Legal Question in Immigration Law in New York

Re: Immigration and Nationality ACT 335

I am afraid you are not alone in this situation and I know of people who have been waiting for many more years. You do have certain rights but the only way they can be enforced in practice is to get in front of a federal district court judge. Complaining to USCIS is unlikely to produce any results though there is a procedure for this.

Section 336(b) of INA does provide for relief where USCIS fails to act within 120 days from "examination." To seek this relief you have to file a federal lawsuit against USCIS, Justice Department and FBI.

However, you should know that the U.S. government has been fighting hard to resist an onslaught of litigation (including several class action suits) and success is not assured despite fairly clear language of the statute (for example, the government often argues that your interview does not constitute "examination" and therefore the 120-day process does not begin to run until FBI checks are completed).

If you are interested in litigating your naturalization delays, feel free to give our office a call.

The above reply is in the nature of general information, is not legal advice and should not be relied on as such.