Immigration Litigation

Terrace Walnut LP’ immigration litigation team is a specialized team with decades of experience litigating cases in District Courts and Courts of Appeals.

Frustration is growing with federal immigration policies, regulations, interpretations, and processing times. Filing a lawsuit can be a powerful tool to hold USCIS and other federal agencies accountable for delayed or incorrect adjudications.

When the government has denied an application or petition, or unreasonably delayed adjudication, and an employer or an individual has exhausted all other options, sometimes the next action is to file a lawsuit against the government. When considering this option, you need an experienced attorney team that has had a successful track record of filing immigration lawsuits. Increasingly, the only way to challenge arbitrary or erroneous immigration decisions is through litigation in federal court.

Foreign nationals and employers in search of a law firm to handle a denied application, petition, or delayed adjudication by the government can rely on the litigation team at Terrace Walnut LP to advocate on their behalf.

With an impressive background in immigration litigation, which is exceedingly rare among immigration law firms, Terrace Walnut LP has recognized the growing need to be able to defend and support clients with a broader range of actionable options. Terrace Walnut LP’s immigration litigation team can point to many victories both by verdict and settlement. With Terrace Walnut LP’s immigration litigation team, foreign nationals or their employers can overcome improper decisions and practices by immigration agencies.

IMMIGRATION LITIGATION FOR DELAYS

Unfortunately, long processing delays are commonplace for certain types of immigration petitions, with only a handful of visas allowing premium processing, and even then, at a cost. A mandamus lawsuit may be the best strategy to get action on many delayed immigration petitions. In a successful immigration mandamus case, a judge orders the responsible government agency (often USCIS) to adjudicate the petition within a certain time frame- often 30 or 60 days. This does not guarantee an approved petition, but rather a decision on the petition.

IMMIGRATION LITIGATION FOR DENIALS

The immigration litigation team at Terrace Walnut LP has been involved in significant litigation work for decades in all areas of U.S. immigration. We have been successful in challenging denials for EB-5 investors, petitions for employer-sponsored managerial positions (like EB-1Cs or L-1s), employer-sponsored petitions for skilled workers (like H-1Bs or similar visas), and other immigration issues before the U.S. District Courts and the U.S. Courts of Appeals.

In the last two decades, the Terrace Walnut LP litigation lawyers have been very successful on behalf of EB-5 investors, regional centers, and projects that face unreasonable USCIS actions or delays, or regional center terminations. Most recently, the firm has been deeply involved in litigating USCIS denials of EB-5 petitions based on the source of funds, material change and redemption agreements and the reopening of the EB-5 regional center program.

IMPACT IMMIGRATION LITIGATION

Terrace Walnut LP has some of the country’s leading immigration litigation lawyers in initiating impact litigation on key immigration issues and policies and educating other immigration attorneys on how to litigate visa denials where they believe the law was misinterpreted.

Terrace Walnut LP’s litigation team has been counsel on many litigations with national impact:

Setting a key precedent for E-2 visas in the Matters of Walsh and Pollard
Overturning improper policy changes affecting U.S. universities’ international student and exchange programs in Guilford College v. Wolf
Reopening the EB-5 Investor Visa Regional Center Program in EB5 Capital, et al. v. Department of Homeland Security, et al. No. 3:22-cv-3948-VC (N.D. Cal.)

FAQ

What is a mandamus lawsuit?

A mandamus lawsuit requests a federal court judge to order the government to take action in a case. It does not and cannot request the judge to approve the case. If the judge believes that the delay is unreasonable, the judge may order the government to complete clearances and/or to adjudicate the application within a specified period of time. Although the time specified by the judge may vary, it is often 30 to 90 days.

Can a mandamus case be filed on behalf of someone outside of the United States?

Yes, however, there are more complicated issues involved when the mandamus case is filed on behalf of someone outside of the United States, and not every type of case is suitable.

Can the judge order the government to pay attorney’s fees?

If the judge issues an order in favor of the plaintiff (the foreign national) the judge can order the government to pay the foreign national’s attorney’s fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act.

How long does it take to get action after filing a mandamus case in federal court?

The answer varies greatly depending upon the Assistant U.S. Attorney (“AUSA”) assigned to the case and the judge assigned to the case. Some AUSAs will work with us to try to get the case resolved quickly without the need for the judge to make a decision and issue an order. Some judges will get involved with the case quickly and force action. Although we have had some cases resolved in less than a month after filing of the complaint in federal court, three to six months after filing is more normal if the government settles the case. If the government makes a motion to dismiss or a motion for summary judgment, it can take much longer.