Mandamus

Our client hired us after his green card application had been approved but he had not received his green card.  He had tried everything on his own but two years later he still did not have the actual green card.  We filed a mandamus with federal court in the Eastern District of New York.  Within two months of filing, our client received his green card.  Scott Bratton handled the case.

Our client hired Margaret Wong & Associates after his adjustment of status application had been pending over two years.  We filed a mandamus action in federal court in New York arguing that the delay was unreasonable.  Within 3 months of filing, our client received his green card.  Scott Bratton handled the case.

One of our clients, a national of the Philippines national was one of our beginning clients from the mid 1980's. He moved away and lost contact with our firm. When he returned he had a final order of deportation. Our firm went to work and convinced the Government attorneys to reopen his case because he was eligible to receive a green card based upon an approved I-130 visa petition by his United States Citizen Daughter. The DHS agreed to reopen the case and terminate so he could receive his green card through the USCIS. Attorney Jason Lorenzon attended his interview in New York in fall of 2009. The officer stated that they were waiting for a file. After several months of working the USCIS, Mr. Lorenzon finally encouraged our client to file a Mandamus action wherein a person sues the government in federal court to take action on a pending application. Mr. Lorenzon filed an action in district court. Because of this action, the government approved our client's adjustment of status application and approved his green card! After waiting almost 30 years for a green card, our client is finally a lawful permanent resident of the United States!  

Our client contacted us after his adjustment of status application had been pending for over two years. We filed a mandamus action requesting the Court to order CIS to promptly issue a decision in the case. Within one and a half months of filing, the adjustment of status application was approved. Scott Bratton handled the case.

An Albanian national entered on a V visa many years a go. He attempted to renew his V- visa and apply for adjustment of status by himself. The USCIS responded by denying his V visa stating that since he had a pending I-485 application, he did not have to renew his V-visa. The USCIS ultimately denied his I-485 (green card) application because he was not in status. When the green card application was denied, he was placed into deportation proceedings. Our team went to work and Lori Pinjuh and Scott Bratton filed a Mandamus action, (suing the government) to restate the client's V-visa status. On the other hand, our client was facing deportation proceedings, attorney Jason Lorenzon represented our client in immigration court by delaying his hearing. In the meantime, the Government in the mandamus action settled the matter by reinstating his V- Visa status. Jason Lorenzon filed a motion to terminate which was met with opposition in immigration court from the Government Attorney. After 15 days, the Judge ruled in our client's favor and the deportation case was terminated. An adjustment of status application was filed with USCIS, Attorney Scott Bratton attended the interview and skillfully presented the timeline to the USCIS officer and our client received his green card shortly after the interview. Our client is able to remain here in the United States with his entire family!

Our client hired us after her adjustment of status application was pending for over seven years. We recommended filing a mandamus action in federal court in Georgia. We filed the mandamus with the Court and worked with the United States Attorney's Office. In December 2009, we received the excellent news that the adjustment of status application had been approved. This was approved within a short time of filing the mandamus. Scott Bratton handled the case.

Our client hired our firm after his family's I-824 petitions had been pending a long period of time. We filed Mandamus in federal court and were able to get the I-824 petitions quickly approved. This will allow the family to proceed on the case and come to the United States. Scott Bratton handled the case. Scott Bratton handled the case.

Our client's mother had filed an I-130 on behalf of her minor son. The petition was approved in 1998 in the family 2A category. Our client, minor child (an Albanian citizen), entered the U.S., in a V-2 visa valid until May 11, 2002. He turned age 21 on May 12, 2002. Late, he filed pro se an Application to Register Permanent Residence, I-485, based on an interpretation of Child Status Protection Act. CIS denied the application explaining that he no longer qualified as a "child" under CSPA. At the time of the denial, he was in V-2 status. In the denial CIS stated that there was no visa available in that category. Our client misunderstood this information and waited for an immigrant visa to become available in order to re-file his I-485 Application without having to do anything else to maintain status. He had extended his V-2 until 2007 and did not file for extension after that. He later re-filed the I-485 when the immigrant visa became available; after he had left his V-2 status expire for more than 180 days. His later I-485 application was denied because he did not maintain his status. He was put in removal proceedings. Thereafter, he hired Margaret Wong & Assoc., who helped him file an I-539 application for extension of V-2 and requested a nunc pro tunc adjudication , asking CIS to exercise its discretion to provide backdated approval of V-2 status from 2007 to 2009. CIS denied the I-539. Our office filed a mandamus with the federal court. The V-2 status was approved from 2007 to October, 2009 and our client is now eligible to adjust his status under section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Lori Pinjuh and Scott Bratton handled this case on behalf of Margaret Wong & Assoc., Co., LPA

