Anyone with a lawsuit against USCIS or thinking about a lawsuit (Merged)

cregan,
You will have to file for Writ of Mandamus because you didn't have your interview yet. Your name check is cleared so your case will be smooth.
You can use Example document for pending Naturalization (N-400) for sample complaint for delayed Naturalization case with no-interview. You will find appropriate codes and sections in the sample complaint. Good luck!

cregan said:
Filing law suit. Sick of this process. They are rediculos. I am trying to find code section to file under but kinda lost. Would appreciate any help on this. I have not had my interview and they will not tell me anything as they say to wait all the time. I know I can't file unde Sec 1447(b) as I did not have my interview. What section would be best in my case? Any sample WOM for before interview suing?
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waitingforgcard,
See the question at http://boards.immigration.com/showpost.php?p=1963192&postcount=17591 and subsequent responses for the eligibility for filing WOM. The question relates to Naturalization(N-400) but the it's relevant.
In short, there isn't a crisp number of months after which one becomes eligible to file WOM. It depends on a lot of factors as each case is different. Looks like your case is at local office because you already had your interview. I would write a letter to local USCIS district director and get their attention. Also what were you told in the interview?

This FBI background check excuse continues to be used by USCIS but it may be just that an excuse. I bet if you contact USCIS phone line or take another InfoPass you will hear something different.

Suing alone will not mess up your case if the case is approvable on its own merits. The purpose of suing is to make USCIS act on your application and give you a decision on the merits on the case. They should not deny your case in retaliation or on just their whim.

You could also write to the interviewing officer and request adjudication if your case is approvable as per the visa bulletin and new USCIS name check/background check policy.

If the above doesn't work, go for WOM. Or rather start working on the WOM now in case the above doesn't work out.

waitingforgcard said:
I am new to this please ignore my lack of knowledge about the subject.

I would like to know if I quality to file the lawsuite:

I filed I-485 in March 2007, it has been over 20 months, my case has still pending. I have had Interview in Feb 01 2008,yet no response.

Opened Several Inquries, wentforInfopass appointments, wrote letters to congressman, senators, and governor, all in vain.

Recently I hired a lawyer, who made an infopass apoitnment. She told me that my case has gone for fbi background check. This is a big "news" to me since for the last one and half year all the immigration officers that I have contacted have told me that my bacground checks are clear.

At this time I am very disappointed I am and not sure how long it will take, please advise if I should sue USCIS and if it has any chances of messing up my case?

I will appreciate your response
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jefkorn, you are amazing. Thank you so much. If I could hug you!!! Thank you. Will work on it tonight. Thank you to lazycis too.

I was going in circles and you pointed me in the right direction

:)
 
OMG, my lawyer told me that I will for certain loose if I file WOM as I didn't wait 3 years and there is no ground for me to file under. I am loosing my mind. I want to fire him. I am still filing as I am not waiting 3 years. He said these code section are non existant. I looked them up, they are real. What's his deal he must truly hate me

I'm crying right now, I so dislike this
 
cregan said:
OMG, my lawyer told me that I will for certain loose if I file WOM as I didn't wait 3 years and there is no ground for me to file under. I am loosing my mind. I want to fire him. I am still filing as I am not waiting 3 years. He said these code section are non existant. I looked them up, they are real. What's his deal he must truly hate me

I'm crying right now, I so dislike this
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I know a successful case in AZ for similar suit where the wait was less than 3 years so your lawyer is either untruthful or uneducated.
 
Thank you. I was so upset. I believe you. He put my father in a bad situation and now my dad is finding myself to wait a few years before his wife can move here. I made my dad change lawyer. Now it's my time. I appreciate you confirming my thoughts :)

Thank you for all of your posts :)
 
Dear jefkorn and lazycis,

I was wondering if you guys can give me some advice. I am thinking of starting to prepare a WOM case for my pending I-485 application. I know that if I sue I will win because my case is approvable (PD is current and name check is cleared according to last infopass visit and senator letter) but my employer has advised me that they don't want their employees to sue a government agency. In fact, my manager once told me that they may have to "let me go" if I sue USCIS. My question is, can they legally do that? Can an employer fire an employee for practicing his/her legal rights?
Also, will my company and/or my company hired immigration attorney (who has filed my green card application on my behalf) know that I have filed a WOM case if I do it quietly on my own? Will they receive any communication from the court?
I really appreciate your help.
__________________________________
I-485
PD: May 1st, 2000 (Labor Sub) - Rest of the World
I-485 RD: May 12th, 2006
Name Check cleared July 2008 according to Senator letter
 
crazy_frog,
I filed WOM pro se and never told my employer or even asked my employer's permission or support. They were never approached by the court or came to know about it. There was no RFE on my I-485. Also I was the contact person on my I-485 and there was no lawyer on file.
Looks like you do have a lawyer on file, the only communication he may be receiving would be either an RFE or decision on the I-485.
The employer will have to be actively looking to find out if you filed the lawsuit by using an online service like: http://cases.justia.com/federal/district-courts/
Also another possibility is that in the event of an RFE related to the employer, you may have to communicate with the lawyer/employer to gather the requested evidence. The RFE itself will not state that there's a lawsuit pending.
It's definitely illegal for the employer to prevent employees from exercising their legal right.

