USCIS Is Delaying Your Application | Here's Why & What To Do

On April 27, 2026, something significant happened that is impacting immigration applications across the country; and if you have a pending case, this is essential listening.

In this episode, Richard Wilner, Board Certified by the State Bar of California as a Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law and Founding Shareholder of Wilner & O'Reilly, breaks down the new USCIS vetting procedures tied to expanded FBI criminal database access and what it means for your pending application.

Key Topics Covered in This Episode:

• What Changed on April 27, 2026: Why immigration lawyers across the country began receiving notifications about widespread adjudication delays.
• The FBI Database Connection: How Executive Order 12385 expanded the FBI's criminal history sharing with the Department of Homeland Security and what that means for your case.
• Who Is Affected: Naturalization, adjustment of status, and asylum applicants and the one exception to the new fingerprint re-vetting requirement.
• Your Rights Under the Law: How the Administrative Procedures Act protects applicants from unreasonable government delays.
• The Writ of Mandamus: The federal legal tool that can compel the government to act on your case and what it really takes to fight it today.

A delay is not a denial. But waiting indefinitely is not your only option. As Richard Wilner explains, if your case is clean and the delay is unreasonable, you have rights and you have options.

For more information or to discuss your case, visit us at www.wilneroreilly.com.

Transcript

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Welcome back. If you or someone you know has a pending immigration application, whether it's an application for naturalization, an application for adjustment of status, or an asylum application, this is essential listening. On April 27, 2026, something significant happened. And while it has yet to be verified by USCIS, immigration lawyers across the country have been reporting greater delays, delays across adjudication of all types of applications that I mentioned. We're going to break down exactly what happened, who it affects, and perhaps most importantly, what you can do if you're stuck waiting. As I mentioned, on April 27, 2026, immigration lawyers across the country started receiving these notifications about how pending applications are impacted by these delays. What happened? Well, apparently USCIS has implemented a new vetting procedure, security related, that's a byproduct of the Federal Bureau of Investigation opening up its criminal database to the immigration service. This isn't necessarily anything new. Fingerprint checks have always been part of any immigration application, be it here in the United States or at a consulate overseas. But apparently there's going to be some more information that's shared. What exactly is going to be shared, we don't know yet. We just know that it's meant to result in delays. Under this new vetting process, fingerprints must be resubmitted for almost every type of pending application, with one exception. The application that doesn't have to be re-vetted are already approved naturalization applications where you're awaiting an oath ceremony. If you don't fit into that one unique category, then you will have to be refingerprinted, or at least that's what we know for now. CBS News has reported that this change stems from, as I mentioned, the FBI granting immigration broader access to its criminal history database. This access was mandated by Executive Order 12385, which directs federal criminal justice agencies to share criminal history information with the Department of Homeland Security to the fullest extent the law allows. USCIS has confirmed that the new checks are in place and told CBS News that the processing rather is ongoing. Any delays, and this is government wording, any delays should be brief and resolved shortly. Resolution of delays and brief in government speak is not always the same as it would be in the private sector. Put really simply, it takes longer for the government to do things than it takes most people in the private sector to do them. There's one important detail buried in the policy, and that is officers were also directed that resubmission is not required for any applications. They intend to deny. That's worth noting. If you don't get notified of new fingerprints, it doesn't mean that your application is going to be denied. So don't panic. It just means that they'll be working through this, and as they work through things, delays can happen. USCIS saying that something is brief, as I mentioned, or the government saying that it will be resolved shortly, we don't know what that means in government timelines. We just know that it's different than the private sector. We also don't know how many applications are actually going to be in this holding pattern or how it's going to translate in real time as it impacts your applications. So what does it mean? If your application is delayed and you do not have a criminal background, you don't just have to wait. Instead, government policy is not law. Instead, government policy has to be issued in accordance with the law. The law on point here is the Administrative Procedures Act, which requires, in essence, that applications for benefits are adjudicated within a reasonable period of time. Reasonable is subject to interpretation, and there's factors that courts look to to determine whether or not the policy is reasonable under the circumstances. So while you don't have to wait, you shouldn't rush. It requires individualized analysis of how long your case has been pending, where it's been pending, because processing times in Los Angeles, Orange County may be different than processing times elsewhere in the United States. If you are not a criminal, if your case is clean, and if you're experiencing what amounts to an unreasonable and unexpected delay, you don't have to sit idly by. As mentioned in prior episodes, there's a legal tool available to you called a writ of mandamus. The writ of mandamus is a federal lawsuit that compels a government agency to perform a duty that it is legally required to perform. It compels the government to act. In immigration terms, USCIS has a legal obligation to adjudicate cases within a reasonable time. And when that doesn't happen, federal courts have the authority to intervene. Filing a mandamus action tells the government in court that enough is enough. We've waited too long. And sometimes it works. Many applicants who have pursued this path have seen their cases move forward after years of stagnation. As previously mentioned in other episodes, federal court can't tell the government to approve your case. Instead, it can merely compel them to decide your case. Here's the candid truth. In today's day and age, when filing writs of mandamus, you have to be prepared to fight. A lot of lawyers know how to file a writ of mandamus, but a lot of lawyers don't know how to fight the fight because nowadays the government actually pushes back. Filing in federal court is not simple. It requires patience, representation, and resources. It's not a quick fix, but it's a real fix. And it's your right under the law. For further information, please don't hesitate to contact us at wilnerorilly.com.