Writ of Mandamus is a legal mechanism that lets you go into federal court and ask a federal judge to make the State Department or immigration service, decide your case.
The USCIS and State Department have the discretion to approve or deny someone’s immigration benefit – that’s clear. What the Writ of Mandamus does is gets them to actually make the decision – it does not guarantee that your case will be approved. What happens is that the federal judge takes the case and questions why it’s being delayed. If the claim only seeks to get action in support of the federal agency that has the case, then the court has the power to push action in support of those agencies.
The writ of Mandamus is definitely not the best way of handling things, neither is it the easiest; however, it is the only thing that gets the State Department and the immigration service to pay attention to your case.
If you are reading this article, it’s likely that you applied for a green card or any other immigration benefit, but have been experiencing delays and are wondering what to do about it. Well, the best course of action that you can take is to find an experienced Los Angeles mandamus lawyer. He or she will help you speed up the process so that you can know the decision on your application. Having a qualified lawyer by your side will help expedite your case.
Following avenues like securing an appointment with Immigration Information Officer to inquire about your case or request your local congressman or congresswoman to ask on your behalf can also help you speed up the process. A writ of mandamus may be essential to compel the government to convene on your behalf. A lawyer who is well-versed with the process can offer legal guidance regarding which of these options will work best for your case.
Causes of delays
Most application delays are as a result of the FBI performing name or security checks. However, these checks, which are often based on the name and country of origin of the applicant, can cause the applications to delay for months and even years. Administrative delays can also cause the application to take so long. Naturalization, green card, and other immigration applications go through a series of channels before they can be approved. Sometimes, the application gets stuck at certain points in the bureaucratic process before a decision is made. In such cases, a writ of mandamus can be the easiest and quickest way to nudge the USCIS to take action on the application that has been held up for a long time.
If your naturalization, green card or other immigrant benefit has been delayed in the system for longer than you think is normal, an experienced immigration attorney in Los Angeles can assist you to determine why your case is taking so long and can help you with working to get an expeditious and successful conclusion to your case