I agree but then what other choice do we have. If you see other threads, people are still filling. It is just that now they have to be prepared to fight till the end. It is helping them indirectly as USCIS starts working on their case, they may not expedite it but then start working.
What do you think?
http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrele...eChk022007.pdf
IMMHO, I don't think this press release matters - at least for valid WOM cases. Others are seeing action from the USCIS because once you do file the WOM, and you have a valid case, the court really won't care about press releases.
You'll include both USDHS and USDOJ in the WOM complaint. So even if USCIS doesn't prod the FBI, the federal court will. (assuming you do have a valid case).
Also, in the Mandamus Complaint, you won't be requesting an 'expedite', you'll be praying for injunctive relief and declaratory judgement i.e. a decision.
What the press release takes away from petitioners is the argument that USCIS itself 'offers' the Mandamus Complaint as a mechanism for expediting cases - so you need to build your case and wait the 'appropriate' length of time. You can't decide that a 3 month wait is too long, start sending letters all over the place, file a Mandamus complaint at 6 months and then expect a resolution.
The press release also says that the '...USCIS will not _routinely_ expedite...'. In other words, if there is a valid case for an expedite, they will - just not every case.
So, if you have a valid case, don't worry about the press release.
I am one of those who recently got my approval after serving both USCIS and USDOJ notice of a pending Mandamus complaint. I dropped a draft copy of the complaint in an envelope, added a cover letter with my case details, indicated that I had been waiting over 1000 days, that I'd rather not take up valueable DHS and DOJ resources by filing with the court, but if my applicaiton was not processed in 30 days, I would add this attempt at getting my applicaiton approved to the complaint and file it with the federal district court.
About 45 days later, I received a phone call telling me that my case was approved. As phone calls aren't the usual mode of notification, I figure that it was receiving a draft copy of the complaint that got my case moving.
Pankaj, you can file the WOM tomorrow if you want, but in order to be succesful, you need to show the court that you have indeed exhausted all your administrative remedies, that you feel that your case has fallen through the cracks and that only the court can get it moving. If the USCIS can show that a reasonable percentage of the cases are taking over a year to process and you file a WOM at 1 year, the judge is probably going to side with the USCIS and ask you to wait.
WOM is one of these odd things. The longer you wait, the more evidence you have (letters, infopass notices, FOIPA responses etc), but the less evidence you need to prove your case. E.g. If you've been waiting 4-5 years, the court doesn't need that much proof to know that it needs to step in, but if you try to get the court involved within 1 year, it'll need to know why you even think 1 year is an unreasonable amount of time to process your permanent residence. If you can't convince the court that <however long you've been waiting> is an inordinate and arbitrary delay and that you are one of the 0.1% of the people whose file seems to be lost in the twilight zone, your letters to senators etc won't matter. First you need to convince a judge that your application is stuck. Second, that when you realized that your application was stuck, you still gave USCIS a couple of months before you started following up via the normal administrative channels (infopass, 800 phone number), slowly escalating to non-normal channels (congressperson, senator), direct to the FBI (FOIPA), request for expedite to the USCIS (letter to USCIS) and finally notifying your Intent to file WOM complaint (send draft to USCIS and US Attorney). Now you can tell the court that as you have nowhere else to go, and that by now, your application has been pending over 1.5 years - can the court please step in. IMO 1.5 years is a defensible timeline (it normally takes 6 months to process AOS, waited another 6 months for resolution, spent the next 6 months escalating via various channels and then finally filing WOM)
Pankaj, it sucks to wait - but if your case is indeed stuck, no press release from USCIS can take away your right to file a Mandamus complaint.
In reading other threads here, there seems to be a new security check system in place for the last month or so. Lets hope this reduces the security related delays.
Good Luck
I always advise people to write letters each other week to the USCIS, inquire about their case, have documentation of their attempts to resolve their predicament with USCIS before taking the govt to court.