mihir Dhimar,an Indian national currently located overseas, has sued U.S. officials for what he alleges is unreasonable delay by U.S. consulates in processing his visa.^ Defendants seek to dismiss Dhimar's case for improper venue or, in the alternative, to transfer it to the District of Columbia or North Carolina (ECF No. 4). Having reviewed the parties' briefing, no hearing being necessary, the Court GRANTS Defendants' Motion to Transfer and will ORDER that the case be TRANSFERRED to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Defendants' Motion to Dismiss(ECp No.4)is DENIED AS MOOT.

1. BACKGROUND

This case concerns the process for issuing non-immigrant visas to individuals residing outside the United States. Such visas are adjudicated by U.S. consular officers, who either grant or refuse the application. In some cases of denial, the officer may determine that additional

^ Dhimar's case is the sole remaining one out of more than 40 other lawsuits filed with this Court by the same counsel all making substantially the same allegations. The other cases have been voluntarily transferred to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia or voluntarily dismissed. Indeed, those 40-odd cases are only the latest in a series of suits challenging allegedly unreasonable delay in adjudicating vias and that have sought adjudication in this District. See Chakrabarti v. USCIS, No. 1:21-cv-1945-PJM,2021 WL 4458899(D. Md. Sept. 9, 2021); Hasan V. Garland.^.22-cv-00767-LKG,ECF 10(D. Md.).