MARGO K. BRODIE, District Judge:
Plaintiffs commenced this action on or about July 30, 2013 against Defendants John Kerry, the Consul General of the United States at Dhaka, Bangladesh, Janet Napolitano and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Center Director, Vermont Service Center. Plaintiffs seek (1) a mandamus order compelling Defendants to act on a Petition for Alien Relative Form I-130 and to act on and issue immigrant visas to Plaintiffs Shafique Ullah, Ramon Hussain, Jomir Hussain and Milad Hussain, pursuant to, inter alia, the Mandamus and Venue Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1361, and (2) a judicial declaration that the order denying the visas for permanent residency as relatives of Plaintiff Sanful Khanom was without basis in fact or law and contrary to and inconsistent with applicable statutes and regulations, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2201. (Compl. ¶¶ 10-11.) Plaintiffs also seek attorneys' fees and costs pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2412. (Id. ¶ 12.) Defendants moved to dismiss the action as moot and for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. (Docket Entry No. 6, Defendants' Letter Motion to Dismiss as Moot ("Def. Letter Dismiss"); Docket Entry No. 12, Def. Letter dated May 5, 2014.) As discussed below, because the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, the Court grants Defendants' motion to dismiss the Amended Complaint.
Khanom is a "lawfully admitted resident alien" of the United States who filed immigrant
In their letter motion to dismiss this action as moot, Defendants contend that in September 2013, USCIS had issued to Khanom a notice of intent to revoke ("NOIR") the Petition, upon which the application for the immigrant visas were based, and that Khanom had failed to timely respond to the NOIR. (Def. Letter Dismiss 1.) On December 2, 2013, citing Khanom's failure to respond, USCIS revoked the prior approval of the Petition, which revocation could have been appealed by Khanom to the Board of Immigration Appeals. (USCIS Letter dated Dec. 2, 2013, annexed to Def. Letter Dismiss, 1.) Defendants contend that the revocation of the approval of the Petition renders this action moot. (Def. Letter Dismiss 2.) Defendants
On December 24, 2014, Plaintiffs submitted a letter stating that an evidentiary package responding to the NOIR had been delivered to the USCIS Vermont Service Center on October 26, 2013.
On January 29, 2014, Defendants filed a "supplemental motion to dismiss," asserting that in response to Plaintiffs' December 24, 2013 letter, USCIS investigated and determined that Khanom had timely filed a response to the notice of intent to revoke the Petition and as a result, reopened the matter. (Def. Letter dated January 29, 2014, 1.) According to Defendants, on January 27, 2014, the USCIS approved the Petition, (id.), and they attached a copy of a form I797C "Notice of Action," issued to Khanom, (id. at 3).
On May 2, 2014, Plaintiffs submitted a letter stating that USCIS's reaffirmation of its prior approval of the Petition did not render Plaintiffs' action moot as to the Consul General or the Secretary of State, since they have not yet approved the immigrant visa applications. (Docket Entry No. 11, Pl. Letter submitted May 2, 2014, 1.)
