Basic Story of My Pending Case
Background: I applied for greencard (GC) earlier Feb 2002 on EB2. My priority day is about 5 years ago. The case has been pending on FBI name check since March 2004 (almost 3.5 years). My wife is the only dependent on my case. Earlier this year, we filed complaint (per se) in Fed court against related agencies of the unreasonable delay.
I contacted the attorney representing government and was told that no more expedition was granted since last December. He finished the discovery by June and told me that Name Check is the only factor holding back my case. However, he sent me a one-size-fits-all type of letter recently to defend the agencies and ask the court to dismiss the case on the following grounds:
a. Fed court lacks the jurisdiction on Immigration case (a blank check for agencies?)
b. An expedition will grant me undeserved edge over other people and violate first-come-first-serve principle (hmm, perhaps less than 1% of applicants have earlier priority day than me?)
c. My AP and EAD are pretty much equivalent to GC and the delay only inconveniences to me. (What happens if I lose a job today?)
d. Toughening the criteria is to prevent terrorists from attacking the country (Is it inconsistent with item c. above?)
e. Time is not the only reason to justify for complaint and expedition? (Again inconsistent with item b. Do you know better yardstick to measure the reasonability of delay?)
f. Home land security is only agency should be cited. USCIS is innocent because of it does not have authority on FBI. (FBI is on the defendant list)
g. A few cases were cited as dismissed by courts (I do see some people try to gain an edge over average people. Their waiting time is as short as 6 months)
There are a few key items to follow (set up by the court) which inputs will be highly appreciated.
a. Settlement conference by this month (is it only between me and the government attorney?)
b. Mediation next month (should I set it up myself?)
c. Pretrial order due and pretrial conference in Oct (what is that?)
d. Trial day Nov (I know what it means)
What will be the best strategy on this situation? Can somebody tell me any cases that prevailed in the court that I may cite if needed?
a. Hire a pro
b. Negotiate w/ the attorney and try to convince him that my case is special and it pays to expedite (hmm)
c. Do nothing
d. Prepare the case by myself and try to win in the court.
Your advices will be highly appreciated!