The process of immigrating to this country is long and complex. Some people wait years for an immigration visa to become available. Frustration can boil over when you must wait what seems like an unreasonably long time to get your Green Card or your approval for citizenship.
Working with an experienced immigration attorney could help. They know approximately how long the process should take every step of the way and could advise you if a delay seems unreasonable. When the wait is excessive, a Cicero immigration delay lawyer could take legal action to force the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) to make a decision.
Applications for Legal Permanent Resident status, also called LPR or a Green Card, require the F.B.I. to perform an extensive background check. Depending on the applicant’s country of origin and the basis for their entry—employment-based, family-based, or investment— the investigation could take a long time to complete.
Green Card holders applying for citizenship must also undergo background checks. These investigations are usually more straightforward because they focus on the applicant’s conduct since entering the country. Still, any oversight in the LPR investigation or a problem while living in the U.S. could cause an extensive delay.
Delays also could occur in scheduling USCIS interviews or receiving the results of interviews. Consulting a qualified Cicero immigration delay attorney is appropriate when an applicant experiences a long and unexplained delay at any point in the process.
Delays in processing times are sometimes system-wide and could result from temporary understaffing or underfunding, system changes, or new policy implementation challenges. A page on the USCIS website provides up-to-date information on current processing times for various forms and applications.
A proactive immigration delay lawyer in Cicero could follow up if a delay significantly exceeds the estimated processing times or an applicant is kept waiting to schedule an interview or receive a decision. If he applicant has had no communication regarding a delay, a call or email from a legal professional alerts the processing officer to an oversight they could quickly correct.
When an initial contact does not produce satisfactory results, contacting a supervisory officer is sometimes helpful. An applicant’s elected officials may be willing to look into the matter. In some cases, legal action is the most effective response.
The law offers a relatively simple procedure to force a federal agency to make a decision. According to 28 United States Code § 1361, an applicant could apply for a Writ of Mandamus asking a Federal District Court Judge to compel the USCIS to act on an immigration matter. The Judge cannot instruct the USCIS how to decide, but it could force them to make a decision and provide an applicant with certainty.
The request for a Writ explains the situation, including a description of the actions the applicant has taken, the USCIS standard processing times for the action in question, and the hardship the applicant has experienced due to the delay. The legal professional serves this document on the Judge and the U.S. Attorney in the district. The USCIS has 60 days to provide an answer justifying its failure to act.
If some cases, the parties appear before the Judge, who could instruct the USCIS to issue a decision or take action within a specific timeframe. Often, once the U.S. Attorney receives the request for a Writ of Mandamus, USCIS prioritizes the matter, takes the delayed action, and the parties never have to go to court.
If you have been waiting a long time for USCIS to decide an immigration matter and have not received an explanation for the delay, stop waiting. A Cicero immigration delay lawyer at Godoy Law Office knows how to get USCIS moving.
Your life is on hold while you wait for an immigration decision, and excessive wait times are unfair. Call today to speak with a knowledgeable attorney about resolving your immigration delay.
