Should we file a mandamus

[Banubis 0]

I had an H-1B that expired last August but got married before then. We concurrently filed I-130, I-485, I-765, and I-131 along with supporting documents. However, USCIS returned our entire petition saying a signature was missing on I-485. I have a copy of the original petition and all signatures are properly filled out. Because of this mistake made by USCIS, my H-1B status expired before we received a Notice of Action. We filed the petition again, but they didn’t adjudicate the receive date.

 

On “My USCIS” webpage, I can see the petition along with supporting documents we sent them. There I found a lot of our supporting documents aren’t uploaded, which makes me wonder if USCIS lost them again. They then sent us an RFE saying they need my birth certificate, which was included in the petition. Their records show that they received part of the original birth certificate and translation, which further indicates they have lost parts of our paperwork. I went ahead and re-submitted the birth certificate and translation.

 

Another problem is that we never received a notice of action for I-131, and recently found out they are saying they did not receive it. As it was filed with all our other paperwork, it seems like this is another document they have lost. My lawyer filed an I-131 again in December. It has now been about 5 months since we filed a petition, and I haven’t received a work authorization yet. My H-1B status expired last August and I haven’t worked since then.

 

A few days ago, my lawyer called me saying it’s taking about 8 months for USCIS to process an employment authorization, and I have 2 options now. One is to tell USCIS to expedite processing my work authorization, which they would charge me roughly $200 but they don’t know this would work. The other is to file a mandamus for my work authorization. I did some research, and my understanding is that we need to wait for at least 8 months before we can claim a delay. This is because we are still within their posted processing time range. So I am wondering why our lawyer brought up this option as it seems unlikely to work if we file it now. Do you think they are just trying to get money from us? They told us they would charge us roughly $2,000 including a filing fee. They keep making some mistakes, have poor communication, and we don’t really trust them. I haven’t been able to work for 5 months without a work authorization, and financially it’s hurting a lot but not to the extent we will get evicted from our apartment, so I am guessing asking USCIS to expedite the work authorization won’t work, either. What should we do?

 

 

8/4/21                          Sent I-130, I-485, I-765, and I-131 along with G-1145, G-28, I-130A, I-864, I-693, and supporting documents

8/6/21                          Received I-797C saying the petition is returned as a signature was missing. However, that is wrong as I have the copy and all signatures are properly filled out

(Notice Date)              

8/7/21                          I-797 (H-1B) expired

August 2021               Resubmitted the petition

8/23/21(Rcvd Date)    NOA1 for I-130, I-485, and I-765

9/27/21                        Biometrics done

10/15/21                      RFE for birth certificate, which was included in the petition

December 2021           Resubmitted I-131

 

 

 

Edited January 25, 2022 by Banubis

[Timona 4,208]

Your lawyer is right in that it's taking 8 months now to get EAD.

 

You wanna file WoM within less than 4 months from submission? You're starting on the wrong pedestal. 

 

Immigration and USCIS requires patience. If they ask for repetitive documents, submit. You will end up in ICUif you wanna go head to toes with them. You're barely starting. Save your energy. 

[Yorkie62 54]

According to forum members reporting their timelines, USCIS is currently processing EAD/AP from early July 2021, so you're probably about six weeks out.