Getting Your Immigration Case Out of the Blackhole of "Administrative Review" - Writ of Mandamus Successfully Forced USCIS to Adjudicate Delayed I-130 Petition (September 2021)
In a September 2021 approval decision, USCIS approved our client's I-130 Petition for Alien Relative as a direct result of our Mandamus lawsuit. Our firm is extremely pleased with the results of our advocacy efforts on behalf of our client, who has been unduly burdened with delays in his case for almost 5 years.
When immigration cases are not being adjudicated by USCIS in a timely manner for unwarranted reasons, the law allows the Petitioner to file a Writ of Mandamus petition with the United States Federal District Court to compel USCIS’s action. A Mandamus action simply seeks a court order to compel the government to act when no such action has taken place. A Mandamus action does not request the court to approve the immigration petitions.
Specifically, a federal judge may order USCIS to take immediate action on pending immigration petitions if there was unreasonable delay. Although there are no specific parameters on how long a petitioner must wait before taking action to file with the court, clients should seek proper advice from an immigration specialist to evaluate whether a Mandamus action is warranted. Generally, once an immigration petition has been pending for over two years, it may be time to consider filing a Writ of Mandamus.
In 2016, our client, a U.S. Citizen Petitioner filed I-130 Petitions to sponsor the client's spouse and step-child for a green card application. The case was stalled in administrative processing for almost 5 years with no justification. Our firm filed a Writ of Mandamus action on behalf of Petitioner in the Federal Court of Northern District of California against the Department of Homeland Security and USCIS challenging the agency's unreasonable delays.
Within 60 days after USCIS was duly served with our Mandamus action, the agency issued an audacious and brazen Notice of Intent to Deny ("NOID") approximately 95 pages in length. Our firm immediately took action to respond to the NOID and submitted as part of our case in chief a substantive legal memo and supporting evidence addressing each of USCIS's blatantly implausible allegations.
As a result of our aggressive approach and response to the case, in less than 14 days after USCIS received our NOID responses, the agency approved our client's I-130 Petitions in record time.
Filing a Writ of Mandamus against the government is a complex proceeding but, if carefully considered, the action may bring effective results. Our firm has extensive experience litigating Writ of Mandamus actions in federal courts. If your case has been stalled for too long, a Mandamus action should be considered to move your case forward.
Related success:
- Immigration Case Taking Forever? Holding the Government Accountable in Court Might Be the Most Effective Way to Bring the Case to Final Resolution. (August 2022)
- Success Story: Federal Lawsuit Forced USCIS to Concede and Reverse Course on An Improper Denied I-130 Petition (February 2021)