Writ of Mandamus
A Writ of Mandamus is a federal cause of action originating from the American common law system and codified in various statutes, including 28 U.S.C. § 1361 and 8 U.S.C. § 1447(b). The word “mandamus” comes from Latin and means “we command”. It originally referred to an order issued by a court to compel a lower court or government official to perform a specific, mandatory, non-discretionary duty.
In a Mandamus lawsuit, the petitioner asks a court to order a federal official or federal agency (such as the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or “USCIS”) to adjudicate a visa application or petition, which is a mandatory, non-discretionary act.
If you have a Green Card or U.S. citizenship application that has pending with USCIS for quite some time, you are probably looking for more information about processing times and USCIS processing delays in general. If so, this is the right page for you.
I am an immigration attorney licensed in the States of New York, New Jersey, Missouri, and Texas. I am also admitted to practice to the U.S. District Courts of Connecticut, Washington, D.C. and the Southern District of Texas. You can find my full attorney profile here.
Mandamus lawsuits are commonly used in the immigration context, where USCIS keeps an application of petition pending for an unreasonable time. In some cases, a Mandamus petition is the only way to prevent USCIS from keeping a case under review for an indefinite time.
In the past 10 years, I have litigated countless immigration-related cases in federal court, appealing arbitrary and capricious USCIS decisions in District Courts, and filing petitions for a Writ of Mandamus.
Which are the most frequently delayed immigration cases?
A Writ of Mandamus can be used in any petition of application for which premium processing is not offered by USCIS. This is a short list of the delayed immigration cases that I most frequently handle for my clients
I-485 adjustment of status
A non-citizen who is already in the United States may seek to adjust his immigration status to that of a lawful permanent resident, without leaving the country. To do so, the non-citizen must file a Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Form I-485), with USCIS.
Applications for adjustment of status, whether family-based or employment based, are generally delayed for issues related to background checks. I-485 applications that have been pending for over 14 months are generally good candidates for a petition for a Writ of Mandamus.
N-400 Naturalization applications
A lawful permanent resident may seek to become a naturalized citizen by filling out an Application for Naturalization, otherwise known as an N-400. To be eligible for naturalization, an applicant must establish two things: First, that they have “resided continuously, after being lawfully admitted for permanent residence, within the United States for at least five years . . . immediately preceding the date of filing the application;” and, second, that they are “a person of good moral character.”
Certain naturalization applications are delayed for extended backgrounds checks, or because USCIS believes that the applicant should not have received his or her Green Card in the first place.
A Writ of Mandamus is also appropriate when USCIS unreasonably delays adjudication of Form N-336, which is filed to appeal a denial of an application for naturalization.
I-130 Petitions
A United States citizen seeking to bring a non-citizen spouse to reside lawfully in the United States must file an I-130 petition on the spouse’s behalf requesting that USCIS formally recognize the relationship and classify the non-citizen spouse as an immediate relative.
Some I-130 petitions are unreasonably delayed by USCIS, causing separation of families.
Consular processing
Some immigrant Visa applicants must wait years, or even a decade or longer, before attending a Visa interview.
After a Visa interview, some applicants get placed into “administrative processing” for an indefinite amount of time while the Department of State supposedly “investigates” them.
N-600K Naturalization applications
The N-600K is an application for naturalization designed for minor children and grandchildren of U.S. citizens born abroad that did not acquire U.S. citizenship at birth.
Children and grandchildren of U.S. citizens residing abroad can apply for naturalization until they are still under 18 years of age. An extended USCIS delay can prevent them from becoming U.S. citizens.
How much does a Writ of Mandamus lawsuit cost?
I am proud to say that I am one of the very few lawyers that offer a reasonable flat fee to file a Mandamus petition. I generally charge a flat fee of $5,000 plus $500 in costs (court’s filing fee and service of process) for a Mandamus petition where the underlying application or petition is not affected by special problems, such as charges of misrepresentation or criminal records. My fee includes everything start to finish. I will not charge you any extra fee even if the government decides to litigate the case.
Why should you hire me?
There are hundreds of immigration attorneys specializing in Writ of Mandamus petitions across the United States. But unlike the vast majority of immigration attorneys, I have extensive experience litigating cases against the U.S. government.
Last August 2017, I tried a federal criminal case to verdict, obtaining an unprecedented “not guilty” jury verdict on all the felony counts of a cyber-crime related federal indictment. This was United States v. Gasperini, 894 F.3d 482 (2d Cir. 2018), where my client, Fabio Gasperini, was accused of running a global botnet for financial profit.
While this was not an immigration-related case, it proves that I don’t get intimidated when litigating cases against the U.S. government and that I will keep performing even under extreme stress. Gasperini risked up to 70 years in prison if convicted as charged.
Mandamus steps

Case study
I put time into your case

Case filing
I file your Mandamus case

Judicial action
I litigate your case

Case resolution
I work to close the case
Why should you hire me?

