The Power of Mandamus Revisited: Foiling USCIS Delay by Lawsuit

In 2024, Federal Practice Department Chair Brendan Ryan, Esq. wrote about the Power of Mandamus, explaining how clients may use the writ of mandamus—a powerful legal remedy in federal court—to break through bureaucratic impasses and compel government agencies, such as USCIS, and force these agencies to take long overdue action on their cases. Now, in 2026, with years left under an administration increasingly hostile toward legal immigration, clients have even more reason to foil government delay by seeking relief directly from a federal court.

Attorneys in our growing Federal Practice Department are experts at identifying clients that will benefit from mandamus, equipped to file and fight in federal court, and driven by the wins already earned for our clients—who have had their cases pulled out after slipping through the cracks at USCIS. To help clients understand the availability of mandamus relief, our firm is highlighting some key areas where noncitizens often experience the delay required by the law that persuades a federal court to deem the government’s actions unreasonable and grant relief.

U Visa Bona Fide Determinations have become a key area where USCIS creates convincingly unreasonable delay. Part of the reason that the U Visa process can be so slow is because the U.S. Congress set a maximum number of visas that can be issued each year. Under the Biden administration, USCIS implemented the Bona Fide Determination (BFD) process to avoid the harsh consequences of this statutory cap by giving applicants a tentative “approval” that allows for protection from removal and work authorization. USCIS has a significant backlog of U visas that are ripe for a BFD, and several federal courts have agreed that USCIS has been unreasonable in delay.

Adjustment of Status and Naturalization applications are areas ripe for mandamus relief when USCIS drags their feet on adjudication. Courts routinely hold that noncitizens have a clear right to timely adjudication of these applications. Not only should the adjudication decision be timely, such as a grant or denial, but so should the adjudication process. That process necessarily includes a major area of delay: the interview at an USCIS office. If you or someone you know have had a case status stuck ahead of an unscheduled interview, it is possible that the mandamus can serve as your legal remedy in federal court to get it unstuck.

Asylum applicants also routinely face major delays. We now live in a time where asylum applicants are increasingly having to fight their cases in the backlogged immigration courts instead of USCIS because of the termination of programs like parole and TPS. It is critical for noncitizens with applications at USCIS, not yet in immigration court, to understand that a writ of mandamus may be an avenue to get their cases back on the agenda at USCIS before they are forced to appear in removal/deportation proceedings.

Like applicants for Adjustment of Status and Naturalization, asylum applicants often experience years-long delays in getting an interview scheduled at USCIS—delays that federal courts may find to be unreasonable. In writing the asylum laws, Congress set specific timetables by which the government must conduct the adjudication process, such as 45 days for interviews and 180 days for adjudication decisions. Congress, however, did not make these so-called requirements enforceable; instead, these times provide courts with evidence that asylum applicants have a right to a timely adjudication.

Especially in asylum, every case may have different reasons to be deemed unreasonable. There is no set time for when a delay becomes unreasonable—but it’s important to get an expert opinion to determine whether your delay can make a persuasive argument for unreasonableness, all based on the circumstances of your case.

Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) and Petitions also can make for strong mandamus cases, particularly when Congress set specific times for adjudication. For Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), Congress requires I-360 petitions to be adjudicated within 180 days of filing. Still, because visa numbers are not issued in the same way or by the same agency that I-360 petitions are adjudicated, clients should expect the attorney to advise on whether mandamus is the right step in their own unique immigration process. Delays under other SIVs programs may also be deemed unreasonable.

The highlighted areas represent a nonexhaustive list of areas where our Federal Practice Department attorneys have foiled USCIS delay and gotten clients’ cases moving again. Still, if you or anyone know are experiencing hardship from USCIS delay, please seek a consultation with an attorney to determine whether the delay you are experiencing will make for a persuasive mandamus argument before a federal court.

If you or anyone you know has been experiencing an unreasonable delay of the adjudication of an immigration application, please contact Ben or call our office at (610) 975-4599 to schedule a consultation today.

Be sure to mention this article when reaching out for your consultation!