1. When can I consider a mandamus action?
A reader asks:
It’s been a year since my EB-3 interview and there’s been no update. My priority date is July 2019. Since the interview last June, my case hasn’t moved at all; it’s still listed as “Interview Was Scheduled.” I contacted my senator, but responses were all templates. The officer at the interview was very young and said they couldn’t approve, only collect info for a colleague. I had a bad feeling then and now it seems my case is indeed stuck. My company is alo going through layoffs. What should I do?
Alan Lee, Esq. answers,
I assume that the priority date has been current all along and that you or your attorney/representative have already attempted to contact USCIS to get your case moving without success. As the Ombudsman’s office of USCIS is no longer an effective alternative and you have gone through congressional inquiries, you and/or your attorney may consider a mandamus action in federal court to force the agency to make an adjudication in your case. Hopefully, the threat of federal court action will alone get the field office to look at your case and review it.