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)
In an August 2022 approval decision, USCIS approved our clients' I-130 Petition for Alien Relative and provisionally approved our clients' I-485 Application to Adjust Status (pending medical examinations) as a direct result of our Mandamus lawsuit. Our firm is extremely pleased with the results of our advocacy efforts on behalf of our clients, who have been unduly burdened with delays in their cases for almost 6 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.
Our clients have had their I-130 and I-485 pending for over 6 years. Our client, a U.S. Citizen Petitioner filed I-130 Petitions to sponsor the client's spouse and step-children for green card applications. The case was stalled in administrative processing for almost 6 years with no apparent justification. Our clients submitted multiple online inquiries to USCIS website, but USCIS's response was “Pending Review”.
Our firm filed a Writ of Mandamus and an Administrative Procedure Act action on behalf of our clients in the United States District Court, Eastern District of California against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and USCIS challenging the agency's unreasonable delay. In less than 30 days after we have served the agencies with our Mandamus petition, the agency approved our client's I-130 Petitions and provisionally approved our clients' I-485 applications pending the medical examinations. Our clients received their green cards within less than 60 days after we filed our action.
Filing a Writ of Mandamus against the government is a complex proceeding but, sometimes by holding the government accountable in court, is the most effective way to bring quick resolution to a long pending immigration case.
Related success:
- 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)
- Success Story: Federal Lawsuit Forced USCIS to Concede and Reverse Course on An Improper Denied I-130 Petition (February 2021)
- Your Naturalization Application Has Been Pending Over 120 Days After Interview? The Government Might Have to PAY YOU For the Delay. (Dec 2022)