Your Immigration Case Has Been Pending for Too Long. You Have Options.

Who This Page Is For

This page is for applicants whose immigration cases have been pending far beyond normal processing times — including green cards, naturalization applications, immigrant visas, SIV cases, employment petitions, and consular cases stuck with USCIS, the National Visa Center, the State Department, or a U.S. embassy.

The Problem

You filed your application. Months passed — then a year, then two. You checked the status online. You called USCIS. You submitted service requests. Maybe you contacted your congressional representative. Each time, you got the same message: your case is pending, under review, or in administrative processing.

That situation has a legal name: unreasonable agency delay. And there is a federal remedy that immigration applicants and their attorneys rarely use — but that works: a mandamus lawsuit under 28 U.S.C. § 1361 combined with a claim under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) filed in U.S. District Court. Many cases resolve within weeks of a lawsuit being filed, once the agency receives formal notice of litigation.

What Is at Stake

Delay has real costs: family separation, lost jobs, missed business opportunities, travel restrictions, expired documents, and years of life spent waiting for an answer the government is legally required to provide.

In some cases, continued waiting also makes the underlying case harder — children age out, medical exams expire, and circumstances change in ways that create new complications.

How Ehsan Law Helps

Ehsan Law evaluates the case type, delay length, prior inquiry history, agency responses, and underlying case strength before recommending litigation. Not every delayed case is ready for federal court — but when it is, we move efficiently.

We also review the underlying application for any issues that could affect the outcome once the government is forced to decide — because mandamus compels a decision, not a particular result.

Our Process

1. Step 1: Delay Audit — We review filing receipts, case status records, inquiry history, congressional contact records, and published processing benchmarks to build a documented delay timeline.
2. Step 2: Risk Review — We assess whether the underlying application has any issues that could result in denial once the government is compelled to act.
3. Step 3: Pre-Suit Strategy — We gather records, consider any remaining pre-litigation steps, and prepare the factual and legal foundation for the complaint.
4. Step 4: Federal Filing — We file a mandamus and/or APA complaint in U.S. District Court naming the correct federal agency defendants.
5. Step 5: Post-Filing Resolution — We monitor agency action after filing, respond to government filings, and negotiate adjudication or settlement as the case develops.

Services and Case Types We Handle

• Mandamus and APA lawsuits for delayed USCIS applications
• Delayed adjustment of status (green card) cases
• Delayed naturalization (N-400) cases, including 1447(b) claims
• Delayed immigrant visa and consular processing cases
• NVC and embassy delay matters
• Delayed SIV processing where appropriate
• Delayed employment-based petitions and green cards
• EAJA fee petitions when the government lacked justification for the delay

Evidence and Preparation We Focus On

• Filing receipts, case status screenshots, and agency notices showing delay timeline
• Timeline of inquiries, service requests, congressional contacts, and agency responses
• Proof of concrete harm caused by delay — family separation, employment, business, travel, or medical hardship
• Underlying application copies and supporting evidence already submitted
• Passport, civil documents, and consular or NVC communications
• Evidence of administrative processing or security check delay

Common Complications We Help Clients Address

• Underlying case has potential denial issues that emerge once the agency is forced to act
• Case is delayed but still arguably within a defensible processing window
• Consular nonreviewability arguments in visa cases
• Venue and defendant selection strategy in federal court
• Government action after filing that requires a revised strategy
• Children approaching age-out or documents and medical exams expiring

If your immigration case has been pending with no meaningful answer, schedule a consultation. We will evaluate whether a mandamus or APA lawsuit is the right next step for your situation.