When an immigration or citizenship application stalls with no meaningful progress, the wait can affect your work, family, travel, and future plans.
Unified Immigration Lawyers helps clients take action on prolonged IRCC delays. Our writ of mandamus lawyers review how long your application has been pending, what has happened on the file, and what you have already done to get an answer. If IRCC still does not act, we can pursue a writ of mandamus to move the application forward.
How Our Mandamus Lawyers Help With IRCC Delays
A writ of mandamus asks the Federal Court to order IRCC to perform a legal duty when an immigration or citizenship application has been unreasonably delayed. It does not ask the Court to approve the application; it asks the Court to require IRCC to act.
Unified Immigration Lawyers assists with prolonged delays involving:
- Permanent residence applications
- Spousal sponsorship and family reunification
- Canadian citizenship applications
- Work permits
- Study permits
- Visitor visas
- Applications delayed by extended security or background checks
- Other immigration matters where IRCC has delayed making a decision
We do not automatically start with Federal Court litigation. Our mandamus lawyers first review the file and determine the most effective way to push it forward. Depending on the case, that can begin with a formal demand letter and escalate to mandamus proceedings if IRCC still does not act.
Before Filing Mandamus: We Send a Demand Letter to IRCC
A demand letter can provide a faster and less expensive opportunity to get an application moving before Federal Court proceedings begin.
Where appropriate, our lawyers send IRCC a formal letter demanding action on the delayed application. We generally give IRCC 30 business days to move the application forward and advise that a mandamus application may follow if it does not.
Before sending the letter, we can:
- Review previous requests and communications with IRCC
- Review the history and length of the delay
- Identify the legal duty IRCC is being asked to perform
- Document attempts already made to obtain action
- Prepare and send the formal demand
- Preserve IRCC’s response or continued inaction for a Federal Court case
A demand letter does not always resolve the delay. When it does, however, the client can get movement on the application without the added time and expense of commencing a mandamus proceeding. If IRCC still does not act, we are prepared to take the next step.
When Is an IRCC Delay Unreasonable Enough for Mandamus?
There is no fixed waiting period that automatically qualifies a case for mandamus. The question is whether the delay has become unreasonable in the circumstances of your particular application.
Our mandamus lawyers review:
- How long the application has been pending
- IRCC’s published processing time for that type of application
- How far the case has moved beyond normal processing
- Periods where there appears to have been no activity
- Security or background screening
- Explanations provided by IRCC
- Requests for additional documents or information
- Whether anything on the applicant’s side contributed to the delay
- Previous attempts to obtain an update or decision
- GCMS information where available
- The impact of the delay, including family separation, employment problems, immigration status concerns, or other significant consequences
We use the complete history of the file to determine whether continued waiting is reasonable or whether there are grounds to demand action from IRCC and pursue mandamus.
What Happens When Our Mandamus Lawyers File in Federal Court?
If IRCC does not act after the demand letter, the next step may be an application for leave and judicial review in the Federal Court. But filing does not mean the case will necessarily go all the way to a hearing.
Unified Immigration Lawyers can:
- Prepare and file the Federal Court application
- Build the evidence and legal arguments supporting mandamus
- Serve the required parties
- Communicate and negotiate with government counsel
- Pursue a settlement that gets the application moving
- Continue to a Federal Court hearing if the matter cannot be resolved
Settlement is an important part of the mandamus process. Once the Federal Court application is filed, our lawyers can negotiate with government counsel to resolve the delay without waiting for a hearing. When a settlement gets the application moving, the case can resolve sooner, and we can avoid legal fees associated with later stages of the Federal Court proceeding.
If a settlement cannot be reached, we continue the mandamus application and represent you through the Federal Court hearing.
Our firm has extensive experience successfully pursuing immigration matters through Federal Court where the Court granted the relief sought.
What a Writ of Mandamus Can and Cannot Do
Mandamus is designed to get a decision. A successful mandamus application can result in the Federal Court requiring IRCC or another federal decision-maker to perform the legal duty it has unreasonably delayed.
It is not a way to guarantee which decision IRCC will make. Your underlying immigration or citizenship application still has to meet the applicable requirements for approval. Our role in the mandamus proceeding is to address the delay and compel the decision-making process to move forward.
What Clients Say About Our Mandamus Lawyers
With the help of Matkowsky Immigration Law, our spousal sponsorship application was finally approved. We worked with another immigration agent for 2 years plus gaining no traction in our application. Thus we decided to engage Matkowsky to help us with the Mandamus process and it was the best decision ever.
— Lynn L.
We highly recommend Matkowsky Immigration Law. I have applied for spousal sponsorship June 2018. A year later we received an email saying I am not eligible due to proxy marriage. We remarried in the USA, and they accepted it. Then our application become complex, and we realized that we need to hire a lawyer. We did our research, and we found Matkowsky firm. They have good reviews. We hired them and they advised us to do the mandamus. We did it and honestly, they did great job. After not hearing anything from CIC for more than a year, we started hearing almost nonstop. Leave was granted and we were scheduled for the court day. I had two interviews and asked for documents all the time. The lawyer advised me not to go to the court since we got what we wanted, and it will cost me money that I could avoid. I like their honesty in this matter. They have been really helpful and have done great job. They exactly know what to do. I strongly recommend them to anyone especially if you are planning to do the mandamus. Thanks a lot for helping my application get approved after almost 4 years of processing.
I especially thank Sonia and Gina for taking care of my case.
— Mohamed E.