🔺 r/USCISuvictoriaslatton·79 days ago
I used to work at USCIS and now I'm an immigration attorney. These are the most common concerns I get about mandamus suits.
A lot of folks across different case types are stuck in a serious backlog right now, driven largely by recent policy changes at USCIS. We've started filing mandamus suits to deal with it, and these are the most common questions and concerns I get about it. First off, a mandamus is a lawsuit that asks the court to compel USCIS to give you an answer. It is not a lawsuit asking a judge to approve your case. The two get confused constantly, so let's start there. "Wait, I'm suing the government?" Yes, but not the kind of lawsuit people picture. I have not personally seen retaliation happen because of a mandamus or an expedite. I am not saying it has never happened anywhere, only that I have not seen it. When I was an officer, my caseload was my caseload. I did not care how a file landed on my desk. A mandamus has nothing to do with the merits of your underlying claim. I once fully adjudicated a mandamus win and had genuinely forgotten it was one until the applicant mentioned it at the end. Same thing happened with an expedite. It did not register with me one way or another. It was honestly just one more piece of paper in a lengthy file I was reviewing. I was looking for consistency and…