Need suggestions for NYC lawyers familiar w/ AP and filing a Writ of Mandamus

[Adnan&Liane 8]

Hi All,

Well I have been waiting in AP for over 8 months now. I know that is not long compared to some of you, but I cannot sit here and do nothing...I want to begin preparing to file a writ of mandamus...I have a feeling that our case is going to last over a year due to my husband's name...

I really need suggestions for immigration lawyers located in NYC...anyone that has dealt w/Administrative Processing and filing a Writ of Mandamus....anyone who does free consultations would be great - but more importantly I need someone talented and very knowledgable about this topic - not someone who does nothing and just takes my money....

Please share your suggestions and experiences! I would be very appreciative!

Thank you so much!

Liane

[OrderofProtection 42]

Hi All,

Well I have been waiting in AP for over 8 months now. I know that is not long compared to some of you, but I cannot sit here and do nothing...I want to begin preparing to file a writ of mandamus...I have a feeling that our case is going to last over a year due to my husband's name...

I really need suggestions for immigration lawyers located in NYC...anyone that has dealt w/Administrative Processing and filing a Writ of Mandamus....anyone who does free consultations would be great - but more importantly I need someone talented and very knowledgable about this topic - not someone who does nothing and just takes my money....

Please share your suggestions and experiences! I would be very appreciative!

Thank you so much!

Liane

Hi Liane,

I work in an office setting with all types of attorneys. While my bosses are matrimonial, I can recommend a fellow office tenant Sonia Col. Her contact page is here:

http://www.soniacol.com/practice/contact.php

She's definitely on her game. If you contact her, please let her know that Mary sent you.

Best,

Mary Riley

[Noah Lot 391]

Hi All,

Well I have been waiting in AP for over 8 months now. I know that is not long compared to some of you, but I cannot sit here and do nothing...I want to begin preparing to file a writ of mandamus...I have a feeling that our case is going to last over a year due to my husband's name...

I really need suggestions for immigration lawyers located in NYC...anyone that has dealt w/Administrative Processing and filing a Writ of Mandamus....anyone who does free consultations would be great - but more importantly I need someone talented and very knowledgable about this topic - not someone who does nothing and just takes my money....

Please share your suggestions and experiences! I would be very appreciative!

Thank you so much!

Liane

..."not someone who does nothing and just takes my money...." ....amazing...you just described what immigration attorneys do!

You will likely discover that spending money on some silly writ of Mandamus will be a waste of those funds because AP flows through several agencies, not just, for example, the Dept of State. Your request will bounce all over the place, usually 2-3 steps behind whatever paperwork shuffle is taking place. Imagine the volume of cases involving people from certain countries and/or with certain names...each agency through which the AP review passes will add it to an ever growing pile, and each case will be checked and double checked because no one, no worker bee or supervisor, will want to make a mistake and accidentally make a decision that results in some terrorist being admitted freely to the US of A...it is a classical CYA situation...and the writ will wither on the vine because you won't know which agency to direct such a request..and about the time it randomly lands on the same desk as the actual case, the case itself will be on its way to the next agency in line.

[Adnan&Liane 8]

Dear Noah Lot,

From seeing your posts throughout this site I get the idea that you have worked for an agency somewhere in the immigration process...is this true? I would be open to your suggestions of what I should do at this point...anything at all I can do to help get my husband over here more quickly. I don't pretend to understand everything that goes on with this process, but I have done a great deal of research. I realize this is a matter of national security and I have been patient for 8 months, but despite the fact that this is just how it is, I do find it unacceptable. Families are being torn apart by this process, and I think that something needs to be done, whether it be hiring more staff in the appropriate agencies or somehow improving the process. I struggle to understand how the fact that someone may share a name w/a terrorist makes him likely to be one? Personally, if I were a terrorist trying to get into the USA I would change my name...but that's just me...other than my husband's common muslim name there are no red flags in our case...

Anyways...it sounds like you have a very good understanding of what is going on so if you can offer me any suggestions at all - I just want to be with my husband. The reason I am asking about this now is because I have a feeling that our case will take over a year due to my husband's name (it is similar to many of the names on the FBI most wanted list) - I want to research and be prepared an do things the right way...again...any advice or suggestions of what I can do or who I can contact would be most appreciated...

