How Immigration Mandamus Lawsuits End: Most Are Dropped Before a Ruling
Original analysis of 55,212 records from the Federal Judicial Center, FY2009–FY2025 (Oct 1, 2008 – Sep 30, 2025). Published October 16, 2026.
We counted every Other Immigration Actions case (nature of suit 465, where mandamus delay suits are filed) that federal district courts closed from FY2009 through FY2025, and how each one ended.
What the court records show
Of the 11,046 immigration delay and other immigration actions that federal district courts closed in fiscal year 2025, 7,918 (71.7%) were voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff. Judges entered judgment on a motion in 4.2% of cases. The court records do not say why a plaintiff dismissed, so the share is not a measure of how many applications the government approved.
- 72%Voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff, FY2025
- 4%Decided by judgment on a motion, FY2025
- 11KNOS 465 cases closed in FY2025
Most suits are withdrawn
7,918 of 11,046 cases closed in FY2025 (71.7%) ended with a voluntary dismissal; another 5.5% were closed as settled.
Usually before the government answers
86.2% of the voluntary dismissals came before issue was joined, meaning before the government defendants had filed their answer.
Half end with no court action
50.1% of all FY2025 terminations (5,537 cases) closed with no court action recorded, matching the federal judiciary's own count exactly.
Rulings are rare and mostly favor the government
Judges entered judgment on a motion in 468 cases (4.2%); 443 of those (94.7%) were recorded in favor of the defendants.
Volume grew 12.7×
Terminations rose from 868 in FY2009 to 11,046 in FY2025, while the voluntary-dismissal share rose from 44.8% to 71.7%.
How Often Are Immigration Mandamus Lawsuits Dismissed
Every NOS 465 case that a federal district court closed between Oct. 1, 2024, and Sept. 30, 2025, grouped by the disposition code the court reported.
71.7% were voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff, 5.5% were closed as settled and 4.2% ended in a judgment on a motion. Voluntary dismissals and settlements together account for 77.2%.
A mandamus suit asks a federal court to order a government officer to act; under 28 U.S.C. § 1361, district courts can compel an officer or agency "to perform a duty owed to the plaintiff." In immigration cases, that usually means deciding an application that has been pending for a long time. Courts report these suits under nature-of-suit code 465, Other Immigration Actions.
In FY2025, 7,918 of the 11,046 cases closed in this category ended when the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed. Of those, 6,827 (86.2%) came before issue was joined, the point at which the government defendants file their answer. 4,912 voluntary dismissals came with no court action of any kind recorded.
Judges entered judgment on a motion before trial in 468 cases. The court recorded 443 of those judgments for the defendants and 8 for the plaintiffs; the rest were coded as both sides or unknown. Another 10.4% of cases were dismissed for other reasons, which the records do not specify further.
How NOS 465 cases ended, FY2025
- Voluntarily dismissed by plaintiff71.7%7,918 cases
- Dismissed: other reason10.4%1,147 cases
- Dismissed as settled5.5%610 cases
- Judgment on motion before trial4.2%468 cases
- Statistical closing3.0%335 cases
- Dismissed: want of prosecution1.3%146 cases
- Transferred to another district1.2%138 cases
- Dismissed: lack of jurisdiction1.1%121 cases
- Remanded to U.S. agency0.4%41 cases
- All other dispositions1.1%122 cases
How Immigration Delay Lawsuit Outcomes Have Changed
Cases closed per fiscal year (October through September) and the share of each outcome.
Terminations grew from 868 in FY2009 to 11,046 in FY2025. The voluntary-dismissal share rose from 44.8% to 71.7%, while the share decided by judgment on a motion fell.
The number of NOS 465 cases closed each year stayed at or below 1,901 through FY2020 and then rose sharply, reaching 11,372 in FY2024 and 11,046 in FY2025. As volume grew, a larger share of cases ended with a voluntary dismissal: 54.6% in FY2020, 70.8% in FY2024 and 71.7% in FY2025.
The median time from filing to a voluntary dismissal was 93 days in FY2025. Across all outcomes, the median case was open 98 days.
