Work authorization is a crucial benefit for any immigrant. Without it, you cannot legally work. Yet, delays in issuing EADS are widespread, causing tremendous financial distress and career disruptions. Mandamus lawsuits are very successful in quickly fixing this issue and getting an EAD application decided. Why?
According to USCIS, it takes adjudicators an average of 12 minutes of touch time to adjudicate an application for employment authorization filed on Form I-765. If put to a choice, would you rather spend the 12 minutes to decide the case or hours defending a lawsuit? Typically, the government understandably chooses the easier route and simply decides the case rather than taking the time to mount a defense.