Thank you!

[aaron2020 11,651]

Writ of Mandamus = if successful, then court orders US government to act.

AP is not done; I.e. security check not done.= foreigner cannot prove that he is not a threat to US = If US government must act, then CASE DENIED because foreigner cannot prove he is not a danger to the US

A foreigner must prove he is safe or no visa.

[AmyWrites 593]

I've never heard of anyone using a writ of mandamus if they've been waiting less than 2 years. Just my 2 cents.

[belinda63 3,038]

Aaron has it right though not clearly stated. A writ of mandamus is an order from a Court for an agency to make a decision or do some specific thing by a specific deadline, usually 60 days. An immigrant will not be given a visa without all the security checks having been completed. Thus, if ordered to make a decision on the visa in 60 days without the proper clearances being complete, the visa will be denied. A common misconception is that a writ of mandamus will force the agency to grant the visa, the truth it is only requires them to make a decision on the issuance or denial of the visa.

AP is very, very hard. Been there, done it, never want to do it again. I wrote letter after letter complaining to congresspersons, representatives, etc to no avail. After 9/11 the focus has all be on security, but it is misplaced in my opinion. Hang in there, it takes however long it takes. Find hobbies, make plans, take virtual vacations, whatever you can to keep going.

[Adnan&Liane 8]

First, to clear up any confusion, I am not planning on filing a Writ of Mandamus NOW, I just want to start researching and preparing to do so....I would like suggestions for lawyers that I can consult about this....I don't plan to take action until after we have been in AP for over a year...

Secondly, does anyone know if I can file a Writ of Mandamus for the FBI Name Check agency to take action? I am certain that this is our hold-up due to his name....does anyone here believe that it actually takes over a year or two for them to finish a case in AP? I don't. If it does - it shouldn't. I get it - national security - but I believe that there are too many cases put in AP (some unnecessarily - not everyone w/a muslim name is a terrorist) that are creating enormous backlogs. If they believe someone is a threat to our nation they should be doing everything they can to investigate that person as quickly as possible to ensure our nation's safety. And if it's simply a matter of the volume of cases - they should hire more staff members. I have done my research and I understand what is happening - but I do not agree that this is acceptable - families should not be separated for years because of this process - people's lives are being torn apart and destroyed - and I am not afraid to fight.

[EAbbas 213]

Carolyn just filed a Writ... Not sure if that had any bearing on their case or not but it was returned to USCIS to have it revoked... USCIS returned it reaffirmed within a small amount of time after she sent them proof of their relationship. They are awaiting another interview date and possibly more AP but who knows....

I too agree that all the writ does is make them make a decision and if the AP has not finished the decision will be to deny and hopefully you have a chance to respond to the NOIR. But the problem is once you get it reaffirmed it still has to go back to the interview and if they never completed the AP then you're back at square one with the AP if they feel it's still necessary to do

my husband and I both agree the checks and national security are important and the checks must be finished and yes its very frustrating when you're waiting for your spouse for over a year but at the same time they will finish the case at some point... I for one don't want to go all the way back to the beginning .. all we can do is be patient and keep our senator/congressman making inquiries even tho they can't make it end...

You can't speed it up or bypass it all you can do is work your way thru it... wish you the best on whatever you decide to do so sorry it's taking so long for you.

Edited June 26, 2012 by EAbbas

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

The issue with security checks is there isn't one database there are several held by different agencies, kept separate for reasons of security and confidentiality. If your name doesn't hit you can be in and out quickly. For those that get one or more hits then next step is proving you aren't the person being flagged. The closer you match whatever info they have the longer it takes to prove you aren't the person of interest. Not all names are matched to exact physical descriptions. Some harvested from monitoring email traffic are not much more than names caught in the same traffic flow. Those are the ones that take forever to clear.

[Sandra G. 5,047]

After waiting more than 14/16 months you can consider to file a "writ of mandamus'. It's to compel an administrative agency to act, for cases delayed beyond reasonable time frame. There is one good lawyer member of the AILA, but he works in CA. He handles writ of mandamus in AP cases, his name is Hassan Abdullah(510.742.5887) email info@peerally.com. I am not part of his time,but he is well known for handling cases in the Middle East.