Ismael v. Lebailly

District Court, District of Columbia·Decided May 7, 2026·No. Civil Action No. 2025-0794·Published

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

MAHABAD MOHAMMED ISMAEL, Plaintiff,

v. Civil Action No. 25-794 (EGS)

VIRAJ LEBAILLY, Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy in Turkey, et al.

Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Plaintiff Mahabad Mohammed Ismael (“Ms. Ismael”) seeks relief under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 555(b), 706(1); and the Mandamus Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1361, and requests that the Court compel Defendants Viraj Lebailly, Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy in Turkey; and Marco Rubio, Secretary of the U.S. Department of State (collectively, “Defendants”) to process and adjudicate her visa application. Pending before the Court is Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (“Mot.”). See Def.’s Mot., ECF No. 5. 1 Ms. Ismael opposes the Motion, see Opp’n, ECF No. 6; and Defendants have filed a Reply, see Reply, ECF No. 7. Upon careful consideration of the Motion, Opposition, and Reply thereto; the applicable law; and for the

1 When citing electronic filings throughout this opinion, the Court cites to the ECF header page number, not the original page number of the filed document.

reasons explained below, the Court GRANTS Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss.

I. Background A. Statutory and Regulatory The Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) allows a U.S.

citizen or lawful permanent resident to apply for lawful permanent resident status for an immediate relative by filing a Petition for Alien Resident (I-130). See 8 U.S.C. § 1154; 8 C.F.R. § 204.2(a)(1). Once approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”), the petition is sent to the State Department’s National Visa Center (“NVC”), at which time the applicant must submit another application to the NVC and wait for an interview with a consular officer. 8 C.F.R. §§ 42.61–.62; 204.2(a)(3). At the end of the interview, “the consular officer must [either] issue [or] refuse the visa.” Id. § 42.81(a). If the officer determines that they do not have sufficient information at the end of the interview to determine if the application should be granted or denied, pursuant to Section 221(g) of the INA, they may “refuse” the application pending further administrative processing. U.S. Dep't of State, Administrative Processing Information; 2 see 8 U.S.C. § 1201(g). “Administrative processing generally means that additional information is needed before a consular officer can determine 2 Available at https://perma.cc/44NK-RVZE.

whether an applicant is qualified for the visa for which she has applied.” Giliana v. Blinken, 596 F. Supp. 3d 13, 18 (D.D.C. 2022).

B. Factual The following facts are drawn from the complaint, which the Court assumes are true for the purposes of deciding this motion and construes in Ms. Ismael’s favor. See Banneker Ventures, LLC v. Graham, 798 F.3d 1119, 1129 (D.C. Cir. 2015).

In March 2007, 3 Ms. Ismael’s brother, Bashdar Hamad, filed an I-130 visa petition with USCIS for her, and of which her three children are derivative beneficiaries. Compl., ECF No. 1 ¶¶ 1, 2, 16. USCIS approved the petition, but “[Ms. Ismael’s] and her family’s visa petitions remain pending since the petitions were filed in 2007.” Id. ¶ 3. Ms. Ismael’s children are age 10, 7, and 2. Id. ¶ 7. Mr. Hamad’s “goal was to obtain lawful permanent resident status” for Ms. Ismael and her children so that they could join him in the United States. Id. ¶ 17.

3 Paragraph two of the Complaint alleges that the visa petition was filed in March 2010. See Compl., ECF No. 1 ¶ 2. The subsequent allegations regarding the petition state that it was filed in 2007. See id. ¶¶ 3, 16. Plaintiff’s Memorandum in Opposition to Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (“Opp’n”) states that the petition was filed in March 2007. See Opp’n, ECF No. 6 at 13. The Court therefore assumes that Plaintiff’s allegation that the petition was filed in March 2010 is a typographical error.

On August 23, 2023, Ms. Ismael and her children were interviewed at the U.S. Embassy in Turkey in connection with their visa application. Id. ¶ 18. Ms. Ismael and her children “responded truthfully to all questions and provided all requested information,” but their visa application was refused and “placed in administrative processing” pursuant to INA § 221(g). 4 Id. ¶¶ 18, 19. That same day, Ms. Ismael was asked to “submit the supplemental questions for visa applicants form (DS- 5535),” which she “promptly submitted in September 2023.” Id. ¶ 19; Exhibit B to Compl.