One of our cases a mandamus action was filed by Scott Bratton and Lori Pinjuh and the U.S. Attorney agreed to extend the V2 Visas status of one of our clients who is in deportation proceedings as a result of an erroneously issued denial. Because of this earlier denial, our client was unable to adjust status. Now he is in legal status, and our attorney Jason Lorenzon in open court, filed a Motion to Terminate Proceedings and argued that our client is in legal status and the motion should be granted. The Immigration Judge accepted the motion and only gave the government 10 days, the shortest time permitted by law to respond and stated that even if the government disagrees with the motion to terminate, that means that she does not have to agree with them and probably will not agree with them. Once the motion to terminate is granted, a visa number is available for our client and our client will be able to apply for adjustment of status and receive his green card.

Our clients from Colombia hired us after their adjustment of status applications had been pending over five years. They had been granted asylum and applied for adjustment of status on this ground. We led a mandamus action in US District Court to compel USCIS to adjudicate the cases. USCIS then issued a request for evidence and scheduled an interview. After the interview, our clients' adjustment of status applications were approved within one week. Scott Bratton handled the case.

Our client, an Iranian citizen, had applied for adjustment of status in March 2006. She came in the US in 1998. She did her internship and residency in internal medicine, and also completed her fellowship and Master Degree. Her employer, a School of Medicine from a well known university in US, filed an H-1B on her behalf. Later they also filed an I-140 (Immigrant Worker visa) for her under EB-2 category for Member of a Profession with an Advanced Degree or Exceptional Ability. When she hired our office in late 2007, her I-485 Application to Adjust Status had been pending for more than 1 year. She had placed inquiries with CIS and asked for help from a Senator's office but her case remained pending well beyond the stated processing time. CIS had responded that they were performing additional review on the case and this had caused a longer processing time. The delay had caused significant hardship because she could not apply for grants that would provide her with the opportunity to research important issues related to her medical field and she was also required to obtain advance parole to travel. Our office filed a complaint with the US District Court (Mandamus) praying that the Court compel CIS to perform its duty to adjudicate her application. Our office argued that our client had a clear right to have her adjustment of status adjudicated in a timely manner and the adjudication was a ministerial task that CIS must perform within a reasonable period of time. We won the case and our client was granted her Green Card in 2008. Scott Bratton represented this case for our office

Our office was retained by a native and citizen of Czech Republic to follow up with his I-130 and I-485 applications which had been pending for more than 3 years because of the delay of name and fingerprint checks with FBI. Our client had married a US Citizen who filed I-130 and I-485 applications to allow him to become a lawful permanent resident of the USA. Our office filed a complaint with Federal Court (Mandamus) praying that the Court compel the defendants (CIS District Director, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, the Attorney General, and the Director of the FBI) to immediately take all actions necessary to adjudicate these applications within 60 days of the Court's order. The Court assumed jurisdiction of this cause and after hearing our arguments declared that the delay in adjudicating I-130 and I-485 applications was unreasonable and that the defendants must perform their duties as required under applicable statutes and regulations relating to adjudication of both applications. Our client's applications were then adjudicated in a timely manner by CIS and he was granted permanent residency. This case was handled by Scott Bratton.

We were retained to file a mandamus for a Chinese client, his wife and two children. They had been granted Asylum in 1997. In August 1998 he had filed an I-485 petition (to adjust status to permanent resident) and later, in June 2000, I-485 petitions were also filed for his wife and two children. Their case was pending for nine years for our client and for seven years for his family. On September 11, 2007 we filed a writ of Mandamus for him and one week later we filed Mandamus for his family. In October 2007, one month after filing mandamus, we were called from the US Attorney Office and were told that the I-485 had just been approved. We were asked to withdraw the case, since the petitions had been approved, and so we did. Our clients finally received their green cards. This case was handled by our attorney, Scott Bratton.

In January 2008, we were able to get approvals on several mandamus cases we filed in New York. The purpose of the filings was to compel CIS to adjudicate pending petitions. Scott Bratton handled these cases.