"[A] district court may properly dismiss a case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(1) if it lacks the statutory or constitutional power to adjudicate it." Shabaj v. Holder, 704 F.3d 234, 237 (2d Cir.2013) (alteration in original) (quoting Aurecchione v. Schoolman Transp. Sys., Inc., 426 F.3d 635, 638 (2d Cir.2005)). "`[T]he court must take all facts alleged in the complaint as true and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of plaintiff,' but `jurisdiction must be shown affirmatively, and that showing is not made by drawing from the pleadings inferences favorable to the party asserting it.'" Morrison v. Nat'l Austl. Bank Ltd., 547 F.3d 167, 170 (2d Cir.2008) (alteration in original) (citations omitted), aff'd, 561 U.S. 247, 130 S.Ct. 2869, 177 L.Ed.2d 535 (2010). A court may consider matters out-side of the pleadings when determining whether subject matter jurisdiction exists. M.E.S., Inc. v. Snell, 712 F.3d 666, 671 (2d Cir.2013); Romano v. Kazacos, 609 F.3d 512,
In reviewing a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the court "must take all of the factual allegations in the complaint as true." Pension Ben. Guar. Corp. ex rel. St. Vincent Catholic Med. Ctrs. Ret. Plan v. Morgan Stanley Inv. Mgmt. Inc., 712 F.3d 705, 717 (2d Cir.2013) (quoting Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009)); see also Lundy v. Catholic Health Sys. of Long Island Inc., 711 F.3d 106, 113 (2d Cir.2013) (quoting Holmes v. Grubman, 568 F.3d 329, 335 (2d Cir.2009)); Matson v. Bd. of Educ., 631 F.3d 57, 63 (2d Cir.2011) (quoting Connecticut v. Am. Elec. Power Co., 582 F.3d 309, 320 (2d Cir.2009)). A complaint must plead "enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). A claim is plausible "when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Matson, 631 F.3d at 63 (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937); see also Pension Ben. Guar. Corp., 712 F.3d at 717-18. "[W]here the well-pleaded facts do not permit the court to infer more than the mere possibility of misconduct, the complaint has alleged— but it has not `show[n]'—`that the pleader is entitled to relief.'" Pension Ben. Guar. Corp., 712 F.3d at 718 (alteration in original) (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937). Although all allegations contained in the complaint are assumed true, this principle is "inapplicable to legal conclusions." Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937.
To the extent Plaintiffs seek a mandamus order compelling the Consul General, the Secretary of State, or the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to approve the immigrant visa applications and issue the immigrant visas, and a declaratory judgment that the Consul General's previous denial of the visas was "without basis in fact or law," the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to grant such relief. The Second Circuit has held that "no jurisdictional basis exists for review of the action of the American Consul in [a foreign country] suspending or denying the issuance of immigration visas."
In light of the actions by USCIS affirming its previous approval of the Petition, the relief sought by Plaintiffs from USCIS, including a mandamus order compelling it to "issue an intent to revoke and give a chance to rebut the evidence," with respect to the Petitions, (Compl. at 16), is moot.
Plaintiffs list several statutory bases for the Court's alleged subject matter jurisdiction, including 28 U.S.C. § 1331 providing for federal question jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C. § 1346(a), providing for jurisdiction where the United States is a defendant, 28 U.S.C. § 1361, providing original jurisdiction over mandamus actions, and 28 U.S.C. § 2201, the Declaratory Judgment Act. (Compl. ¶ 13.) None of these statutes provides the Court with subject matter jurisdiction.
Plaintiffs argue that the Court has subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331, because the action "arises under the Constitution and the laws of the United States," citing the Fifth Amendment and several federal statutes, including the the Administrative Procedures Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1361, and the Immigration and Nationality Act, 5 U.S.C. § 555 et seq. and 8 U.S.C. § 1329. (Compl. ¶ 13). Contrary to Plaintiffs' contention, the Administrative Procedures Act, 5 U.S.C. § 551 et. seq., does not provide for the reviewability of the Consul General actions as the APA expressly excludes review of "agency action [that] is committed to agency discretion by law."
The provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act cited by Plaintiffs, 8 U.S.C. § 1329, provides that "[t]he district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction of all causes . . . brought by the United States that arise under the provisions of this subchapter," and also provides that "[n]othing in this section shall be construed as providing jurisdiction for suits against the United States or its agencies or officers." 8 U.S.C. § 1329 (emphasis added); see Farag v. U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Servs., 531 F.Supp.2d 602, 606 (S.D.N.Y.2008) ("[T]his section `clearly applies only to actions brought by the United States.'" (quoting Reno v. Am.-Arab Anti-Discrimination Comm., 525 U.S. 471, 477, 119 S.Ct. 936, 142 L.Ed.2d 940 (1999))); see also Rivera de Gomez v. Kissinger, 534 F.2d 518, 519 (2d Cir.1976) (affirming district court determination that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction to issue "an order enjoining the defendant Consul from denying [plaintiff's] application for an immigrant visa" and holding that 8 U.S.C. § 1329 does not "authorize[] the sort of judicial interference in the visa-issuing process sought by plaintiff").
