NEW YORK, NY – A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by an immigrant applicant who claimed the U.S. government unreasonably delayed her immigration case, shutting down the legal challenge brought against top federal officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Ledisia Ujka filed suit in the Southern District of New York seeking relief under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and the Mandamus Act, alleging that her pending immigration application had been subjected to unlawful delays by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The case, filed earlier this year, named Mayorkas along with Thomas Cioppa, Ur M. Jaddou, and Attorney General Merrick Garland. Ujka argued that the delay in adjudicating her immigration petition was so prolonged it required court intervention.
But in a decision dated August 20, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla sided with the government, granting the defendants’ motion to dismiss. The court ruled that Ujka failed to demonstrate that the delay rose to the level of being “unreasonable” under the law, which is required to sustain a claim under the APA or Mandamus Act.
The judge dismissed Ujka’s APA and Declaratory Judgment Act claims without prejudice, meaning she may refile if the delay continues and becomes unreasonable. However, her mandamus claim was dismissed with prejudice, permanently ending that part of the case.
The ruling effectively closes the case unless further delays occur and Ujka chooses to revive part of the action.
