Immigration Delay Lawyer

Especially when it comes to establishing your legal permanent residence in the United States or obtaining the right to work here legally, delays in the immigration application process can be extremely detrimental to your future plans. Unfortunately, many applications filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) end up delayed due to case backlogs, a lack of information from the applicant, internal processing errors, and a variety of other reasons.

If you have been waiting for a decision on your immigration application for an unreasonable amount of time, a Doraville immigration delay lawyer may be able to help you speed the process up. Once you have identified the source of your delay, your diligent immigration attorney could work with you to remedy the problem and ensure you get a verdict on your case in a timely fashion. En Español.

What Commonly Causes USCIS Processing Delays?

Unfortunately, one of the most common reasons for delays in the immigration process is institutional rather than procedural. Since USCIS receives so many applications for visas, green cards, and naturalization every year, it can often take months for you to receive a final decision on your claim even when every part of the process is working smoothly.

In other situations, delays may stem from USCIS not having enough information to issue a decision on an application. For example, in order to be granted a visa based on a pre-existing familial relationship with a U.S. citizen, you may need to provide extensive proof of your relationship with your sponsoring relative in addition to other required documentation. Likewise, some types of visas require multiple forms to be filed, and a missing form—or even a single missed line item on a form—could lead to problems during processing.

Issues with an applicant’s immigration and criminal history can often cause significant delays as well, ones that often require help from seasoned immigration delay attorneys in Doraville to remedy. Finally, it may be the case that an immigration application has gotten stuck in the USCIS system somewhere due to a mistake or misfiling.

Options for Alleviating Delays

The right strategy for getting an immigration application through the labyrinthine USCIS processing system can vary a lot depending on the circumstances. Fortunately, the best course of action in many situations is simply following up with USCIS through its online portal, telephone hotline, or ombudsman to ensure someone checks up on the application in question and gets it moving again.

Unfortunately, sometimes delays become so prolonged—and follow-ups result in so little action—that external legal action becomes necessary. In addition to helping identify the root cause of an immigration delay, a qualified Doraville lawyer may also be able to interact directly with USCIS on your behalf to find out what happens to their application.

As a last resort, you could pursue what is known as a petition for writ of mandamus, which is essentially a lawsuit against USCIS asking a court to compel the agency to speed up their processing of a particular application. However, this option can be awfully expensive to pursue, and it is virtually impossible to achieve a successful case outcome without help from experienced legal counsel.

Work with a Doraville Immigration Delay Attorney

Importantly, taking action against a processing delay for an immigration application does not increase, decrease, or affect in any way the odds of that application being approved. However, getting a final decision one way or the other can be a source of great relief, as it allows you to move forward with future plans instead of waiting in limbo for months or even years.

If you need help getting USCIS to make a decision on your long-delayed application, a Doraville immigration delay lawyer should be able to help. Get in touch today to set up a consultation and discuss your unique circumstances.