Announcing Our Federal District Court Litigation Practice

You did everything the immigration system asked of you. You filed on time. You paid the fees. You sent the additional evidence when the request came. And then, you heard nothing, for months, for a year, maybe even several years. Or maybe someone you love is in immigration detention when they, by law, should not be. You do not know how to help them get out. In both cases, you or someone close to you got stuck and saw no way forward. We know, because our immigration lawyers and support staff have walked beside clients in both of these moments for years. 

When you or a family member gets stuck in the immigration agency system, you have the option to take the case to federal district court and find relief there. That option is becoming more and more important. Immigration lawyers all over the country are witnessing the rapid growth of an immigration system that leaves more and more people waiting endlessly for a decision, or detained, for reasons no government immigration agency explains. That is why we have chosen to expand our services.

We are now offering federal district court litigation as a dedicated practice area.

Our new federal litigation department gives our clients a path forward when the administrative system has stalled, gone silent, or detained someone who should be free. We are focusing on two core case types:

• Mandamus actions for agency delay—to compel U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to act on cases that have been unreasonably delayed.
• Habeas corpus petitions challenging immigration detention—for people in immigration detention who may have been detained unlawfully.

What “federal district court litigation” means

Most of what immigration law involves happens inside a federal agency, such as USCIS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the immigration courts (EOIR/DOJ). These are administrative bodies. They follow their own procedures and their own timelines. When those systems fail, the people caught inside them have very little leverage to make them move. 

A federal district court is different. It is part of the federal judiciary, the same court system that hears any other federal lawsuit. A federal district court immigration lawyer files cases in that court when a client’s rights have stopped being protected within the immigration agency system. A federal court has the power to order an agency to do its job, to release someone from detention, or to declare that a delay has crossed a fundamental legal line and violated a person’s rights under the law.

Federal court is not, or not only, a last resort. For some types of cases, it is simply the right legal option. In some cases, using the option of going to federal district court earlier rather than later can change the entire trajectory of a client’s life.

Mandamus actions challenge agency delay

A mandamus action is a federal lawsuit asking the court to order a federal agency to make a decision on a case that has been sitting too long. The lawsuit does not ask the federal district court to decide whether your petition should be granted. It asks the court to require the agency to do what it is already legally required to do: issue a decision on the application. Our immigration lawyers can assist with delays involving, among other: 

• Adjustment of status applications.
• Naturalization applications. 
• I-130, I-140, I-360, and I-485 adjudications. (Relative petitions, Employment-based petitions, VAWA and SIJS-based petitions and adjustment of status applications.
• I-765 Employment authorization (EAD) or I-131 advance parole where delay is tethered to a delayed underlying application.
• Asylum applications (pre-interview or post-interview).

Mandamus is appropriate when the delay is unreasonable. What counts as unreasonable depends on the facts. Our highly experienced immigration lawyers will systematically and thoroughly analyze the type of case, the published processing times, what has already been submitted, and what is actually causing the delay. When our analysis points toward federal district court, we will file. When it does not, we tell you that, and explain why, in terms you can understand and with compassion.

Habeas corpus petitions challenge immigration detention

A habeas corpus petition asks a federal court to examine whether someone’s detention is lawful. A habeas petition can help, for example, when a person has been held in custody longer than the law allows, when there is no clear legal basis for continued detention, or when the conditions of detention violate the Constitution or federal statutes. Among other, we can help detainees seek relief for claims involving:

• Prolonged detention.
• Post-order re-detention.
• Pre-removal order detention.
• Transfer-based habeas claims.
• Detention of unaccompanied children.
• Bond hearings denials.

Habeas work is urgent by definition. Our team of immigration lawyers and support staff is fully prepared to work under such conditions. We can evaluate quickly, file with care, and stay close to the family throughout.

Why we are launching this now

The answer is that we are increasingly seeing federal district court litigation as the only effective path to ensuring the rights of non-citizens in certain cases. Unfortunately, the number of those cases has risen and continues to rise sharply, and we do not see the need dropping any time soon. So, we are launching this because it allows us to say “there is something we can do” when our clients tells us “We don’t know what else to do.” 

This expansion does not change how we work with our clients. Every client still gets the support of the full team. Every case still begins with curiosity and careful listening. You are still seen as a whole person. The federal court filing is a new tool. The way we work with you around it remains the same.

Who this is, and is not, for

If your case has been pending past the published processing times and you cannot get a clear answer about why, please talk to us. If your N-400 has been waiting more than 120 days after your naturalization interview, there may be a path forward, and we know how to walk it with you and guide you. If your loved one is in immigration detention and the case is not moving, or you have questions about whether their detention is even legal, please call us today. Habeas matters are time-sensitive, and waiting costs more than acting.

If you are not sure your case fits any of these categories but something feels wrong about how long things are taking, that is also a conversation worth having. Sometimes the right answer is “wait a little longer.” Sometimes the right answer is “we should have filed last month.” Either way, you deserve to know.

Take the next step

It takes courage to stop waiting and start asking the harder question: what if waiting is not the only option?

If that question matters to you or to someone you love, book an FDC litigation consultation. We will look closely at where your case stands, explain honestly what federal district court can and cannot do, and tell you in plain language whether this path is the right one for you or your loved ones.