Writ of Mandamus - Should we consider?

[lucy_hk 0]

I am not sure if I am posting this topic in the correct section, but since the writ of mandamus is towards the USCIS, I suppose it's appropriate to post here?

I know that this writ of mandamus is a legal action the federal court can make to enforce any US government officers to adjudicate / process a petition / case without delay, if the case has been beyond a normal processing time.

My boy friend and I considered filing for this to the federal court. Even if USCIS would still deny our application, at least the court can force them to mail us a hard copy letter saying that our case has been denied. So that we can re-file, or appeal.

I have a post in the K1 section which I have provided bits of pieces about our K1 journey.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=54723

My time line basically is as the followings:

I-129F sent by my boyfriend: end July 2006

Receipt date of NOA1: 31st July, 2006

Last touched: 14th September, 2006

Touched: 13th Feb, 2007

Touched: 14th Feb, 2007

8th Mar InfoPass appointment: Told by immigration officer by person in the infopass appointment the application was denied 13th Feb

Touched: 28th Mar, 2007

Received a letter from USCIS early April: Spelling mistake of beneficiary's name corrected

Received 2 identical letters from USCIS 13th April: Your case is currently at the california center and should receive another update in 60 days

- no RFE so far

What do you think? We could get a Pro Se package from the federal district court which the package is intended for citizens to file law suit by themselves.

Any one has filed a writ of mandamus before???

Thanks for reading.

[reach449 2]

I am not sure if I am posting this topic in the correct section, but since the writ of mandamus is towards the USCIS, I suppose it's appropriate to post here?

I know that this writ of mandamus is a legal action the federal court can make to enforce any US government officers to adjudicate / process a petition / case without delay, if the case has been beyond a normal processing time.

My boy friend and I considered filing for this to the federal court. Even if USCIS would still deny our application, at least the court can force them to mail us a hard copy letter saying that our case has been denied. So that we can re-file, or appeal.

I have a post in the K1 section which I have provided bits of pieces about our K1 journey.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=54723

My time line basically is as the followings:

I-129F sent by my boyfriend: end July 2006

Receipt date of NOA1: 31st July, 2006

Last touched: 14th September, 2006

Touched: 13th Feb, 2007

Touched: 14th Feb, 2007

8th Mar InfoPass appointment: Told by immigration officer by person in the infopass appointment the application was denied 13th Feb

Touched: 28th Mar, 2007

Received a letter from USCIS early April: Spelling mistake of beneficiary's name corrected

Received 2 identical letters from USCIS 13th April: Your case is currently at the california center and should receive another update in 60 days

- no RFE so far

What do you think? We could get a Pro Se package from the federal district court which the package is intended for citizens to file law suit by themselves.

Any one has filed a writ of mandamus before???

Thanks for reading.

I have read your other thread. I am so sorry. Your case seems so straight forward. I don't know anything about a writ, but I think you have a very "good" case for a Senator or Congressman to tackle. Has your boyfriend ever called his thought of contacting one of these and explain your case? Good luck and God Bless.

reach449

[rebeccajo 14]

USCIS is currently filing Motions to Dismiss for all Mandamus cases. That includes Mandamus filings for AOS petitioners and Naturalization petitioners - ie individuals who are already in the states on some sort of valid visa or the VWP.

Don't waste your time filing a writ. Have an elected representative check on your case.

[The_dip_sticks 0]

We seem to have the same times lines. We are also still watiting for an approval for the I129F since July 06. Though I have not made an info pass yet because I have heard they are a waste of time. However, I have contacted my representatives. When no one was able to tell us any thing at least we got a fowarded email fom my senator that he recived from the department of home land security. In a nut shell it basically said that we are stuck in security checks. We were never told that we are denied, but after hearing about your story it makes me wonder if I should make a info pass to see what they tell me. I would suggest contacting your senator or congressman for help. In my case I contacted my congressman and nothing came from that, however the staff at my sentors office at least provided some type of answer. I suggest contacting both and see who is willing to help you.

