Writ of Mandamus... should we file?

[Usagi_tsukino 89]

Alright...... I'm actually thinking about filing a lawsuit now. I am beginning to realize that the way uscis treating us is way out of being even close to acceptable and it makes me mad enough to do it. I cannot think of any possible reason why our case could be taking this long besides them messing up and probably losing/misplacing our case, and all the supervisors who promise us to take care of it probably just say this to make us leave.

1) To visit my family or go anywhere at all i need to apply for AP, which means i would have to wait for a long time again, there should be no need for that since i should have GC by now! Besides, what if AOS gets denied when I'm abroad, then what? All my life is in US...

2) I have to reapply for AED every year, again, there should be no need for me to spend time and money on photos and mailing fees.

3) If i want to go to school (i am actually thinking about it) - oops, i can't get financial aid and would have to apply as international student - feels completely ridiculous since i reside in US since 2008 and not planning to move.

They completely ignored senator's inquiry - i mean, they took the name that was misspelled by the senator's office and simply inserted it into their standard response! They didn't even check the case because if they did they would have noticed that the last name is wrong.

My question is, those who filed a lawsuit, how did it go? How fast did you get the decision? It would be great if you could share your experience... I did some research but may be there are more of you.

My question number 2, what do all of you think of "Writ of Mandamus"? All opinions matter to me, because i'm still researching and still not sure if it's a good option or not. May be anyone thought about filing it but then changed their mind?

And question number 3, just out of curiosity: i know that uscis will be basically told to make a decision within certain period of time. What happens if they still won't make it? (because i won't be surprised if they don't lol).

Thanks!

(About our case, concurrent filing: No decision on I-130 since March 10 2015 (almost 17 months), same for i-485. No news at all for a year after the interview. )

[aaron2020 11,651]

Alright...... I'm actually thinking about filing a lawsuit now. I am beginning to realize that the way uscis treating us is way out of being even close to acceptable and it makes me mad enough to do it. I cannot think of any possible reason why our case could be taking this long besides them messing up and probably losing/misplacing our case, and all the supervisors who promise us to take care of it probably just say this to make us leave.

1) To visit my family or go anywhere at all i need to apply for AP, which means i would have to wait for a long time again, there should be no need for that since i should have GC by now! Besides, what if AOS gets denied when I'm abroad, then what? You would need to leave the US, so it puts you in the same position as if you were abroad. All my life is in US...

2) I have to reapply for AED every year, again, there should be no need for me to spend time and money on photos and mailing fees. If you want a green card, then you have to do it. There is no law that says your green card has to be given to you within a year. At least you don't have to pay for the EAD, so how much is a few photos and an envelope; $10?

3) If i want to go to school (i am actually thinking about it) - oops, i can't get financial aid and would have to apply as international student - feels completely ridiculous since i reside in US since 2008 and not planning to move. How did you legally reside in the US for 7 years?

They completely ignored senator's inquiry - i mean, they took the name that was misspelled by the senator's office and simply inserted it into their standard response! They didn't even check the case because if they did they would have noticed that the last name is wrong.

My question is, those who filed a lawsuit, how did it go? How fast did you get the decision? It would be great if you could share your experience... I did some research but may be there are more of you.

My question number 2, what do all of you think of "Writ of Mandamus"? All opinions matter to me, because i'm still researching and still not sure if it's a good option or not. May be anyone thought about filing it but then changed their mind? You can file for a writ. If granted, USCIS has to approve or deny your green card. It may not be the result you want.

And question number 3, just out of curiosity: i know that uscis will be basically told to make a decision within certain period of time. What happens if they still won't make it? (because i won't be surprised if they don't lol). With a wirt, they'll make a decision. It may not be the decision you want.

Thanks!

(About our case, concurrent filing: No decision on I-130 since March 10 2015 (almost 17 months), same for i-485. No news at all for a year after the interview. )

Hi,

I can understand your anger and frustration. All of us had to endure long waits. Be patience. Contact your other Senator. Contact your Representative. Contact the USCIS Ombudsman.

Filing a lawsuit will cost you a bit of money and time. Don't force the hand that will decide your fate.

Best of luck.

Edited July 30, 2016 by aaron2020

[Usagi_tsukino 89]

But I already contacted two congressmen and ombudsman... one senator got standard response, still waiting for another but i don't think it will be something different...

To answer the red questions:

- I spent $40 last time on EAD and my time, lol, i mean it's not the point really i know, it's just a principle.

- I was overstay most of the time.

- Their denial must be based on something correct? There is seriously nothing i can think of... we talked to the lawyer who said that the case was pretty straightforward. The woman from Mike Quigley office seemed like she knew what she was doing and she asked us a lot of questions, and eventually she said just keep pushing until someone will finally get to review our case... On the other side you are right, since i have no idea what the hell is going on, who knows what can it be - may be some weird little thing that I'm not even thinking about that will cause them to deny the case.... this is exactly why i don't want to travel on AP. My name is clean and my name is very unique so there are no people with this name may be in the world, but for sure no one in US, so they shouldn't be confused, i did not lie to them about my jobs or anything at all, paid taxes, never claimed to be us citizen and so on.... I do know people with more complicated cases who got approved within days.

Edited July 30, 2016 by banana_princess

[aaron2020 11,651]

But I already contacted two congressmen and ombudsman... one senator got standard response, still waiting for another but i don't think it will be something different...

