Does anyone have experience with mandamus actions?

[ColoradoSteve 29]

Hello everyone,

 

My K1 visa case is still stuck with no progress in the Nicaraguan embassy. My fiancee has been trapped in Nicaragua for an entire year now, and the situation has been causing considerable hardship for us.

 

I met with an immigration attorney in February, and she suggested trying a congressional inquiry, through my state senators office. We did this 2 months ago, and as expected, it had no effect. The embassy did respond to the senator (they haven't responded directly to me since January). The only response they gave to the senator was the same as they have been telling me for the past 6 months, that the case was in administrative processing and I would hear from them soon.

 

My attorney suggested trying a mandamus action. She doesn't do federal court cases, but she referred to a different attorney who does. I haven't contacted the new attorney yet. I was unable to find any information with mandamus actions in context of cases that are held up in an embassy. Does anyone on this forum have any knowledge or experience with mandamus actions?

 

I know that a mandamus action is used to force a government entity to actually do their jobs, and complete a process or give a ruling on a case.

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

[Cathi 5,747]

If you decide to do his keep in mind that it will force them into making a decision and the answer will be no if AP is not complete. A visa cannot be issued if background checks are not complete.

 

Also, you wouldn't go through your state senator, it would be your US senator.

[pooch1986 19]

On 4/27/2019 at 2:44 AM, Cathi said:

If you decide to do his keep in mind that it will force them into making a decision and the answer will be no if AP is not complete. A visa cannot be issued if background checks are not complete.

 

Also, you wouldn't go through your state senator, it would be your US senator.

I'm not sure about "the answer will be no if AP is not complete"... What is your basis for saying that?

 

Literally no attorney agrees with this. The answer will be no only if there is something wrong with the case.

In response to a mandamus the government can:

- Approve

- Reject  *based on the facts about the case, a ground of inadmissibility, or another solid reason to reject*

- Issue RFE

- Call for second interview

- Ask the plaintiff for more time to review (which ALL lawyers recommend you agree)

- Ask the judge to dismiss the lawsuit

etc.

 

[Unlockable 7,314]

I don't know about an outright denial as a response, but a visa cannot be issued unless all due diligence is done. A case can be rejected based on the evidence, however, if more evidence (or time to review/gather evidence) is needed and not granted, it will likely lead to a refusal or even a denial.

 

1 year for a K1 does not seem out of the ordinary as of late. It sucks, but this is the current state of immigration now. Timelines are painfully longer than ever before.

 

It is best to weigh the options of a WOM. Some have reported that the cost is a deciding factor.

Here is a recent update of a guy that was going to do a WOM...

... lawyer quoted him $12,000 to start the proceedings. 

 

Truth be told, we don't get many updates on the results of a WOM. It could be because people don't follow through with it or don't have time to inform us of the outcome. But we do get many people inquiring about it but then never even start the process.

Edited May 1, 2019 by Unlockable

[TBoneTX 45,273]

Thread is moved from the K-1 Process forum to the K-1 Case Progress subforum.

[geowrian 22,337]

3 hours ago, pooch1986 said:

In response to a mandamus the government can:

- Approve

- Reject  *based on the facts about the case, a ground of inadmissibility, or another solid reason to reject*

- Issue RFE

- Call for second interview

- Ask the plaintiff for more time to review (which ALL lawyers recommend you agree)

- Ask the judge to dismiss the lawsuit 

etc.

Technical note: Embassies and consulates do not issue RFEs. That's USCIS. The embassy or consulate can request documents, but this is not via issuing an RFE.

[Greenbaum 12,259]

Here is another thread, a rather lengthy one that addresses the topic of  WOM

 

 

 

[pooch1986 19]

Well, you know what I meant. Requesting Further Evidence. Irrelevant to the point I was making.

[pooch1986 19]

8 hours ago, Unlockable said:

I don't know about an outright denial as a response, but a visa cannot be issued unless all due diligence is done. A case can be rejected based on the evidence, however, if more evidence (or time to review/gather evidence) is needed and not granted, it will likely lead to a refusal or even a denial.

 

1 year for a K1 does not seem out of the ordinary as of late. It sucks, but this is the current state of immigration now. Timelines are painfully longer than ever before.

 

It is best to weigh the options of a WOM. Some have reported that the cost is a deciding factor.

Here is a recent update of a guy that was going to do a WOM...

... lawyer quoted him $12,000 to start the proceedings. 

 

Truth be told, we don't get many updates on the results of a WOM. It could be because people don't follow through with it or don't have time to inform us of the outcome. But we do get many people inquiring about it but then never even start the process.

Yeah no. 12000 is so off the charts and unreasonable. That lawyer I would avoid...

And I agree that we don't know what happens to WoMs... I know of very few ones (3) that we're successful. But the sample size is unfortunately not big enough to have significance....

[ColoradoSteve 29]

Everyone,

 

Thanks for the replies! I was in Nicaragua visiting my fiancee at the time, so I was unable to read all of the posts and referenced threads until now. I am still not sure what to do. We have been waiting on the results from our second interview for over 6 months now. Our case has been in AP since June of 2018. I have been constantly checking for updates on the CEAC website, and have noticed that the case has gone for months without being touched. The inquiry from my senators office on March 4 at least resulted in the case status being updated in March. But I now suspect that the status update wasn't because actual work was being done, rather that it was "touched" only to check the status for the senators office.

