Which delayed filings can you sue over?
Last updated 2026-10-01 · General information, not legal advice
A writ of mandamus is not particular about which form you filed — in principle it reaches anything a federal agency ought to decide and has not. But how long counts as unreasonable is different for every kind of filing: six months is already a long time for a work permit, while four years on an asylum case may still sit inside the normal range. Below, one type at a time.
Why the threshold moves with the filing
Courts do not measure unreasonable delay in a fixed number of days. They measure reasonableness. The same twelve months is plainly overdue on a work permit with a published processing time of four months, and unremarkable on an asylum application that was always going to take years.
So the threshold in months listed under each type below is our own rough line for whether a case is worth filing. It is not the same thing as the processing time USCIS publishes, and the two should not be read together. The published time says how far behind the agency currently is. The threshold says how long a wait has to get before a court starts to find it hard to justify.
221(g) consular administrative processing
For visa applicants stuck after the interview. Our threshold is 6 months, 12 to be solid. The defendant is the Secretary of State.
Delay guideHow to file a case inquiry
For any USCIS case past the published time: free, no lawyer, about ten minutes. The first step before Congress, the Ombudsman or a lawsuit.
Delay guideSix questions before you hire a lawyer
For anyone comparing lawyers at the 12-month line: how to tell who has done federal delay litigation, and what a flat fee should cover.
Delay guideHow to ask the CIS Ombudsman for help
Free, for anyone who has contacted USCIS and waited 60 days: the prerequisites, how to file DHS Form 7001, and where the office stands since March 2025.
Delay guideTen mandamus mistakes
For anyone about to file: the ten errors that cost months, from the wrong district to bad service. Thresholds start at 12 months for most USCIS forms.
Delay guideHow to contact your member of Congress
For any USCIS case past the published time. Whom to contact, how to sign the privacy release, what to send, how long it takes. Free.
Data pageData by form
Full tables and trends for 14 forms
Delay guideDS-260 / NVC immigrant visa
For immigrant visa applicants stalled at the NVC or waiting for an interview. Our threshold is 12 months in the stage you are stuck in.
Delay guideEB-1, EB-2, EB-3 employment green card
For employment-based I-485 applicants. Our threshold is 12 months once your priority date is current; a date behind the cut-off is the visa queue, and no court can move it.
Delay guideEB-5 investor petitions
For investors waiting on an I-526, I-526E or I-829. Our threshold is 12 months; the capital locked in the project is the harm.
Delay guideH-1B / L-1 employer petition
For workers and employers with a stalled I-129. Premium processing comes first; our mandamus threshold is 12 months pending at USCIS.
Delay guideI-130 family petition
For U.S. citizens and green card holders petitioning for a relative. Our threshold is 12 months from the Received Date; the category decides what a decision is worth.
Delay guideI-131 advance parole / re-entry permit
For people a pending travel document has locked inside the United States. Our threshold is 12 months.
Delay guideI-140 immigrant petition for workers
For beneficiaries and employers with a stalled I-140. Premium processing comes first; our mandamus threshold is 12 months pending.
Delay guideI-485 adjustment of status
Waiting in the U.S. for a green card. Our threshold is 12 months from the Received Date, once your priority date is current.
Delay guideI-589 asylum application
For affirmative asylum applicants waiting on a USCIS asylum office. Our threshold is 48 months; an interview with no decision is a different case.
Delay guideI-601A provisional waiver
For applicants waiting on a provisional unlawful presence waiver. Our threshold is 24 months.
Delay guideI-751 removal of conditions
Green card expired, living on an extension notice: a suit is worth reviewing once the Received Date is past the published I-751 time, or 90 days after an interview with no decision.
Delay guideI-765 work permit (EAD)
For anyone waiting on a first or renewal work permit. Our threshold is 6 months, half of what most forms need.
Delay guideMoving states and your field office
For anyone who moves with a case pending. Offices are assigned by ZIP code; the receipt date and the threshold for your form do not reset.
Delay guideN-400 naturalization
For naturalization applicants: 120 days after the interview under § 1447(b), or 12 months pending with no interview date.
Data pageField office data
I-485 and N-400 data and trends for 30 offices
Delay guideProcessing-time tables
I-485 across every field office, plus I-765, I-130, N-400 and the rest. Refreshed weekly.
Delay guideDoes an RFE reset your wait to zero?
For anyone handed a request for evidence mid-wait. The clock pauses on the RFE date and resumes when USCIS receives your response; your form's threshold (12 months for most) still runs from the Received Date.
Delay guideU visa / VAWA I-360
For U petitioners waiting on the bona fide determination (6 months) and VAWA self-petitioners (18–24 months). The suit is a public record, so safety comes first.
Delay guideWhen is it worth suing? Seven signs
For anyone unsure whether a stalled case is worth a lawsuit: the seven signs, and the 12-month line most USCIS forms use.
Your filing is not on the list?
The guides above cover the filings that stall most often, from the I-485 and the N-400 to the I-751, the I-131 and the EB-5 petitions. An N-600 certificate of citizenship, an I-539 change of status, an I-90 replacement card or a consular case at any NVC stage can go the same way. The test is the same two things: the wait has gone past what is reasonable, and you have been through the agency's own inquiry process once.
If you are not sure, ask. The review is free.
What every case has in common
Whatever the filing, the question comes down to one threshold, plus one thing worth doing:
- The threshold: the delay is no longer reasonable. You have waited longer than the published processing time, or you have reached the threshold in months for this kind of filing — either one is enough.
- The bonus: chase it administratively once. A case inquiry filed on the USCIS site, or an enquiry made by your member of Congress's office, with a record of it.
Once the threshold is met you can consider filing in the federal district court. The administrative inquiry is not a legal prerequisite — a case inquiry and a congressional enquiry are channels for talking to the agency, and a court generally will not turn you away for skipping them. But it is worth doing: sometimes it moves the case on its own, and either way it leaves a record that the agency had its chance and did not take it. The 60-second check works out where your receipt date puts you.
What mandamus does, and what it does not
What it does: it stops the agency holding your case indefinitely and requires a decision within a reasonable time. In practice agencies often finish the case shortly after being sued — the government has 60 days to respond once served, and a good number of cases produce a decision inside that window.
What it does not do: it does not have the court approve your application in the agency's place. A mandamus action produces a decision, not a particular outcome. No lawyer who follows the rules guarantees a result, and we do not either.