To answer the red questions:

- I spent $40 last time on EAD and my time, lol, i mean it's not the point really i know, it's just a principle.

- I was overstay most of the time. You overstayed, and now you are pissed that the US government is taking too long? Unbelievable.

- Their denial must be based on something correct? There is seriously nothing i can think of... we talked to the lawyer who said that the case was pretty straightforward. The woman from Mike Quigley office seemed like she knew what she was doing and she asked us a lot of questions, and eventually she said just keep pushing until someone will finally get to review our case... On the other side you are right, since i have no idea what the hell is going on, who knows what can it be - may be some weird little thing that I'm not even thinking about that will cause them to deny the case.... this is exactly why i don't want to travel on AP. My name is clean and my name is very unique so there are no people with this name may be in the world, but for sure no one in US, so they shouldn't be confused, i did not lie to them about my jobs or anything at all, paid taxes, never claimed to be us citizen and so on.... I do know people with more complicated cases who got approved within days. Most people adjusting status don't have the problem of overstaying for 7 years. Maybe, it's difficult to do a security check on you.

Best of luck with your writ.

[Usagi_tsukino 89]

Yes, and my point is, i know people who overstayed longer than me (i arrived on J1. I know a lot of people who arrived on J1, its like a whole community, Lol) and had other problems that i never had, and they did not have to deal what i am dealing with So why is it problem for some but not others? Like i said, i did not lie to them about what I've been doing all these years, i was working, paying taxes, nothing special.

Edited July 30, 2016 by banana_princess

[agrabs 241]

So, you had no problem with the government leaving you alone when you were staying here illegally for 7 years, but now you are wanting to file a lawsuit because they aren't going quick enough?

It took us almost a year to get a decision on my husband's AOS and he had no over-stay.

Good luck with that writ!

[Usagi_tsukino 89]

So, you had no problem with the government leaving you alone when you were staying here illegally for 7 years, but now you are wanting to file a lawsuit because they aren't going quick enough?

It took us almost a year to get a decision on my husband's AOS and he had no over-stay.

Good luck with that writ!

That is correct. Because now i finally have an opportunity do it, before that i couldn't, i didn't stay illegally because i want to be illegal, obviously. I tried to adjust my status when J1 expired, but i wan't approved (not to GC, i applied for tourist status just to be legal). But it's not the point. Why other people who, like i said, were in even worse situation than mine, had no problems adjusting status through marriage? What could they be checking for a year after the interview? Can't think of anything other than they misplaced our case or something like that. Oh, and our marriage is real, there should be no problem with that either, we lived together for a few year before, traveled together, brought tons of photos... no big age/ethnical difference, my husband is born in US and his family have nothing to do with my country of origin.

Edited July 30, 2016 by banana_princess

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

Who Is Eligible for Suing the USCIS?

Any immigrant who has properly filed an application for a benefit, for example a Form I-485 application for adjustment of status (green card), whose application has not been decided for an extended period of time.

The USCIS publishes “processing times” (https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processTimesDisplayInit.do) which can be used as a guide to what is a “reasonable” period of time.

Federal fees $350 plus $50 to serve papers

[kris&me 572]

you are well over the 120 days for normal processing

Generally there are two actions that are commonly taken against the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS):

A Writ of Mandamus, and A Complaint for Naturalization

But this may not speed the process

I also found Congressmen no help

I ended up writing to everyone i could think of and made several emails to NVC and embassy

here on internet there is information on how to sue

i would be careful and think serious about this

and maybe write and ask "Did u loose my case packet?"

Best of luck and let us know what you do and what happens

[gregcrs2 1,778]

I think it's just your frustration talking concerning a lawsuit. Everything happens for a reason. Perhaps someone has a thing for people who overstayed for 7 years and conveniently decided to lose your file for 7 years.

[Boiler 45,499]

Not everyone can fine the love of their life as soon as their status runs out.

I say go for it.

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

You reached out to the Ombudsman less than two weeks ago. I'd follow up on that before suing.

[Usagi_tsukino 89]

you are well over the 120 days for normal processing

Generally there are two actions that are commonly taken against the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS):

A Writ of Mandamus, and A Complaint for Naturalization

But this may not speed the process

I also found Congressmen no help

I ended up writing to everyone i could think of and made several emails to NVC and embassy

here on internet there is information on how to sue

i would be careful and think serious about this

and maybe write and ask "Did u loose my case packet?"

Best of luck and let us know what you do and what happens

Thank you! I will google about a complaint for naturalization (hopefully i can file it as well even if i applied for GC). And next time in info pass i will specifically be asking if they lost our papers.

[Usagi_tsukino 89]

You reached out to the Ombudsman less than two weeks ago. I'd follow up on that before suing.

Yeah, i will wait. Like i said i still have a lot of research to do about how to file and decide if i should at all, so i figured out i'll be ready just in time

[Usagi_tsukino 89]

I think it's just your frustration talking concerning a lawsuit. Everything happens for a reason. Perhaps someone has a thing for people who overstayed for 7 years and conveniently decided to lose your file for 7 years.

Thank! May be thats the reason, lol.

And yes, I keep telling myself that everything happens for a reason too, i actually tell this to myself my whole life. I like this phrase and may times it turned out to be true.

Still it sucks that my life pretty much depends on when someone feels like reviewing my case. They have way too much power, and it doesn't feel good when there is not much we can do. Not being able to fully control my life right now is what i hate the most about this situation.

Edited July 30, 2016 by banana_princess