 

I sent two emails to the embassy last month (April), and they didn't reply or even acknowledge receipt of my emails. Months ago, they at least responded to my emails. I am guessing they are angry now because I contacted my senator and therefore ignoring my emails. And I have not been sending excessive emails. Generally I have sent less than one email per month. I only sent two emails last month because I received no response.

 

The case has not been touched again in nearly two months. I have been operating on the assumption that the embassy in Nicaragua has no intention of ever officially approving or denying our case. Rather they have decided to put it on a shelf forever, and claim that it is in AP so that they don't have to do any additional work, and so that I have no legal recourse to refute an actual denial. Perhaps my assumption is wrong, but I have no evidence to the contrary.

 

As I said before, my fiancee previously lived in Costa Rica for 9 years and had a job, friends, safety, and a good life there. She had to give up all of that forever when she needed to return to Nicaragua to complete the visa process. She did not have citizenship or legal residency in Costa Rica. She can not likely ever return. The economy in Nicaragua is in shambles, and she has no work there. She has been physically assaulted, has had to move three times, and now lives in constant fear. The financial cost to fully support her, pay for three visits to Nicaragua, and pay all of the visa related expenses has reached $20,000 in the past year. My savings are rapidly becoming depleted and I will soon run out of options. My fiancee can not tolerate living with the conditions there any longer. She has frequently fallen into depression because of her situation.

 

Soon she will be forced to leave Nicaragua to try to start a new life somewhere else. I think our only options will be to either force the embassy to complete the visa with a WOM, find a different method to get her into the US, or give up entirely and send her to some other country where she would have an opportunity to start a new life.

 

Thanks for all of your replies.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

 

[Greenbaum 12,259]

2 hours ago, ColoradoSteve said:

Everyone,

 

Thanks for the replies! I was in Nicaragua visiting my fiancee at the time, so I was unable to read all of the posts and referenced threads until now. I am still not sure what to do. We have been waiting on the results from our second interview for over 6 months now. Our case has been in AP since June of 2018. I have been constantly checking for updates on the CEAC website, and have noticed that the case has gone for months without being touched. The inquiry from my senators office on March 4 at least resulted in the case status being updated in March. But I now suspect that the status update wasn't because actual work was being done, rather that it was "touched" only to check the status for the senators office....

 

I have witness others who have replied to their congress representative every 60 days and finally their case started moving again. You may want to try again. Also, If the K-1 does not work out for you or you get tired of waiting then you may want to do the following.

 

1. Locate her to more friendly country as you said this maybe an option and the marry her their and file a CR1.

2. Refuse the K-1 and marry her in Nicaragua and then begin the CR-1 which typically gets approved because of the marriage aspect.

 

I wish you all the best in whatever you do. 

[ColoradoSteve 29]

1 hour ago, Greenbaum said:

I have witness others who have replied to their congress representative every 60 days and finally their case started moving again. You may want to try again. Also, If the K-1 does not work out for you or you get tired of waiting then you may want to do the following.

 

1. Locate her to more friendly country as you said this maybe an option and the marry her their and file a CR1.

2. Refuse the K-1 and marry her in Nicaragua and then begin the CR-1 which typically gets approved because of the marriage aspect.

 

I wish you all the best in whatever you do. 

Thanks Greenbaum. I didn't think being married changed much of anything, other than it is no longer necessary to provide intent to marry statements, and there are slightly different forms to file. The beneficiary is still required to meet all of the same criteria, married or not. Anything that would cause her admission to the US to be denied as a fiancee would cause the same denial as a spouse. But I could be wrong.

 

I could see it might be helpful if the evidence of a relationship was weak. But we have been together for 3-1/2 years, and provided a mountain of evidence. Airline tickets, hotel receipts, a large pile of photos etc. etc. from SEVEN visits together. Skype logs, physical letters and cards with postmarked envelopes and such from the first 2-1/2 years of our relationship. Letters from half a dozen people who have witnessed our relationship in person, Western Union receipts showing my financial support for two years, engagement ring receipt. And more.

 

When I was at the second interview, I saw our file through the window that the consul had. It was literally three inches thick of solid paper, at least half of which was evidence my fiancee and I submitted.

 

I was under the impression that getting married would cause the entire process to start over again, and we would be back to square one where I was 18 months ago. And since my fiancee has Nicaraguan citizenship, we would be stuck going through the same embassy again, where I would expect the same result as before. Unless she obtains citizenship or legal residency in a different country, which would require years.

 

I have heard of numerous people who got married in a foreign country, and were unable (or required years) to get their spouse to the US. I would never be willing to marry someone without knowing if they could ever come to the US.

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

[SJordanS 343]

On 5/1/2019 at 7:27 AM, pooch1986 said:

I'm not sure about "the answer will be no if AP is not complete"... What is your basis for saying that?

 

Literally no attorney agrees with this. The answer will be no only if there is something wrong with the case.

In response to a mandamus the government can:

- Approve

- Reject  *based on the facts about the case, a ground of inadmissibility, or another solid reason to reject*

- Issue RFE

- Call for second interview

- Ask the plaintiff for more time to review (which ALL lawyers recommend you agree)

- Ask the judge to dismiss the lawsuit

etc.

 

100% correct.