Experience
I am licensed in multiple States

Appeals
I have appellate experience

Habeas Corpus
I help clients in custody

Criminal Cases
I have trial experience
Areas of Practice
Learn about the various Writ of Mandamus cases I handle
Consular processing delays
Consular processing delays are the hardest to solve. There is no federal statute that provides for a specific processing time in consular processing cases, and courts have been reluctant to issue a Writ of Mandamus against consular officers.
To determine whether a visa applicant has sufficiently alleged that a U.S. consulate’s action has been “unreasonably delayed,” courts apply the familiar “TRAC” factors laid out in Telecommunications Research & Action Center v. FCC (“TRAC”), 750 F.2d 70, 80 (D.C. Cir. 1984):
- the time agencies take to make decisions must be governed by a rule of reason;
- where Congress has provided a timetable or other indication of the speed with which it expects the agency to proceed in the enabling statute, that statutory scheme may supply content for this rule of reason;
- delays that might be reasonable in the sphere of economic regulation are less tolerable when human health and welfare are at stake;
- the court should consider the effect of expediting delayed action on agency activities of a higher or competing priority;
- the court should also take into account the nature and extent of the interests prejudiced by delay; and
- the court need not find any impropriety lurking behind agency lassitude in order to hold that agency action is unreasonably delayed.
N-600K applications
N-600K applications are filed by U.S. citizens residing abroad to allow their minor children to become U.S. citizen through naturalization.
N-600K eligibility terminates when a child turns 18 years of age. This is also true when the adjudication of an N-600K application is delayed because of a USCIS error.
For example, in Gulotti v. Holder, 486 F. App'x 219, 220 (2d Cir. 2012), a U.S. citizen filed an N-600K application for a certificate of citizenship on his daughter's behalf. At the time her application for citizenship was filed, the daughter was 17 years old.
However, by the time USCIS adjudicated the application, the daughter had turned 18 and the federal court declined to order retroactive approval of the N-600K.
If your child is almost 18 and USCIS has not agreed to expedite your case, a Mandamus petition might be your only chance of getting your case approved.
I-129F petitions
I-129F petitions can be filed by a U.S. Citizen to sponsor a fiancee or a spouse with a pending I-130 petition.
The processing time for Form I-129F can vary from 6 to 10 months. In addition, ti could take many more months to get a consular interview.
When Can You File a Mandamus for a K-1 Visa?
You may be eligible to file a Writ of Mandamus if:
- Your K-1 petition (Form I-129F) was approved by USCIS but is stuck at the National Visa Center (NVC) or the U.S. embassy.
- Your case has been in administrative processing for several months with no updates.
- You’ve made multiple inquiries but received no meaningful response or timeline.
While there’s no fixed deadline, courts generally expect some patience — but delays of 6 months or more after the embassy interview or USCIS approval can be considered “unreasonable,” depending on your case.
Why Do K-1 Visas Get Delayed?
Some common reasons for K-1 delays include:
- Security checks or background reviews
- Missing documents or requests for evidence
- Administrative processing after interview
- Embassy backlogs
- Nationality of the beneficiary (for example, from a “high-fraud” or “high-risk” country)
Unfortunately, the government doesn’t always explain what’s going on — which is why many couples turn to mandamus lawsuits.
If the I-129F process gets stuck somewhere, whether at the USCIS or at a U.S. Consulate, you should consider a Mandamus petition.
I-130 petitions
The processing time of I-130 petitions has increased considerably in the past few years. In addition, U.S. Consulates abroad no longer adjudicate Form I-130 for U.S. citizens residing abroad.
When to Consider Filing a Mandamus Lawsuit
- You’ve waited over a year with no action on your I-130.
- You’ve exhausted other options (e.g., case inquiries, congressional help).
- You have evidence that the delay is unreasonable or harming you.
There is no strict timeline for adjudication of an I-130 by USCIS, but a delay may be considered unreasonable if:
- The I-130 has been pending over 1 year with no updates.
- Similar cases filed at the same time have already been processed.
- USCIS fails to act despite multiple service requests or inquiries.
If your I-130 petition in favor of your spouse, parent or minor child is stuck at USCIS without any progress, you may consider filing a Mandamus petition.
U.S. Citizenship
N-400 applications are generally processed much faster than I-485 Green Card applications.
How Long Should You Wait Before Considering Mandamus?
There’s no strict rule, but here are some common guidelines:
- More than 6–12 months after filing your N-400 without an interview notice;
- No updates on your case status despite inquiries or InfoPass appointments;
- Case is outside normal processing times posted on USCIS.gov;
- Delays due to FBI name checks, background checks, or other administrative holds.
Generally, if your case has been stuck for over a year without reasonable explanation, it's worth exploring mandamus.
Signs You Might Be a Good Candidate for Mandamus
- You’ve made multiple service requests or congressional inquiries — with no results;
- You have no criminal or immigration violations that would complicate your case;
- Your local field office is notoriously slow or backlogged;
- You need naturalization for urgent reasons (e.g., travel, benefits, family reunification).
Once your interview has taken place, USCIS has 120 calendar days to make a decision. If they don't, you can ask a Federal District Court to adjudicate your naturalization application.
Adjustment of Status
I-485 applications for Adjustment of Status are often delayed for problems related to background checks.
If you have file your I-485 application more than 1 year ago, it is possible that there is something holding up your case, and you will not get your case adjudicated for a long time, unless you file a Mandamus petition.
In some cases, a delay in adjudication of your I-485 could even cause severe delay if your immigrant category falls into retrogression, meaning it becomes no longer current after you filed your adjustment application.
Federal law provides that, to become a permanent resident through adjustment of status, your immigrant visa category must be “current” both at the time of filing and at the time of adjudication.