How A Writ Of Mandamus May Compel USCIS To Act
In recent years, many factors have contributed to a much slower immigration system in the U.S. than was previously the case. It is not uncommon to hear of cases taking two years or longer to reach resolution. Today’s climate of political strife and the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that case backlogs have become increasingly common at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and other government agencies involved in immigration cases
In these challenging circumstances, many international workers, U.S. employers, families seeking unification, asylum seekers and lawful permanent residents (LPRs) seeking naturalization must wait excessively long times to get answers and approvals to their petitions for visas, waivers and more.
Indeed, many situations exist where USCIS and other government agencies involved in our clients’ cases fail to respond to lawful petitions in a timely manner despite our meticulous preparation of their petitions. When clients of Gita B. Kapur and Associates have waited far too long for responses to petitions for visas, waivers and other resolutions to their cases, we offer them the option of requesting an assertive move that is known as a writ of mandamus. This powerful tool often succeeds in getting an applicant the needed results in a more timely manner.
Definitions And Opportunities
A writ of mandamus is an order from a court to a government official requiring the official to fulfill their proper duties in a timely manner. With a writ of mandamus, an immigration attorney from Gita B. Kapur and Associates may ask a court to compel the USCIS or another agency to fulfill their duties by responding to these actions that we or other immigration attorneys have sought on our clients’ behalf:
- Completion of consular processing waivers for clients seeking visas and other immigration needs
- A decision on a waiver of removal to protect a client at risk of criminal deportation actions
- A decision on a detention and bond-related petition
- A response to a petition for a provisional unlawful status waiver
The Process
When the respective agency responds to the court-issued writ of mandamus within its required 60-day time limit, they may (and often do) request an additional 60-day time allowance. Meanwhile, a case takes on a higher priority within an agency. An applicant can get an answer much sooner because of the power of the court order. In a great many cases, a potential four-month maximum wait will be considerably shorter than a possible one-to-two-year-long process.
Learn How We Can Accelerate Your Critical Immigration Matter
To request a review of the appropriateness of a writ of mandamus in your case, call 213-784-6598 or complete our simple online intake form.
My legal services are competitively priced, and I offer payment plans to clients in Los Angeles and surrounding areas in California, including Long Beach, Pasadena, San Fernando Valley, Santa Monica, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Ana, and Palmdale who qualify.
We speak a variety of languages to ease the process for our immigrant clients, including Spanish, Hindi, Punjabi, Zapotec, Armenian, and Urdu.