We are happy to report that we recently helped a client end his two year headache waiting for USCIS to decide his case.
Bosco is a lawful permanent resident who lives in Arizona.
He came to the United States as a refugee from Rwanda and later filed an I-730 petition for his spouse and his child on August 16, 2019.
The I-730 petition is a "follow-to-join" petition that lets the spouse and child (under the age of 21) of someone who receives asylum in the U.S. to come to the U.S. to be reunited with their family member.
Bosco had waited for 27 months for USCIS to decide the case.
We filed a mandamus lawsuit on Bosco's behalf in the federal court in Maryland. We asked a federal judge to order USCIS to decide the case quickly.
The court transferred the case to the federal court in Arizona where Bosco lives.
The government doesn't like it when we sue. And they sure do not want a federal judge ruling that they are taking too long in handling a case.
So the funny thing is that in most cases, USCIS gets to work. They pick the long-neglected case off the shelf and look at the case all over again.
When we file our lawsuits, things usually start moving quickly and that was true in Bosco's case.
Sometimes we get an approval.
Sometimes we get a denial.
And then sometimes we receive a request for evidence, a notice of intent to deny or a notice of intent to revoke.
Because that't the thing with lawsuits. We can't guarantee a particular outcome.
We think of the lawsuits as a fast-forward button.
We don't know what action the government is going to take. They do act in most cases, but we can't always predict what that response will be.
In Bosco's case, USCIS sent a request for evidence on both the wife's case and the child's case.
The agency asked Bosco to complete a Form I-590 for each beneficiary, as well as different birth certificates. They asked for updated relationship evidence and new passport-style photos.
Most importantly, USCIS also asked Bosco to explain why he had not listed his wife and child in his original refugee paperwork with the United Nations.
Bosco hired our office to assist with the response to the request for evidence. Andy Bloomberg and Haley Sante swung into action to help file a strong response.
We interviewed Bosco and prepared affidavits for him. We explained that his marriage and the birth of his son had occurred after he filed his paperwork with the UN.
On December 21, 2021, the long-pending I-730s for Bosco's wife and son were approved.
They are now on track to process with the State Department to get their travel paperwork to come to the U.S. and be reunited with Bosco in the U.S. !!!!
Obviously, we are thrilled for Bosco, his wife and his son. A mandamus lawsuit might be just the thing that you need to get your case back on track. It's not guaranteed to work but it might be your best shot to reunify with your family as quickly as possible.
