superyggdrasil

5 hours ago, Boiler said:

Hacking is the Lawyer I always think of when doing Mandamus. I know he is well into 4 figures.

 

Obviously he is not the only one who does them, as I am not certain about the answer, I have seen it discussed but not a conclusion, I would ask the Lawyers you are looking at for their view. A decent one will not take it on if it is not doable.

I have asked a reputable lawyer he told me it is not a problem hence why I hesitated.

Even the one I asked that said no told me its just a precaution its not mandatory

5 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

That might be a very valid point.  Your visa is at the will of the employer, is it not? 

yes but I am the one applying for it so I dont know, I am not a lawyer.

Hello guys. I had my H1B interview on the 28th of march 2022 and the visa officer told me it was approved.  

Unfortunately a few days later he sent me a background check form to fill ( DS5535) and put me under administrative processing ( since the 4th of april, it came as a shock obviously).

I have been under AP since then and I am more than tired of waiting without any updates.

A lot of people told me that I should fill a writ of mandamus and others to wait..

The thing is some lawyers told me I might not have standing without my employer ( my employer don't want to be part of the lawsuit but is not against me doing it myself) and others told me I can do it without my employer.

Since this is an investment I want to be sure I am not lied to and end up spending thousands of dollars over nothing.

Thank you for clearing this doubt  about standing for me.

20 hours ago, throwitaway said:

There’s a lot to unpack here with a reputable lawyer. I only know one lawyer that charges that low and if it’s who I think it is you want to run away as fast you can from that person.

 

Consulting your employer’s lawyer for next steps is not usually helpful. They represent your employer, and most employers tend to shy away from civil immigration suits so they’re not the right people to ask. 

 

I can tell you that I personally know several H1B plaintiffs that were succesful with WoM, in fact there are a few lawyers that are popular for this kind of suit and visa class. None of them involved their employers, predictably. 

 

You can use Avvo to explore law firms, it’s a well known review site. Because you’re non-immigrant, DC-licensed attorneys is where you want to start if you want to proceed with a lawsuit.

Nobody here can tell you if it will be effective or worth the cost and effort. 

I actually found this lawyer on Avvo and he has great reviews and 32 years of experience that is why I trust him in the first place.

Well everybody say different things made me wonder if the mandamus is useful or if they would have had the visa at the same time anytime in the first place

9 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

This is not a family-based visa.  Nobody has any "rights" to a visa.  How do you even get help from a US senator, without being a constituent/having a constituent family member?  

 

You just have to wait out the AP, unfortunately.  

I never said It was my right to have a visa.

But they give people approximate deadlines ( the 180 days thing) and as you can see they basically lied to me during the interview so I might not be an american citizen but I am a human with feelings.

I am also going to work in the medical field where I am supposed to help those people with their constitutional rights but anyhow its not because I am a doctor that they should not do a background check for the security of their country what I am mad about is the fact he told me to my face that my visa was approved like 4-5 times and told me that I will get my passport back in 2 weeks to end up getting stuck for more than 7 months without a single update.

As for the senator inquiry my employer asked for it and he agreed and did that for me but It changed nothing.

10 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

Again, if you bother to look up some other threads  dealing with 5535s in morocco, you might get a better idea of what the usual wait time is. However, it sounds like you’d rather spend money going on it your own without your employer on a writ than wait maybe a month or two to see how the process plays out, that’s your prerogative of course. Hope you don’t shoot yourself in the foot by forcing a denial but seems most likely outcome is you pay and end up waiting as long as it takes anyway.

I totally hear you and not trying to ignore what you say.

Just trying to gather more information to make a decision.

I have been reading threads aboutut 5535 in Morocco or elsewhere for the last 7 months almost everyday but most of them are for marriage or fiances based visas.

I know a cabin crew member that had a 5535 in Casablanca and got his visa after 3 months of waiting thats what made me look for the lawsuit since it seems like they can do it faster but they just don't want to work on it or something.

I saw a mandamus for an H1B visa on Facebook that got it after 2 weeks of filling.

I saw one getting a denial also.

So yes it is all over the place.

My employer is not against me doing the lawsuit but against citing them in the lawsuit which makes my case weaker hence why I don't really want to do it.

On the other hand im afraid of ending up waiting more than a year without a job or a passport but yes even if it would be cheap I understand that a mandamus might change nothing but I saw many people where it helped to resolve their case hence why I wanted to ask you guys here.

19 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Do not think I have ever seen a H1b Mandamus and it would be logical for the Employer to file

 

Normally the way it works is you have say 2 months or we will see you in court, I know they sometimes ask for say another month which most Lawyers will recommend agreeing to 

 

I thought 5k was the going rate 

5k is the going rate if you use the lawyers that everybody use.

if you dig more and email more law firms you can find some that do it cheaper basically thats how I found somebody with this price.

but now I don't even know if I should go through it I will be waiting for my lawyer to tell me what are the best next steps.

I am not even sure I want to do this lawsuit because I don't know if it is really helpful or not.

28 minutes ago, Boiler said:

You know you have 2 options, wait or mandamus.

 

Mandamus is not cheap. And I seriously doubt anybody has been working on your case, much more likely it has been sitting in a pile.

 

Not all Mandamus are successful, some they will fight, all it basically would does is get somebody to look at it.

 

Now even a Mandamus will take 2 to 3 months and you could get your case processed by then so it will be money wasted.

 

A tricky call.

exactly what I fear. 

I saw people get an answer 2 weeks after they filled their lawsuit others waited 4 months and were asked extensions every 60 days.

Im just wondering if the mandamus won't make them work on my case to finally get it issued or it might risk make It denied.

This process is so blurry its tricky.

As for the price I found a lawyer that would do it for 2900$ which is cheaper than the other "scammers" but without my employer being in he told me It is a bit complex.

27 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

If you do a search in the forum there are various 5535 threads, I’m sure you can find some at the Casablanca embassy who might be able to give you more insight into how long they might take, etc, as it does seem to vary according to country of origin.

I searched a lot on the forum but nobody really talks about the mandamus that's why I don't really know what to do 

5 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Your problem is the DS5535. It takes as long as it takes. Some people are more than a year on this. It”s a security issue and they’re not going to rush it or approve it until they are satisfied there is no security risk.

So a mandamus lawsuit wouldn't have any effect on it?

Hey guys.

I had my interview at the embassy in Casablanca, Morocco on the 28th of March 2022.

my H1B visa was approved during the interview and they kept my passport but unfortunately I had to fill a form ds5535 a few days later and have been stuck since then.

its been 7 months now.

A senator have made an inquiry more than a month ago and it changed nothing.

I sent an email to the support desk last week and received this answer:

"Dear Applicant: 


Thank you for writing to the U.S. Visa Service Desk. 

We understand that you would like to know the status of your visa application. 

We are escalating your case for final resolution and you will receive a follow-up email with further guidance."

I was so happy at that moment but unfortunately I sent them an inquiry a week later and this is the response I have got today:

"Thank you for your e-mail inquiry. Your visa application is still undergoing some administrative processing.  We cannot determine how long it will take to complete this process; but we will notify you once it is completed. What you have received was an automated response to an email inquiry you have send to our visa support desk."

I am at lost of words , I want to cry , I am tired like probably almost everybody here but these mind games of making me think something that is not true is just inhumane.

I am really thinking of filling a mandamus lawsuit but many people tell me it is pointless or that I will only get pointless updates and It won't change the timeline a bit as they will just ask for extensions.

in addition to that my employer don't want to be cited on the lawsuit so my lawyer is not sure I would have standing in the first place.

I am totally lost with this process, any insight or reassurance is welcome.

Thank you.