NOS 465 terminations by fiscal year
| Year | Cases | Voluntary | On motion |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2009 | 868 | 44.8% | 6.3% |
| FY2010 | 818 | 39.0% | 9.9% |
| FY2011 | 746 | 39.0% | 11.1% |
| FY2012 | 732 | 41.0% | 12.6% |
| FY2013 | 772 | 40.8% | 11.8% |
| FY2014 | 836 | 44.0% | 8.9% |
| FY2015 | 961 | 54.3% | 9.7% |
| FY2016 | 1,240 | 51.8% | 8.8% |
All fiscal years
| Year | Cases | Voluntary | On motion |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 1,499 | 42.4% | 8.5% |
| FY2018 | 1,421 | 40.3% | 6.7% |
| FY2019 | 1,535 | 47.2% | 7.8% |
| FY2020 | 1,901 | 54.6% | 5.9% |
| FY2021 | 3,740 | 57.8% | 4.0% |
| FY2022 | 6,391 | 70.9% | 2.1% |
| FY2023 | 9,334 | 69.8% | 1.7% |
| FY2024 | 11,372 | 70.8% | 3.1% |
| FY2025 | 11,046 | 71.7% | 4.2% |
Fiscal years run from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30; FY2025 ended Sept. 30, 2025. Median days to voluntary dismissal are in the CSV.
Which Federal Courts Handle the Most Immigration Mandamus Cases
The 21 federal districts that closed at least 100 NOS 465 cases in FY2025, sorted by number of cases.
New York Eastern closed the most cases, 1,325. Among districts with at least 100 cases, the voluntary-dismissal share ranged from 44.3% in Texas Northern to 89.8% in Minnesota.
The District of Vermont closed 1,159 cases, more than any district except two, and 85.0% of them were voluntarily dismissed. The records show where a suit was filed, not where the plaintiff lives.
District rankings reflect case counts only. They do not account for the number of pending immigration applications or immigrant population in each district. Districts with fewer than 100 cases, together 1,251 cases, are left out of the chart but included in all totals.
NOS 465 cases closed by district, FY2025
- New York Eastern1,32561.5% voluntarily dismissed · median 63 days
- California Central1,32457.5% voluntarily dismissed · median 97 days
- Vermont1,15985.0% voluntarily dismissed · median 73 days
- California Northern1,07287.2% voluntarily dismissed · median 188 days
- Virginia Eastern71585.7% voluntarily dismissed · median 138 days
- Illinois Northern53481.5% voluntarily dismissed · median 102 days
- Maryland47574.7% voluntarily dismissed · median 135 days
- District of Columbia45068.4% voluntarily dismissed · median 132 days
- New Jersey31677.8% voluntarily dismissed · median 107 days
- Washington Western30179.7% voluntarily dismissed · median 125 days
- Texas Southern28069.6% voluntarily dismissed · median 114 days
- Nebraska23265.9% voluntarily dismissed · median 88 days
All districts shown
- New York Southern21463.6% voluntarily dismissed · median 81 days
- Florida Southern21349.8% voluntarily dismissed · median 70 days
- Massachusetts20878.8% voluntarily dismissed · median 98 days
- Georgia Northern20477.9% voluntarily dismissed · median 119 days
- Pennsylvania Eastern18063.3% voluntarily dismissed · median 92 days
- California Eastern16277.2% voluntarily dismissed · median 176 days
- Minnesota15789.8% voluntarily dismissed · median 111 days
- Texas Northern14044.3% voluntarily dismissed · median 72 days
- Florida Middle13468.7% voluntarily dismissed · median 106 days
Download the Data and Cite This Study
Every table as a CSV file and in one Excel workbook, a short PDF summary and every chart as an image, free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0).