[meauxna 15]

I have a post in the K1 section which I have provided bits of pieces about our K1 journey.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=54723

My time line basically is as the followings:

I-129F sent by my boyfriend: end July 2006

Receipt date of NOA1: 31st July, 2006

Last touched: 14th September, 2006

Touched: 13th Feb, 2007

Touched: 14th Feb, 2007

8th Mar InfoPass appointment: Told by immigration officer by person in the infopass appointment the application was denied 13th Feb

Touched: 28th Mar, 2007

Received a letter from USCIS early April: Spelling mistake of beneficiary's name corrected

Received 2 identical letters from USCIS 13th April: Your case is currently at the california center and should receive another update in 60 days

- no RFE so far

IMO, Mandamus is not the appropriate action. You have not used up all the tools available to you yet.

A lawyer would likely be a big help to you both at this point.

Did eric move since he filed the I-129f or not?

It's possible you are in a detailed security review--have you compared these 'BS letters' that eric got with anyone else's postings? What's the BS? Is eric or you signed up for the email updates? Seems you must be if you know about touches.. No RFEs noted there?

Has eric emailed the California Center?

Have you followed CIS' guideliens for an overdue case? You know yu are well overdue; the posted processing date is Sept 13 2006. If your NOA date is 30 or more days before that, CIS *will* look into your case. Have you read this page?

Has eric contacted any of his elected representatives to look into his case?

[lucy_hk 0]

I have a post in the K1 section which I have provided bits of pieces about our K1 journey.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=54723

My time line basically is as the followings:

I-129F sent by my boyfriend: end July 2006

Receipt date of NOA1: 31st July, 2006

Last touched: 14th September, 2006

Touched: 13th Feb, 2007

Touched: 14th Feb, 2007

8th Mar InfoPass appointment: Told by immigration officer by person in the infopass appointment the application was denied 13th Feb

Touched: 28th Mar, 2007

Received a letter from USCIS early April: Spelling mistake of beneficiary's name corrected

Received 2 identical letters from USCIS 13th April: Your case is currently at the california center and should receive another update in 60 days

- no RFE so far

IMO, Mandamus is not the appropriate action. You have not used up all the tools available to you yet.

A lawyer would likely be a big help to you both at this point. We dont know. We would like a lawyer. But we don't know who is capable. I read from immigrationportal.com that some people actually got a Pro Se package from the federal district court to file their writ of mandamus and succeeded.

Did eric move since he filed the I-129f or not? [no]

It's possible you are in a detailed security review--have you compared these 'BS letters' that eric got with anyone else's postings? What's the BS? Is eric or you signed up for the email updates? Seems you must be if you know about touches.. No RFEs noted there? [The 1st BS letter is they corrected a spelling mistake in my name. The 2nd and 3rd BS letter is they would update us in 60 days again. Yes, no RFEs so far. Eric signed up for email updates but I also have his password. I kept checking daily back then. Now I check it every a few days.]

Has eric emailed the California Center? [ I once mailed a letter by snail mail to USCIS. Then I received a snail mail from USCIS that all enquiries about visa applications should be made via phone. No emails no fax no snail mail....]

Have you followed CIS' guideliens for an overdue case? You know yu are well overdue; the posted processing date is Sept 13 2006. If your NOA date is 30 or more days before that, CIS *will* look into your case. Have you read this page? [The 2nd BS letter from USCIS saying that they will give us an update within 60 days is the result of their "looking into our case"]

Has eric contacted any of

his elected representatives to look into his case? [ he spoke to a few senators. None of them replied him directly. But their staff gave him some lists of free legal service contacts. Guess thats all they can do.]

Hi Meauxna, thanks for your reply. I have some comments above in red....

[rebeccajo 14]

A lawyer would likely be a big help to you both at this point. We dont know. We would like a lawyer. But we don't know who is capable. I read from immigrationportal.com that some people actually got a Pro Se package from the federal district court to file their writ of mandamus and succeeded.

People may have filed WOM in the past with success but AT THE PRESENT TIME be prepared for the government to file a motion to dismiss your case.

Which is 'shorthand' for they are going to fight you on any action to compel them to 'hurry', and you must be prepared to take it all the way to trial.