Late last year, we filed a mandamus action in Chicago in a case where our client's husband filed an I-130 on her behalf. We needed an I-130 approval to allow our client to adjust with the Immigration Court. However, CIS in Chicago refused to adjudicate the I-130 claiming they lacked jurisdiction. The case was administratively closed. We filed a complaint seeking adjudication of the I-130. In January 2008, the I-130 was approved. This will allow our client to adjust status. Scott Bratton handled the case for Margaret Wong & Associates.

Our client came to us because his family's immigrant visa processing had been delayed in Pakistan. The basis for the delay was unclear. We filed a Complaint in federal court seeking to compel the State Department to adjudicate the pending applications. In November 2007, the cases were approved and the family has been reunited in the United States. Scott Bratton handled the case for Margaret Wong & Associates. 

Our client hired us to file a mandamus case after his adjustment of status application had been pending for two years. We filed a Complaint in the United States District Court in Cleveland, Ohio seeking to compel CIS to adjudicate the pending adjustment of status application. The Government responded by filing a motion to dismiss the Complaint alleging that the Court lacked jurisdiction to grant the relief requested. We filed a response arguing that the Court does have jurisdiction over the case. The Court then issued an Order agreeing that it had jurisdiction over the claims we raised in the Complaint. See Shah v. Hansen, 2007 WL 3232353 (N.D.Ohio 2007). Within a month of this decision, our client received his green card. Scott Bratton handled the case for Margaret Wong & Associates Co., LPA. 

Our client had a criminal conviction from 1998 for drug abuse. Our office filed a Motion to Vacate his Plea which was granted in 2005. After representing our client again on the drug charge, our client's drug charge was reduced to Disorderly Conduct. At the conclusion of the criminal case, our client filed his application for permanent residence. After the application had been pending nearly 11 months with no decision, our firm filed a Writ of Mandamus in the United States District Court, Western District of Kentucky. USCIS responded by requesting our client file a waiver for unlawful presence in the United States. Our firm responded to that request by filing a brief arguing that our client did not need a waiver as he had not accrued the requisite period of unlawful presence. Approximately three weeks later, our client's application was approved and he received his green card. Troy Murphy and Scott Bratton handled this case for our firm.
 

After our clients’ I-485 applications had been pending for over three years without an interview, we recommended filing a mandamus case in federal court to compel CIS to issue a decision on the pending I-485 applications.  After we filed in federal court, CIS issued a notice of intent to revoke the previously approved I-140.  We prepared a thorough response to the notice and CIS agreed that the I-140 had been properly approved.  The case was then scheduled for an interview on the I-485 applications.  After the interview, both cases were approved. This is another instance where filing in federal court expedited the resolution of the case.  Scott Bratton handled the case for Margaret Wong & Associates.

We were hired to handle a deportation case that had been pending for several years.  Another attorney had been handling the case.  At the hearing, we argued that our client was not properly in deportation proceedings and that he was eligible to adjust status with CIS.  We asked that proceedings be terminated.  The Immigration Judge agreed with our argument and terminated proceedings.  Scott Bratton handled the case for Margaret Wong & Associates.

Our client hired us to file a mandamus case after her application for adjustment of status had been pending for approximately one and a half years.  We filed the complaint in federal court in Pittsburgh and requested that CIS adjudicate the adjustment of status case.  The Government filed a Motion to Dismiss and we filed a response arguing that the Court had jurisdiction over the case.  The Court issued a written decision in which the Judge agreed that the federal court had jurisdiction to determine whether the delay was reasonable.  After a hearing on the case and several discussions with Government counsel, our client’s application for adjustment of status was approved in May 2007.  Scott Bratton handled the case. 

Our client retained us after his application for adjustment of status had been pending for well past the normal processing time.  We filed a complaint in federal court in St. Louis asking the Judge to compel CIS to adjudicate the application.  The Government filed a motion to dismiss and we filed a response arguing that the federal court had jurisdiction over the case.  After working with Government counsel, we received an approval of our client’s adjustment of status application in May 2007.  Scott Bratton represented our client.

Our client, who was preparing to attend college in the fall, retained our firm at the end of February 2007 to file a mandamus action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio because her adjustment of status application had been pending over four years.  She needed her case approved by May 2007 to be accepted to several prestigious universities.  We filed a Complaint in federal court seeking to compel CIS to adjudicate the application for adjustment of status, which had been held up by background checks.  In April 2007, CIS granted the adjustment of status application.  Our client will now be able to attend the college of her choice.  Scott Bratton handled the case for Margaret Wong & Associates.