- Immigration delay lawsuits by federal district, FY2025Federal districts above the minimum case count used in this study, with their NOS 465 terminations in fiscal year 2025, voluntary-dismissal share and median days from filing to close. · 21 rows · CSV, 1 KB
- Immigration delay lawsuit outcomes by fiscal year, FY2009–FY2025Per fiscal year of termination: NOS 465 cases closed, voluntary dismissals, settled, judgment-on-motion and no-court-action shares, and median days to voluntary dismissal. · 17 rows · CSV, 1 KB
- How Other Immigration Actions ended, FY2025Federal district court terminations of NOS 465 cases in fiscal year 2025, by FJC disposition code, with counts and shares. · 10 rows · CSV, 1 KB
- All tables in one Excel workbookOne sheet per table plus an About sheet with sources, method and citation · Excel (.xlsx), 12 KB
- Summary to print or forward (3 pages)Short answer, key figures, main chart, findings, method and citation · PDF, 218 KB
Charts for your story
How NOS 465 cases ended, FY2025
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NOS 465 terminations by fiscal year
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NOS 465 cases closed by district, FY2025
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How to cite
Goldberg, L. (2026). Immigration Mandamus Lawsuit Outcomes — Federal District Court Terminations of Other Immigration Actions by Disposition (FY2009–FY2025) [Data set]. Settlement Insight. https://settlementinsight.com/research/immigration-mandamus-lawsuit-outcomes
BibTeX
@dataset{goldberg_2026_immigration_mandamus_lawsuit_outcomes,
author = {Goldberg, Leonard},
title = {Immigration Mandamus Lawsuit Outcomes --- Federal District Court Terminations of Other Immigration Actions by Disposition (FY2009--FY2025)},
year = {2026},
publisher = {Settlement Insight},
url = {https://settlementinsight.com/research/immigration-mandamus-lawsuit-outcomes}
}How We Measured
Checked against published figures
- Other Immigration Actions (NOS 465) civil cases terminated in U.S. district courts, 12 months ending Sep 30, 2025: published 11,046, our count 11,046 (exact match).Table C-4. U.S. District Courts–Civil Cases Terminated, by Nature of Suit and Action Taken, During the 12-Month Period Ending September 30, 2025
- Of those, cases terminated with no court action (FY2025): published 5,537, our count 5,537 (exact match).Table C-4. U.S. District Courts–Civil Cases Terminated, by Nature of Suit and Action Taken, During the 12-Month Period Ending September 30, 2025
Full method and limits of the data
Fiscal years follow the federal judiciary's reporting year (Oct. 1 to Sept. 30), assigned by termination date. Outcomes use the IDB disposition code: 12 is "dismissed: voluntarily," 13 "dismissed: settled" and 6 "judgment on motion before trial." "No court action" combines procedural-progress codes 1 and 3; "before issue joined" uses codes 1, 2, 11 and 12. Judgment direction comes from the IDB judgment field. Days are counted from filing date to termination date.
Calibration: our FY2025 count of 11,046 closed NOS 465 cases, and 5,537 closed with no court action, match Table C-4 of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts for the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2025, exactly.
What this data cannot tell you
- Nature-of-suit code 465 has no separate flag for mandamus. It also contains other immigration challenges that are not delay suits, and it covers suits against any federal agency, not only USCIS. The records do not identify which agency or which application type was at issue.
- A voluntary dismissal is not a recorded win. The IDB does not record why a plaintiff dismissed; reasons can include the agency acting on the application, an agreement between the parties or the plaintiff abandoning the case.
- Rows are termination records, not unique cases: in FY2025, 11,046 records cover 11,016 distinct docket numbers, and 69 records were reopened cases. Table C-4 counts the same way.
- Courts can report terminations late, and later IDB releases may add or correct FY2025 records. The FY2025 total matched the official table as of this release.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the success rate of a mandamus lawsuit against USCIS?
Federal court records do not track whether the application was approved. In FY2025, 71.7% of immigration delay and other immigration actions ended in a voluntary dismissal by the plaintiff, and only 4.2% ended in a judgment on a motion, of which 94.7% were recorded for the government defendants.
How long does an immigration mandamus lawsuit take?
Among NOS 465 cases voluntarily dismissed in FY2025, the median time from filing to dismissal was 93 days. Across all outcomes, the median was 98 days.
Do immigration mandamus cases usually get decided by a judge?
No. In FY2025, 50.1% of NOS 465 cases closed with no court action recorded, and 86.2% of voluntary dismissals came before the government filed its answer. A judgment on a motion was entered in 4.2% of cases.
How many immigration mandamus lawsuits are there each year?
Federal district courts closed 11,046 Other Immigration Actions in FY2025, up from 868 in FY2009. TRAC reported that mandamus filings reached 5,284 in 2022.
Which federal courts handle the most immigration mandamus lawsuits?
In FY2025, New York Eastern closed the most NOS 465 cases, 1,325, followed by the Central District of California and the District of Vermont. Counts reflect where suits were filed, not population.
Sources
- Integrated Database (IDB): Civil cases filed, terminated, and pending from SY 1988 to present — Federal Judicial Center
- Civil Codebook 1988 Forward — Federal Judicial Center
- Table C-4. U.S. District Courts–Civil Cases Terminated, by Nature of Suit and Action Taken, During the 12-Month Period Ending September 30, 2025 — Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
- Immigration Processing Delays Prompt Record Number of Mandamus Lawsuits in Federal Court — TRAC, Syracuse University
- 28 U.S.C. § 1361 – Action to compel an officer of the United States to perform his duty — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- Independent analysis. Settlement Insight is not a law firm and not affiliated with any agency named here. Analysis by Leonard Goldberg, Editor. How we work: methodology, our data.
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