Edited April 16, 2007 by rebeccajo

[The_dip_sticks 0]

Unfortunately from experience not all of our elected officials are as willing to help. Have him contact his congressman and all his senators. 1 out of the 3 will be willing to do their job. That's what happened in my case. You have to go online to you respective representatives web page and fill out a consent form for them to inquire about your case to USCIS. Print this form out and write a brief summary of your case. Fax this along with your NOA1 and then call them to make sure they received it. I faxed it and I also mailed a second copy snail mail. Insist and insist until they do a congressional inquiry on your behalf. It is only until they do a congressional, that you will actually find out what is really going on with your case. If you keep calling on your own as I was, all you will get is the bull ####### letter that says "we are still actively processing your case". I had bee getting the same ####### in the mail for almost a year now. When I was getting no where with I finally contacted my senators and at least then one of them was able to get a reply form DHS saying that we are stuck in security checks. We figured this out any ways but at least it was something concrete in writing to calm us down. It helped me to stop thinking that our paper work was lost and fell off the face of the earth.

[homesick_american 1]

Unfortunately from experience not all of our elected officials are as willing to help. Have him contact his congressman and all his senators. 1 out of the 3 will be willing to do their job. That's what happened in my case. You have to go online to you respective representatives web page and fill out a consent form for them to inquire about your case to USCIS. Print this form out and write a brief summary of your case. Fax this along with your NOA1 and then call them to make sure they received it. I faxed it and I also mailed a second copy snail mail. Insist and insist until they do a congressional inquiry on your behalf. It is only until they do a congressional, that you will actually find out what is really going on with your case. If you keep calling on your own as I was, all you will get is the bull ####### letter that says "we are still actively processing your case". I had bee getting the same ####### in the mail for almost a year now. When I was getting no where with I finally contacted my senators and at least then one of them was able to get a reply form DHS saying that we are stuck in security checks. We figured this out any ways but at least it was something concrete in writing to calm us down. It helped me to stop thinking that our paper work was lost and fell off the face of the earth.

My parents contacted Pete Sessions' office to get them to ask about the status of our case, since it was so hard to get in touch with anyone in London; all they needed was the case number. His office got right on it. We had an answer the very next day.

Edited April 17, 2007 by homesick_american

[James 2]

I am not sure if I am posting this topic in the correct section, but since the writ of mandamus is towards the USCIS, I suppose it's appropriate to post here?

I know that this writ of mandamus is a legal action the federal court can make to enforce any US government officers to adjudicate / process a petition / case without delay, if the case has been beyond a normal processing time.

My boy friend and I considered filing for this to the federal court. Even if USCIS would still deny our application, at least the court can force them to mail us a hard copy letter saying that our case has been denied. So that we can re-file, or appeal.

I have a post in the K1 section which I have provided bits of pieces about our K1 journey.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=54723

My time line basically is as the followings:

I-129F sent by my boyfriend: end July 2006

Receipt date of NOA1: 31st July, 2006

Last touched: 14th September, 2006

Touched: 13th Feb, 2007

Touched: 14th Feb, 2007

8th Mar InfoPass appointment: Told by immigration officer by person in the infopass appointment the application was denied 13th Feb

Touched: 28th Mar, 2007

Received a letter from USCIS early April: Spelling mistake of beneficiary's name corrected

Received 2 identical letters from USCIS 13th April: Your case is currently at the california center and should receive another update in 60 days

- no RFE so far

What do you think? We could get a Pro Se package from the federal district court which the package is intended for citizens to file law suit by themselves.

Any one has filed a writ of mandamus before???

Thanks for reading.

I've filed petitions for a writ of mandamus before, but not in an immigration context. I'm not sure it would fly because mandamus seeks to force a government official to perform a ministerial act that the law recognizes as one the official has an absolute duty to perform -- as distinct from one in which the official has discretion.

The approval by USCIS of any of these petitions is not a ministerial act. They have the discretion to grant or deny them (and you can take it up to an ILJ for review of any denial).

Again, I have not looked into mandamus in this context, but from what I can see, I wouldn't waste my time and money.

[rebeccajo 14]

James....

You are absolutely correct.

