Immigration delays continue to increase. This delay is extremely frustrating for applicants in Naperville who have worked hard to comply with government requirements and have demonstrated their eligibility. In some cases, applicants may have a remedy available through the litigation process.
An experienced immigration attorney could review your situation to determine whether the Naperville immigration delay litigation process could help expedite proceedings and lead to a faster decision. Litigation is not the answer in every case, but for some, it may provide a means to break through the backlog and receive a determination regarding a visa, naturalization, or other immigration matter.
In order to ascertain whether the Naperville immigration delay litigation process could prove advantageous in a particular situation, it could help to look for the reason for the delay. Applications for all types of visas, naturalization, asylum and other actions on the part of U.S. immigration officials now require more processing than before. Interviews that were once viewed as discretionary are now mandatory. The U.S. Customs and Immigrations Services (USCIS) are issuing more Requests for Evidence, which also slows the process considerably.
Sometimes, immigration delays are caused by long waits for background checks or backlogs in adjudication. In situations where an immigration delay is due to missing information, an immigration lawyer could help detect the problem and supply the necessary data. However, in many cases, there may be no good reason for a delay. When an applicant has waited longer than the average wait times on the USCIS website, litigation may be the best option to move the case forward.
One of the most popular Naperville immigration delay litigation processes is the filing of a petition for a Writ of Mandamus in federal court. A Writ of Mandamus is an order from the court telling the government agency involved that they need to make a decision in a case. The court does not tell the agency how to rule on a visa application, for instance, but it does tell the agency that it needs to make a decision one way or the other without further delay.
It is usually advisable to ask an experienced immigration attorney to draft a complaint explaining to the court how the applicant has complied with requirements and made efforts to receive a decision. The lawsuit is often filed against USCIS and sometimes also against the Federal Bureau of Investigations and other agencies depending on the situation.
After the applicant files a petition, the court will issue a summons that notifies the government agencies involved about the suit. In some cases, receiving the summons will prompt an agency to act on a delayed application before the case is even heard in federal court.
The agency or agencies receiving notice have 60 days to file a response, which is the next stage in the Naperville immigration delay litigation process. If the case continues because the agency does not take action on the application, the judge will review written evidence and may listen to oral argument before issuing a ruling. Procedures are similar for other immigration delay litigation such as suits brought under 8 U.S.C. §1447(b) for naturalization delays.
The Naperville immigration delay litigation process differs somewhat from other litigation because the goal is not so much to have a judge rule favorably but to compel the agency to take action as quickly as possible, thus making the judge’s determination unnecessary. In some cases, the government may decide it is in their best interests to push for action on the administrative front to avoid the necessity of defending a case in federal court.
For a Writ of Mandamus or other immigration delay litigation to achieve the desired result, it is necessary to comply with requirements and make a persuasive showing to the court as well as to the agencies involved. Assistance from an experienced immigration attorney could make the process much more effective.
