How to speed up the process of reviewing “stuck” petitions
or what is Mandamus?

There are cases when the government or other U.S. authorities do not take timely measures and delay the process of consideration of immigration petitions for a long time. There is a legal tool for solving this problem – the federal mandamus lawsuit.

 

The mandamus is a request to the U.S. Federal District Court to force the government to take action on the application under consideration and do so as soon as possible.

 

Example of Mandamus

Examples of the application of this claim include petitions for a green card, citizenship, work permit, political asylum petitions and, in general, any immigration petition that has been considered “reasonable”. This term is often difficult, because in recent years the monthly published terms for consideration of petitions “processing times” in themselves, although official, should not be interpreted as reasonable, especially with long terms of consideration, for example, more than a few years. This argument must be justified by the lawyer representing the applicant. In our practice, we often refer to previously published “processing times”, for example, at the time of submission of the petition and as a rule they are much shorter. We argue about that time the immigration service could and considered such types of petitions in a shorter time. And these deadlines were certainly possible, and therefore reasonable.

In the vast majority of cases, we can guarantee the result to the applicant within 90 days after the filing of the claim. Such exact terms are dictated by judicial requirements on the response time of the defendant. For state bodies, not considering the case in a “reasonable” time turns into huge financial losses, namely, they must by law reimburse all costs for a lawyer and the state fee for the claim if the case was really delayed. For this reason, a lawyer defending the state is immediately assigned to the filed claim, who immediately comes to our side and already from the state contacts the immigration service, demanding that they immediately consider the case and also contacts the plaintiff’s lawyer.

The Mandamus claim can also be filed for delays in the consideration of requests for a copy of the petition under the law on the openness of state information, as well as for the accelerated consideration of court cases of illegal detention or deportation that have exceeded the established deadlines. Mandamus lawsuit against delays in the consideration of cases at consulates outside the United States and at the National Visa Center, more complex and not guaranteed. In this case, the state has additional arguments about the circumstances beyond their control. However, practice shows that even when a state lawyer seeks a challenge, the plaintiff’s case still gets out of the general queue and is considered faster.

But before applying to a federal court to file a mandamus, it is necessary to make sure that all other remedies at the regional or state level have been used, but have been ineffective or inaccessible. For example, filing a complaint with administrative authorities or lower courts.

 

Could this negatively impact the petition?

 

Do not be afraid that filing a mandamus lawsuit will have a negative impact on the petition. The task of the federal court that has received a mandamus lawsuit is to force the responsible authority to make the right decision. Despite the fact that a decision in your favor is also not guaranteed, as a rule, if the immigration service does not already have an informal refusal with detailed arguments, it is easier for them to approve the petition, and not to put themselves in the position of a terrible hurry to search for negative facts for refusal and write a detailed answer why they refuse, especially to the applicant, who is not afraid of appealing decisions.

The judges consider each case individually, taking into account all the circumstances of the case. They analyze how severely the applicant’s rights have been violated and what is the failure to comply with legal obligations on the part of state bodies.

The decision to grant or refuse a federal lawsuit remains at the discretion of the judge, and it may depend on the interpretation of the law and the evidence presented.

Judges seek to find a balance between the interests of the applicant and the state or other parties. They take into account not only the fairness of the decision, but also its impact on the work of state bodies and society as a whole.

If the judge concludes that the mandamus’s claim is an appropriate means to achieve this goal, the court may decide in favor of the plaintiff and order the enforcement of the law.

Filing a mandamus lawsuit is a complex process where every detail plays an important role in the outcome of your case. Federal immigration cases, unlike immigration cases at the immigration level, are jurisdictional and only a lawyer licensed to conduct cases in the federal courts of this state has the right to represent the applicant. This is a very small percentage of immigration lawyers. But even if the applicant filed his petition through another lawyer, this does not prevent him from hiring another lawyer solely to file a mandamus lawsuit and conduct the case in federal court. In this case, the interests of the lawyer in the USCIS case and the lawyer of the lawsuit coincide and do not overlap in any way. One lawyer submits the case to USCIS on the merits of the process, and the other seeks to speed up the consideration of the case. Very often, immigration lawyers themselves turn to us for help in filing a mandamus lawsuit for their clients, since a very small percentage of lawyers are licensed to participate in court cases at the federal level and know how to do it.

The law firm National Capital Legal Services, under the guidance of an experienced lawyer Elizabeth Krukova and her highly qualified team of professionals, is ready to help you achieve the desired result, including in the Mandamus lawsuit. For more than 20 years, we have been successfully solving the immigration problems of our clients, in particular, through a mandamous lawsuit.

The decision to grant or refuse a federal lawsuit remains at the discretion of the judge, and it may depend on the interpretation of the law and the evidence presented.

Judges seek to find a balance between the interests of the applicant and the state or other parties. They take into account not only the fairness of the decision, but also its impact on the work of state bodies and society as a whole.

If the judge concludes that the mandamus’s claim is an appropriate means to achieve this goal, the court may decide in favor of the plaintiff and order the enforcement of the law.

Filing a mandamus lawsuit is a complex process where every detail plays an important role in the outcome of your case. Federal immigration cases, unlike immigration cases at the immigration level, are jurisdictional and only a lawyer licensed to conduct cases in the federal courts of this state has the right to represent the applicant. This is a very small percentage of immigration lawyers. But even if the applicant filed his petition through another lawyer, this does not prevent him from hiring another lawyer solely to file a mandamus lawsuit and conduct the case in federal court. In this case, the interests of the lawyer in the USCIS case and the lawyer of the lawsuit coincide and do not overlap in any way. One lawyer submits the case to USCIS on the merits of the process, and the other seeks to speed up the consideration of the case.

Very often, immigration lawyers themselves turn to us for help in filing a mandamus lawsuit for their clients, since a very small percentage of lawyers are licensed to participate in court cases at the federal level and know how to do it.

The law firm National Capital Legal Services, under the guidance of an experienced lawyer Elizabeth Krukova and her highly qualified team of professionals, is ready to help you achieve the desired result, including in the Mandamus lawsuit. For more than 20 years, we have been successfully solving the immigration problems of our clients, in particular, through a mandamous lawsuit.