There is only one coded duty that USCIS has any specific duty to perform, and that is to adjudicate a petition for naturalization within 120 days. And those are the very cases in which they are currently filing motions to dismiss for.

[lucy_hk 0]

James....

You are absolutely correct.

There is only one coded duty that USCIS has any specific duty to perform, and that is to adjudicate a petition for naturalization within 120 days. And those are the very cases in which they are currently filing motions to dismiss for.

Hey I am back. It's been one and a half months since I last posted. Been busy at work.

I did not intend to use the Writ of Mandamus to force the USCIS or DHS to approve my case. I just want them to send my boyfriend a notice of intend to deny as soon as possible, so that we can appeal. Our immigration lawyer told us there is nothing he can do at this moment until we have the NOID letter in mail. But look this USCIS is hold this letter or I guess they are holding everything in our case. Perhaps it's because they dont want us to appeal. They dont want us to bug them. It is this reason I should file this writ of mandamus to force them action. Whatever the final decision is denial or approval. This is ridiculous - This 31st July 2007 - our case will be reaching the 365 days time line but still "received and pending"

[The_dip_sticks 0]

I feel your pain. we are in the same situattion. I just dont understand why do you think they would deny you. Also I was under the impressiont that petitioners are no longer able to use writ of mandamus ?? Do you know any thing about that?

[rebeccajo 14]

James....

You are absolutely correct.

There is only one coded duty that USCIS has any specific duty to perform, and that is to adjudicate a petition for naturalization within 120 days. And those are the very cases in which they are currently filing motions to dismiss for.

Hey I am back. It's been one and a half months since I last posted. Been busy at work.

I did not intend to use the Writ of Mandamus to force the USCIS or DHS to approve my case. I just want them to send my boyfriend a notice of intend to deny as soon as possible, so that we can appeal. Our immigration lawyer told us there is nothing he can do at this moment until we have the NOID letter in mail. But look this USCIS is hold this letter or I guess they are holding everything in our case. Perhaps it's because they dont want us to appeal. They dont want us to bug them. It is this reason I should file this writ of mandamus to force them action. Whatever the final decision is denial or approval. This is ridiculous - This 31st July 2007 - our case will be reaching the 365 days time line but still "received and pending"

You have a lawyer. Ask him what to do. Not us.

[lucy_hk 0]

James....

You are absolutely correct.

There is only one coded duty that USCIS has any specific duty to perform, and that is to adjudicate a petition for naturalization within 120 days. And those are the very cases in which they are currently filing motions to dismiss for.

Hey I am back. It's been one and a half months since I last posted. Been busy at work.

I did not intend to use the Writ of Mandamus to force the USCIS or DHS to approve my case. I just want them to send my boyfriend a notice of intend to deny as soon as possible, so that we can appeal. Our immigration lawyer told us there is nothing he can do at this moment until we have the NOID letter in mail. But look this USCIS is hold this letter or I guess they are holding everything in our case. Perhaps it's because they dont want us to appeal. They dont want us to bug them. It is this reason I should file this writ of mandamus to force them action. Whatever the final decision is denial or approval. This is ridiculous - This 31st July 2007 - our case will be reaching the 365 days time line but still "received and pending"

You have a lawyer. Ask him what to do. Not us.

Hi Rebecca, I understand what you meant. But I am Not asking you/VJ users users what to do. I just posted my question here for discussion. I posted, and users going thru similar situations and users curious about the Writ of Mandamus can share their experience or concerns.

Did any part of my previous replies make you feel that I am asking VJ users/you what to do?

My boyfriend was not able to find an immigration lawyer whom he is confident of until recently. He talked to 4 or 5. Some of them don't even understand what K1,2, 3 mean. They claim they are immigration lawyers, but they just dont seem to be. My boyfriend lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He recently been able to talk to a real immigration lawyer in Detroit. Early May we asked him if it's OK to file a Writ of Mandamus. He said premature and by the time the files got onto the court docket, we would already have heard an answer from USCIS.

I started this topic in April at VJ. I got the lawyer's response in May.

I meant, really, I had not any intentions to seek assistance at VJ. Just open discussion.

Thanks.