28 U.S.C. § 1361
Writ of mandamus
Asks the court to order an agency to perform a duty it owes you. It compels a decision — never a particular decision. Anyone who promises you an approval through mandamus is selling something.
Immigration law · Washington, D.C. · Practicing nationwide
Detained in another state. Filed at a service center you will never visit. Still waiting.
Immigration law is federal, which means the lawyer does not have to be in your city — but the case does have to be moved by someone who knows which agency, which court, and which deadline is the one that matters.
Detention & bond · Removal defense · Employment-based petitions
Family-based petitions · Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
Writ of mandamus, habeas corpus and APA claims in federal court
Free consultation. Detention emergencies answered nights and weekends.
The part most people are never told
When the agency track stops moving, there is a second track.
Almost every immigration case runs on the first rail below: file, wait, wait more, call a hotline that tells you the case is "actively being reviewed." Most people believe that rail is the only one. It isn't. Federal district court is a separate rail, and it has deadlines the agency cannot ignore.
Track 1 — the agency
USCIS, ICE, EOIR, the Department of State
Runs on internal processing times and no enforceable deadline. Service requests and congressional inquiries are worth trying, and they frequently produce the same answer twice.
Petition filedI-130 · I-140 · I-360 · I-485 · I-589 · N-400
Receipt noticeCase number issued, clock starts
Biometrics, RFE, interviewOr none of these, for months
"Actively being reviewed"Months past posted processing times. No deadline. No appeal from silence.
Decision — eventuallyTiming entirely at the agency's discretion
This is the jump. This is the jump. Once a delay is unreasonable, you are no longer asking the agency for a favor — you are asking a federal judge to order it to act.
Track 2 — federal district court
The rail with actual deadlines
A civil complaint against the agency and its officials. The government's time to respond is set by rule, not by a processing queue, and the case lands on a judge's docket with a number and a schedule.
Complaint filedMandamus, APA, habeas, or § 1447(b)
Service on the U.S. AttorneyAgency counsel is now assigned to your file by name
Government's response deadlineFixed by the federal rules, typically 60 days
Adjudication or court orderMany cases are decided by the agency before an answer is ever filed
5 U.S.C. §§ 555(b), 706(1)
APA unreasonable delay
The Administrative Procedure Act requires agencies to conclude matters within a reasonable time. Courts weigh the length of the delay, the agency's own published timelines, and the human consequences of waiting.
8 U.S.C. § 1447(b)
Naturalization delay
The one hard number in the system: if USCIS has not decided your N-400 within 120 days of the examination, a district court may take the case and decide it, or send it back with instructions.
28 U.S.C. § 2241
Habeas corpus
For prolonged or unlawful immigration detention, including detention without a bond hearing. Filed in the district where the person is held, which is why the facility matters as much as the case.
Practice areas
What we handle, from the emergency to the ten-year plan.
Detention cases move in hours. Petitions move in years. The same firm should be able to do both, because they are usually the same family.
Emergency
Detention & bond
The first 72 hours after an ICE arrest shape everything that follows. Facilities transfer people across state lines quickly, and the wrong signature can end a case before it starts.
Defense
Removal & deportation defense
Representation before the immigration courts nationwide and on appeal, from the first master calendar hearing through the Board of Immigration Appeals.
Employment
Employment-based immigration
For workers, researchers, founders and the employers sponsoring them — built around the priority date, not the filing date.
Family
Family-based immigration
Petitions for spouses, children, parents and siblings, including the waiver work that decides whether a case can be finished inside the country or outside it.
Children
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
A two-court process: a state juvenile, family or probate court makes the predicate findings, and USCIS decides the petition. Both halves have to be built to fit each other.
Federal court
Federal immigration litigation
When the agency will not act, or acted unlawfully, the case moves to an Article III judge — the practice area most immigration firms refer out.
Nationwide practice
Based in Washington. Appearing wherever your case actually sits.
Immigration is federal law, so a lawyer admitted in one jurisdiction can represent you before the immigration agencies anywhere in the United States. Being in D.C. is not a coincidence — the agencies, the Board and a very active federal district court are all here.
Immigration agencies and courts
- Immigration courts (EOIR) nationwide, in person and by video
- Board of Immigration Appeals, Falls Church, Virginia
- USCIS field offices, service centers, and the National Benefits Center
- ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations field offices and detention facilities
- Department of State consular posts and the National Visa Center
- Department of Labor, for PERM and prevailing wage matters
Federal courts
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, 333 Constitution Avenue NW
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
- U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
- Other U.S. district courts by admission or pro hac vice, case by case
- U.S. Courts of Appeals, on petitions for review of BIA decisions
- Venue analysis before filing — where you file often decides how fast you finish
Free consultation
Tell us where the case is stuck.
The first conversation costs nothing and comes with no obligation. If your case is not ready for federal court, or if waiting is genuinely the better move, we will say that instead of selling you a filing.
Detention emergencies — answered 24/7
((877) 514-6707Calling about someone in custody? Have their full legal name, date of birth, country of birth, and A-number if you know it. Do not let anyone sign a removal or voluntary departure form before you speak with a lawyer.
Questions we answer every day
Plain answers, before you hire anyone.
Yes. Immigration law is federal, and an attorney admitted and in good standing in any U.S. jurisdiction may represent clients before USCIS, ICE, the immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals anywhere in the country. Immigration court hearings are widely held by video and telephone. Federal district court is the one exception: there we appear where we are admitted, or seek admission pro hac vice for that district.