Finally, this case does not "arise under" the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201, because this statute provides a specific remedy for plaintiffs who are alleging a claim based on a substantive source of rights, but does not itself confer any substantive rights. See Springfield Hosp. v. Hofmann, 488 Fed. Appx. 534, 535 (2d Cir.2012) (holding that the plaintiff "cannot maintain an action for a declaratory judgment without an underlying federal cause of action." (citing In re Joint E. & S. Dist. Asbestos Litig., 14 F.3d 726, 731 (2d Cir.1993))); In re Joint E. & S. Dist. Asbestos Litig., 14 F.3d at 731 (2d Cir.1993) (noting that Declaratory Judgment Act does not "provide an independent cause of action," and that its "operation is procedural only—to provide a form of relief previously unavailable." (citing Aetna Life Ins. Co. of Hartford, Conn. v. Haworth, 300 U.S. 227, 240, 57 S.Ct. 461, 81 L.Ed. 617 (1937))); Crewe v. Rich Dad Educ., LLC, 884 F.Supp.2d 60, 80 (S.D.N.Y.2012) (noting that "the Declaratory Judgment Act is not a source of federal substantive rights" (citing In re Joint E. & S. Dist. Asbestos Litig., 14 F.3d at 731 (2d Cir.1993))).
In sum, because there is no federal right upon which to predicate the Court's federal question jurisdiction,
Section 1346(a)(2),
The Mandamus and Venue Act cited by Plaintiffs does not create jurisdiction for the Court to compel the issuance of a visa. "To establish jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1361, respondents must show `(1) a clear right . . . to the relief sought; (2) a plainly defined and peremptory duty on the part of [defendants] to do the act in question; and (3) [that there is] no other adequate remedy available.'" Paulsen ex rel. N.L.R.B. v. All Am. Sch. Bus Corp., 986 F.Supp.2d 142, 147 (E.D.N.Y.2013) (alteration in Paulsen) (quoting Anderson v. Bowen, 881 F.2d 1, 5 (2d Cir.1989)).
Here, Plaintiffs have not demonstrated that they have a "clear right" to an order compelling the issuance of a visa, nor that there is a "plainly defined and peremptory duty" on the part of Defendants to grant the visa, because the decision to issue or deny a visa is firmly rooted in the discretion of the Consul General. See Morales v. Goldbeck, No. 12-CV-2350, 2013 WL 937825, at *3 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 11, 2013) ("Congress has vested the United States consulate officers with the exclusive power to issue or deny visas. . . . As such, district courts have no jurisdiction to review a consular official's decision to deny a visa to a foreign national."); Rahman v. McElroy, 884 F.Supp. 782, 785 (S.D.N.Y. 1995) ("Indeed, a consular officer's decision to deny a visa to a particular alien . . . is beyond judicial review."); Al Makaaseb Gen. Trading Co., Inc. v. Christopher, No. 94-CV-1179, 1995 WL 110117, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 13, 1995) ("The reach of the doctrine of nonreviewability is broad. It precludes review of denials of visa applications even where, as here, the decision is alleged to have been contrary to law."); Shen v. U.S. Consulate Gen. at Shanghai, China, 866 F.Supp. 779, 780 (S.D.N.Y. 1994) ("[I]t has been consistently held that the consular official's decision to issue or withhold a visa is not subject either to administrative or judicial review." (collecting cases)).
Plaintiffs' assertion that the Court has subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2201, the Declaratory Judgment Act is incorrect, as "[t]he Declaratory Judgment Act . . . is remedial, not jurisdictional." Hsieh, 569 F.2d at 1181; see 28 U.S.C. § 2201(a) ("In a case of actual controversy within its jurisdiction, . . . any court of the United States, upon the filing of an appropriate pleading, may declare the rights and other legal relations of any interested party" (emphasis added)); Nike, Inc. v. Already, LLC, 663 F.3d 89, 95 (2d Cir.2011) ("The Declaratory Judgment Act does not expand the subject matter jurisdiction of the federal courts."), aff'd, 568 U.S. ___, 133 S.Ct. 721, 184 L.Ed.2d 553 (2013).
For the foregoing reasons, the Court grants Defendants' motion to dismiss Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The Clerk of Court is directed to close this case.
SO ORDERED.