crazy_frog said:
Dear jefkorn and lazycis,

I was wondering if you guys can give me some advice. I am thinking of starting to prepare a WOM case for my pending I-485 application. I know that if I sue I will win because my case is approvable (PD is current and name check is cleared according to last infopass visit and senator letter) but my employer has advised me that they don't want their employees to sue a government agency. In fact, my manager once told me that they may have to "let me go" if I sue USCIS. My question is, can they legally do that? Can an employer fire an employee for practicing his/her legal rights?
Also, will my company and/or my company hired immigration attorney (who has filed my green card application on my behalf) know that I have filed a WOM case if I do it quietly on my own? Will they receive any communication from the court?
I really appreciate your help.
__________________________________
I-485
PD: May 1st, 2000 (Labor Sub) - Rest of the World
I-485 RD: May 12th, 2006
Name Check cleared July 2008 according to Senator letter
Click to expand...
 
crazy_frog,

I second Jefkorn's opinion. It's illegal for employer to fire you or to threat to fire only because you are going to exercise your constitutional right. What happened to the "justice for all"? The court cannot communicate with your employer regarding your case if employer is not one of the parties in a suit.
 
Thank you very much both. That's a big relief. You guys are great. I am going to read the Civil Pro Se package this weekend and will prepare the lawsuit documents. Sitting and waiting will take me nowhere.



lazycis said:
crazy_frog,

I second Jefkorn's opinion. It's illegal for employer to fire you or to threat to fire only because you are going to exercise your constitutional right. What happened to the "justice for all"? The court cannot communicate with your employer regarding your case if employer is not one of the parties in a suit.
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Hey crazy_frog,
You are welcome. I second you that waiting around "hoping" USCIS is not a good strategy, if you can call it that :) Remember success has a bias toward action.
crazy_frog said:
Thank you very much both. That's a big relief. You guys are great. I am going to read the Civil Pro Se package this weekend and will prepare the lawsuit documents. Sitting and waiting will take me nowhere.
Click to expand...
 
MTD denied, MA 1st circuit Natz N-400 Naturalization, no interview WOM

N-400 Naturalization applicant, no interview, name check still pending after almost two and half years. Defendants MTD was denied. Court does have jurisdiction over under APA and mandamus.

"This court disagrees with Defendants' interpretation and holds that the government has a nondiscretionary duty to act on applications by processing them. This duty is consistent with §555(b) of the APA, which requires that agency actions be completed within a reasonable time.

The purposes behind the APA and the Immigration Act of 1990 compel the conclusion that the government has a nondiscretionary duty to adjudicate naturalization applications. Under Defendants’ interpretation, the government could delay the adjudication of a naturalization application for the entire lifetime of an applicant, thereby effectively failing to adjudicate the application at all. At some point, such a delay would become an "unreasonabl[e] delay" under the APA. The government does not have the discretion, therefore, to delay adjudication of a naturalization application for an unreasonable length of time."

Download memorandum here.

JUSTIA link to the Litvin v. Chertoff et al.
 
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jefkorn, what does that mean? The legal terms are complicated.

I read some of those MTD denied, but I can't beleive that when we pay them for something we are eligible for they just keep our moeny and do not provide the service. I just want the opportunity to be interviewed. If I fail the test, oh well it's my fault at least I would have had the services I paid for.

Does it depend on the district you are in? how can I make my file/interview happen?
 
cregan said:
jefkorn, what does that mean? The legal terms are complicated.

I read some of those MTD denied, but I can't beleive that when we pay them for something we are eligible for they just keep our moeny and do not provide the service. I just want the opportunity to be interviewed. If I fail the test, oh well it's my fault at least I would have had the services I paid for.

Does it depend on the district you are in? how can I make my file/interview happen?
Click to expand...

