In consolidated appeals, the court affirmed the district courts’ denials of injunctive relief in cases in which the plaintiffs, a group of Indian nationals with approved EB-2 petitions who have been waiting in a visa queue for more than 10 years, sued to compel USCIS to act on their applications for adjustment of status, where the plaintiffs’ priority dates had been current at the time of filing, but where DOS had subsequently determined that the per-country cap had been reached. The court concluded that the plaintiffs were unlikely to succeed on the merits of their claims, rejecting their argument that 8 CFR §245.2(a)(5)(ii) violates Congressional intent by requiring an immigrant visa to be available before the government can adjudicate an adjustment application. The court determined that the government’s procedure, while “understandably frustrating,” comports with longstanding policy, and that DOS’s initial estimate that it had immigrant visas available was not a guarantee. (Babaria, et al. v. Blinken, et al., 12/1/23)
