After how many months of processing do I file a mandamus?

Key answer

There is no legal minimum; the community reports lawyers take cases after 6 months and advise waiting 8-10, while at month 5 they advise against. The defendants have 60 days to answer: some cases end in a visa within that window, some in an "adjusted and refused" denial, some are withdrawn. The chats name $4,500-6,500, group suits are cheaper.

Community answers

The answers below are translated from the original Russian - the language of the community chats.

"After 10 months of processing we filed a mandamus - a month and a half later the embassy congratulated us on the end of processing and asked for the passports" (EB-1A, Yerevan).
The sceptical voice from the same chat: "a mandamus helps very, very rarely and in very specific situations, and you will never know whether the mandamus helped or time did".
At month 5 a lawyer said a mandamus made no sense: "5 months is nothing unusual, it has taken longer". In another case the suit was filed in July, the defendants had exactly 60 days, and when they ran out the letter ending the processing arrived.

The answers are anonymized community experience from the public chats, not legal advice. Officers may decide similar cases differently.

Sources

State Department: administrative processing

All questions on: Consulate and interview All questions on: Process and timelines

After how many months of processing do I file a mandamus?

Community answers

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