It means that the court doesn't buy the justifications of the government (DHS, USCIS) that they have the right to keep the case open for however long they want. The court, in essence, is saying that after a certain amount of time, it becomes an "unreasonable delay" and must be adjudicated by USCIS.
 
cregan,

Mr Vertigo is right. I will try to explain what happens in a typical WOM, of course this is simplified version. The fed-up applicant(called Plaintiff) files a lawsuit by filing documents with the court. The main document that contains the allegations is called Complaint. The USCIS, DHS and company are the Defendants. When the plaintiff files the Complaint, an attorney employed by Govt. called Assistant US Attorney (AUSA) represents the Govt. agencies. After plaintiff files the Complaint, the AUSA (representing Defendants) will file documents called Motion to Dismiss (MTD). In the MTD, he/she will claim that court doesn't have power (jurisdiction) to hear the case so the case should be dismissed. Of course the plaintiff doesn't like his/her complaint to be dismissed. So plaintiff files another document (called Opposition to MTD) opposing the defendants' arguments. Now the court can rule by either agreeing with Defendants( this would be granting the MTD) or disagree with Defendants(denying MTD). In the case I posted, the court said that Defendants are wrong in asserting that court doesn't have the power to hear plaintiff's complaint. This means plaintiff survived the Defendants' initial attack. If MTD is denied, it's good news for the plaintiff. Now if defendants don't want to give up they can continue with later stages of the lawsuit, they can engage in discovery etc. Or they can get the plaintiff's N-400 adjudicated. If they do that, the plaintiff can dismiss the Complaint/Lawsuit because he/she received the relief sought in the Complaint.

To answer your question on getting the interview, you will be asking the court to compel USCIS to adjudicate your N-400 in a section of the Complaint document called Prayer (the last paragraph).
The court rulings on WOMs do vary from district to district.
 
Does anyone have a completed sample of Civil Cover Sheet? I'm really lost understanding all the judicial terms used in the form. Like ... "Cite the U.S. Civil Statute under which you are filing" ....
Why isn't there a space for plaintif's signature (I only see a space for attorney or record signature).
Also, who should I list as defendants (given that my NC is cleared and I don't want to sue FBI)?
 
crazy_frog,
Don't sweat it, you can find the statutes from your Complaint document. See this thread and responses.
http://boards.immigration.com/showpost.php?p=1946180&postcount=17306

See if the attached sample. You can sign yourself where it says attorney of record because you are representing yourself. I don't remember if I signed it or left it blank. Again you can also ask court clerk's office for procedural advice but they are not lawyers so do your own due diligence.
You don't have to provide complete list of defendants rather you can use first named defendant and followed by et. al. But the complete list of defendants should be on the Complaint document. If the file is pending at a service center, I would add DHS, USCIS, Service Center Director, Attorney General. In case of local office, add the local USCIS district director as well.

crazy_frog said:
Does anyone have a completed sample of Civil Cover Sheet? I'm really lost understanding all the judicial terms used in the form. Like ... "Cite the U.S. Civil Statute under which you are filing" ....
Why isn't there a space for plaintif's signature (I only see a space for attorney or record signature). You can skip FBI but I would still add DHS just in case there's something that comes up later where AUSA has to deal with DHS. If your NC is cleared, most probably AUSA will have to work with USCIS only.
Also, who should I list as defendants (given that my NC is cleared and I don't want to sue FBI)?
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How I won the 8 year battle for US citizenship

Hi everyone. I've been following this thread for a VERY long time.
Although I have not taken any legal action against USCIS, I've taken some pointers here and there and have implemented them and finally..


NOW I'M A US CITIZEN!

I've written a detailed info on how this was done... if you're interested:

http://www.freshsupercool.com/2008/11/21/how-i-won-the-8-year-battle-for-us-citizenship-part-1/

http://www.freshsupercool.com/2008/11/21/how-i-won-the-8-year-battle-for-us-citizenship-part-2/

http://www.freshsupercool.com/2008/11/21/how-i-won-the-8-year-battle-for-us-citizenship-part-3/

If you have any questions, please do not PM me here and leave comments on the blog.

Thanks and good luck to each and everyone.
 
Hi everyone. I've been following this thread for a VERY long time too... I have a question.
I had an infopass recently and inquire about my I485 ( Family based) status as it is (was) pending on background check (name check for a long time.. no need to mention how long), I was told that it came back and I have something in it. I was told The officer is currently reviewing it. I have a clean background record ( not even a speeding ticket). I don't know what is in there. Can I know what it is? and Would that hurt the I 485 app. finally, How long should I wait to get a decision

Thanks for all your help
 
crazy_frog WOM

A question about the summon letter:

I downloaded the summon letter from North Texas District court website (attached). I assume that for the first court visit I only need to fill out the first page, is that right?
Also, sincel I have 4 defendants (Secretary of DHS, USCIS Director, TSC Director and US Attorney General) I need to prepare 4 summon letters along with 4 copies of WOM complaint with all the exhibits.
I don't understand the questions asked on the 2nd page of Summon letter (Proof of Service). Please help.

Thanks.
 
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