On July 31, 2024, Ms. Ismael “received an email from the U.S. Embassy in Turkey confirming that the administrative processing of their applications was completed.” Compl., ECF No. 1 ¶ 21. She was requested to “resubmit their DS-260 form and obtain new medical examinations for herself and her children.” Id.; Exhibit C to Compl. On September 18, 2024, Ms. Ismael submitted the requested documents. Compl., ECF No. 1 ¶ 21.

On October 4, 2024, the U.S. Embassy in Turkey “advised [Ms. Ismael] that there were missing documents that they required to process the applications,” and requested that Ms. Ismael submit the “Joint Sponsor information, Joint Sponsor Documents: I-864, Affidavit of Support, IRS transcript 2023 and a copy of joint sponsor’s U.S. passport or green card, and a 4 8 U.S.C. § 1201(g).

[sic] IRS transcript for the most recent year.” Id. ¶ 22; Exhibit D to Compl. That same month, Ms. Ismael submitted the requested documents. Compl., ECF No. 1 ¶ 22.

Ms. Ismael and her family have “inquired as to the status of these visa applications on numerous occasions and received no meaningful responses,” despite her compliance with multiple follow-up requests for more information. Id. ¶ 23.

Ms. Ismael states that “Defendants’ failure to adjudicate Plaintiff’s I-130 based [sic] visa applications have put an indefinite hold [on] the reunification of Plaintiff and her brother, and caused significant personal, financial, and emotional hardship.” Id. ¶ 6. Ms. Ismael has been separated from her brother, Mr. Hamad, since 2007. Id. ¶ 7. Her children are “experiencing ongoing challenges related to their safety and well-being”—Ms. Ismael and her husband have separated “due to her ties to the U.S. and her efforts to relocate,” and she and her children “have been isolated within their community and religious circles” since the separation, “facing ongoing discrimination.” Id. “Due to persistent bullying, [Ms. Ismael’s children] have stopped attending school and now avoid social interactions out of fear of harassment.” Id.

Ms. Ismael’s mother, who resides in the U.S. with her son, has become “increasingly frail” and suffers from various ailments. Id. ¶ 8. Mr. Hamad has “been unable to maintain

employment due to the time required to assist her with daily activities.” Id. Ms. Ismael had planned to help care for their mother, and she “hoped to reunite with her mother and allow [her mother] to spend time with her grandchildren, whom she has never met.” Id.

Mr. Hamad had been “assisting with Plaintiff’s living expenses in Iraq until they attended an interview in Turkey,” but because he lost his job, he is “now reliant on his wife in the U.S. to sustain their household,” and the support he gives his sister is “inconsistent and not enough to cover their needs.” Id. ¶ 9. Ms. Ismael sold their home, car, and other belongings to fund their move to the United States, but “due to the delay in their case,” they were “forced to return to Iraq with no home to go back to.” Id. Ms. Ismael states that “the delay has prolonged their hardship, leaving [her] and her family without stability or a path forward.” Id.

C. Procedural

On March 18, 2025, Ms. Ismael filed her Complaint. Compl., ECF No. 1. Defendants filed their Motion to Dismiss on May 19, 2025. See Mot., ECF No. 5. Ms. Ismael filed her Opposition on June 2, 2025, see Opp’n, ECF No. 6; and Defendants filed their Reply on June 9, 2025, see Reply, ECF No. 7. On September 9, 2025, Ms. Ismael filed a Notice of Supplemental Authority. See

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Ismael v. Lebailly, (D.D.C. 2026).

Ismael v. Lebailly (Ismael v. Lebailly) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Vietnam Veterans of America v. Shinseki
599 F.3d 654 (D.C. Circuit, 2010)
Papasan v. Allain
478 U.S. 265 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Norton v. Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
542 U.S. 55 (Supreme Court, 2004)
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
550 U.S. 544 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Ashcroft v. Iqbal
556 U.S. 662 (Supreme Court, 2009)
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council, Inc. v. Norton
336 F.3d 1094 (D.C. Circuit, 2003)
In Re Core Communications, Inc.
531 F.3d 849 (D.C. Circuit, 2008)
In Re Barr Laboratories, Inc.
930 F.2d 72 (D.C. Circuit, 1991)
Banneker Ventures, LLC v. Jim Graham
798 F.3d 1119 (D.C. Circuit, 2015)
Trump v. Hawaii
585 U.S. 667 (Supreme Court, 2018)
American Anti-Vivisection Society v. AGRI
946 F.3d 615 (D.C. Circuit, 2020)
Baan Rao Thai Restaurant v. Michael Pompeo
985 F.3d 1020 (D.C. Circuit, 2021)