A mother and her three daughters retained our firm in late 2006 to file their I-130 and I-485 applications.  Our office assisted the mother and the youngest two daughters in getting their I-130 and I-485 approved, attending the interviews in Charlotte, NC.  However, the oldest daughter’s application was misplaced and no interview date set despite the fact she was aging out in two weeks.  Our office filed a Mandamus action in the United States District Court, Western District of North Carolina, to compel USCIS to adjudicate the application before our client aged out.  USCIS called our office the day after receiving our Complaint and immediately scheduled the interview on the applications.  Our office accompanied the last client from this family to her interview in Charlotte as well.  Her applications were approved two days before aging out.  Troy Murphy and Scott Bratton represented this family for our firm.

Margaret Wong and Associates was retained to file adjustment of status applications for a husband and wife with US CIS.  They were filed in 2002.  Despite numerous inquiries, the cases remained pending.  We then decided to file a Complaint in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio seeking to compel US CIS to adjudicate the adjustment of status applications.  Within two weeks of filing, our clients received notice that their applications for adjustment of status had been approved.  Scott Bratton handled the case for Margaret Wong & Associates.

Our clients retained us to file their I-485 applications.  The applications were filed with the Texas Service Center.  When the applications were not ruled upon due to a delay in completion of the background checks, our office filed a Complaint with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.  Within 45 days of filing the Complaint, our clients’ adjustment of status applications were approved.  Scott Bratton handled the case for Margaret Wong & Associates. Jackie Tong also worked on this case.

Margaret Wong and Associates filed an H-1B petition on behalf of our client in 2005.  However, the case was pending for a long period of time with US CIS for a number of reasons.  We suggested our client file a Complaint in federal court to compel US CIS to adjudicate the application.  We then filed the Complaint on behalf of our client.  Shortly after filing the Complaint, our office received word that the H-1B petition had been approved.  Scott Bratton and Lori Pinjuh handled the case for Margaret Wong and Associates.

Our client retained Margaret Wong and Associates to handle the filing of his adjustment of status application.  The application was based on an approved labor certification and I-140.  Due to a problem with the security checks, the case was pending for a long period of time.  While the case was pending, our client changed employers.  We argued that his new position was a similar position as his old job under AC21, which would allow him to proceed with his adjustment of status application without filing a new labor certification and I-140.  After an extensive interview and our submission of a brief and documentation on the issue, US CIS agreed and granted our client’s adjustment of status application.  Scott Bratton and Jackie Tong handled the case for Margaret Wong and Associates.

We were hired by a client after his adjustment of status application had been pending over two years.  We filed a Complaint in the U.S. District Court in Columbus, Ohio seeking to compel CIS to adjudicate the adjustment of status application.  Within two weeks of filing the Complaint, our client’s adjustment of status application was approved.  Scott Bratton handled the case for Margaret Wong & Associates.

When our client retained our firm, her application for adjustment of status had been pending for several years.  This was based on asylum.  Her adjustment of status case had not yet been approved despite the fact that her mother’s case and her brother’s case were approved.  Our office filed a Complaint with the United States District Court seeking to compel them to adjudicate the adjustment of status application.  Within 90 days of filing the Complaint, the adjustment of status application was approved.  Scott Bratton handled the case.

Our client came to our office after his naturalization application had been pending for one year.  Although he was interviewed, his case could not be approved because the background checks were not completed.  Despite our client’s many trips to CIS to determine the status of the case, our client was always advised that the case could not be approved until background checks were completed.  We filed a Complaint in federal court requesting immediate adjudication of the naturalization application since it had been more than 120 days since the interview.  After a hearing with the federal court judge, the judge entered an order stating that CIS should adjudicate the naturalization application as quickly as possible and that CIS must report in writing within a set time period to update the court on the status of the case.  Soon thereafter, our client’s naturalization application was approved.  Scott Bratton handled the case.

Margaret Wong & Associates was retained to assist our client to expedite her naturalization case.  The case was pending over one year and it had been more than 120 days since the interview.  The delay was caused by a name check that had not been completed.  We filed a Complaint in the United States District Court requesting immediate adjudication of the naturalization application.  After we filed the Complaint, the naturalization application was approved.  Scott Bratton represented our client.

Our office was retained to assist our clients in obtaining permanent resident status.  After the applications had been pending for a long time, we recommended filing a lawsuit in federal court.  We filed a Complaint with the United States District Court in Dallas, Texas requesting that the federal court compel CIS to adjudicate the adjustment of status applications.  Soon thereafter, the adjustment of status applications were approved.  Scott Bratton handled the case for Margaret Wong and Associates.