Mandamus/Federal Lawsuits Against USCIS

Do not wait any longer – put a stop to unreasonable delays in your green card or naturalization process

You had no idea it would take this long for USCIS to make a decision about your application. But the question is: how long is too long to wait to receive your green card or your oath ceremony to become a U.S. citizen? And what can you do about it to speed up the USCIS officer’s decision-making process?

Most aliens do not realize that a decision on your application for citizenship or for a green card could be delayed for months or even years by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) if they do not take action against USCIS to help speed up the process.

Lengthy delays can be the result of something as simple as a paperwork error or as serious as a fraud investigation. Delays can also be caused by USCIS being overwhelmed by a high number of naturalization cases and adjustment-of-status cases. Regardless of the reason for the delay, you do not have to wait for months or years after your interview to get a decision in your case. You can take control by filing a federal lawsuit and helping to get your green card or citizenship application approved ASAP without having to wait much longer. Take control over your case!

Client Could Have Had Green Card Years Earlier: Decision Delayed for Over a Decade

The expert legal team at Nalbandian Law recently represented a client who had filed for a green card through his employer. Unfortunately, USCIS was suspicious about the case and hadn’t made a final decision on his case in over 10 years. Multiple attorneys had previously told our client that nothing could be done to speed up the process. Frustrated, our client had tried to find out the cause of the delay by making INFOPASS and telephone inquiries. He even contacted his congressman with no luck.

“When he came to our office a few months ago and became our client,” said Mr. Sassoun A. Nalbandian, lead attorney for immigration law firm, Nalbandian Law, “we filed a Mandamus Action/federal lawsuit against USCIS for unreasonable delay. Less than two months after we filed a lawsuit against USCIS on his behalf, our client received his green card and was extremely grateful to us. He regretted having waited many years before coming to us to file the lawsuit!”

The three types of federal lawsuits are:

Mandamus Actions
Mandamus actions or “writs of Mandamus” are federal law suits that are filed in U.S. District Court. Mandamus actions empower the federal court to instruct other agencies such as USCIS to perform its duties, exercise its judgement, perform its judicial functions, and follow the clear statement of the law. Mandamus actions can be used on behalf of aliens who have experienced unreasonable delays in the processing of a citizenship or green card application.
Petition for Naturalization (Form N-400)
If your citizenship application has been pending for more than 120 days after your interview or after you submitted additional documentation, you have the right to file a federal lawsuit to remove your case from USCIS and have an immigration court judge make a ruling on it. The judge will take one of three actions:

Grant your application, reverse USCIS’ decision, and naturalize you as a citizen
Deny your application if the court believes that you don’t meet the requirements for citizenship
Send your case to the USCIS with an order to speed up the processing of your case (this is the likely outcome, and in a majority of our cases, our clients received their oath ceremonies in just a few months after filing the lawsuit!)

Actions Under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA)
The APA is a federal statute that regulates the actions of federal agencies. The law allows an alien to file a federal lawsuit and have their case reviewed to determine if there was an unlawful action (including the unlawful failure to act) by federal agencies, agency officials, or employees. This lawsuit is typically used if an adjustment of status (green card) or naturalization application is denied and there is either no appeal allowed (such as with I-485 adjustment of status applications where an appeal is not permitted by law) or where your appeal has been denied (such as with an N-336 – appeal of an N-400 denial by USCIS.) This lawsuit is often the last and best option in such cases and has been a very effective way for us to get our clients case reviewed by a judge outside of USCIS.

In over 95% of Nalbandian Law’s cases, USCIS has reconsidered and reversed its prior unjust decision and has approved our client’s green card or citizenship application just a few weeks after we had filed the APA action on his/her behalf in U.S. District Court.

100% Success Rate with Federal Lawsuits

Nalbandian Law has represented hundreds of clients whereby USCIS had made a decision that was contrary to the law or had unreasonably delayed cases for months or years. Our clients’ prior attorneys unfortunately did not know or did not advise our clients about the federal lawsuit options discussed above. After our immigration experts filed the federal lawsuits—the cases were immediately reconsidered and settled in our clients’ favor over 95% of the time without even having to see a federal judge. We are very proud of our near perfect success rate with Mandamus Action/Petition for Naturalization/APA Action lawsuits.

Schedule a Consultation Today!

Though not every case is suitable for a Mandamus action, most are suitable if they have been unreasonably delayed by USCIS. That’s why it is important to call Nalbandian Law at (818) 244-0310 or contact us online for an expert consultation with lead attorney and immigration expert Sassoun A. Nalbandian. He will review your situation carefully and evaluate if a federal lawsuit is the best action to take. If you have a case that can be won, Nalbandian Law will represent you. We will steer you on the right path and always advise you based of the best option for you.

*Approval rates do not guarantee future approval of your petition. No attorney can ethically guarantee any outcome. Always consult with a licensed, competent immigration attorney such as the experienced immigration attorneys at Nalbandian Law before filing your case.