AOS Denied !

[Bruce&Ying]

Ying just received a letter yesterday from the USCIS saying our I-485 petition was denied. The letter, dated Jan 25, was postmarked Feb 14th and stated that they had sent us a letter several months ago asking for more evidence and we had failed to respond in time. It also says "There is no appeal to this decision", but that we can file a motion to reconsider within 33 days of the date of the notice (6 days from now) if we send in $385.

 

We never recieved any letter requesting more evidence, and have no idea what they need. She went to her biometrics appointment months ago and there was no problem with that. Ying has been checking the mailbox every day for many months expecting her interview appointment. If we HAD received a letter asking for something, we would have responded immediately.

 

Has anybody had to deal with this? Does it means she may have to leave the US? Ying is very upset; any advice would be appreciated.

Edited February 20, 2006 by Bruce&Ying (see edit history)

[tywy_99]

Now may be the time where a good immigration attorney might help, or any good attorney for that matter. Keep and use that overdue posted letter as evidence.

Start by writing a letter to your service center and to the USCIS liason section/dept. in D.C. explaining your situation. I found out that "writing" gets better results then calling or emailing. Be sure to send copies of all that pertains. Especially send a copy of the post-marked envelope. Anything that can help. It's just possible that the problem can be resolved.

Just a few ideas I thought of about the problem.

I'm sorry you and your wife has to go through this. Somewhere somebody's lines got crossed. Maybe the USCIS will understand.

 

You can also take the letter to your post office and ask why delivered so late and about your undeliverd RFE and how important this is.

 

-good luck

[wpc76180]

Ying just received a letter yesterday from the USCIS saying our I-485 petition was denied.  The letter, dated Jan 25, was postmarked Feb 14th and stated that they had sent us a letter several months ago asking for more evidence and we had failed to respond in time.  It also says "There is no appeal to this decision", but that we can file a motion to reconsider within 33 days of the date of the notice (6 days from now) if we send in $385. 

 

We never recieved any letter requesting more evidence, and have no idea what they need.  She went to her biometrics appointment months ago and there was no problem with that.  Ying has been checking the mailbox every day for many months expecting her interview appointment.  If we HAD received a letter asking for something, we would have responded immediately.

 

Has anybody had to deal with this?  Does it means she may have to leave the US?  Ying is very upset; any advice would be appreciated.

192191[/snapback]

From what you wrote, the USCIS sent you a RFE and the 12 weeks

to respond to the RFE has lapsed.

 

If you need more info, please check out:

 

http://tinyurl.com/f665x

 

I assume your I-485 was filed at Vermont?

So go through the Vermont thread for I-485 issues

and search for denied or motion to deny or NOID.

 

If you need legal assistance, call Sharryn Ross in Boston,

she did 2 of my friends' Green Card (UK & China) and she

is very competent:

 

http://www.bostonimmigrationattorney.com/staff.html

[frank1538]

Sorry to hear about this turn in events.

 

Personally, I would not try to go outside of the normal procedures to get this resolved. Failure to follow the rather formal procedures can be just as fatal as an outright denial. Now is the time to get yourself a good lawyer who knows how to file a Motion to Reopen (MTR). I would advise you to get the MTR filed as quickly as possible.

 

As you note, the I-485 denial is technically not appealable, but you can file an MTR if there are additional facts or you can show some screw-up by USCIS.

 

For example, if the denial turned on failure to respond to an RFE, supplying that new information may be sufficient for USCIS to reopen the case. Personally, I think it would also be helpful to your case if you have "clean hands". In other words, I hope you didn't forget to do something like not advising USCIS of a change in address. Was there any indication on the online status check about the RFE?

 

There is also a procedure for having the filing fee waived.

 

I don't know what the effect is on Ying's status. Your lawyer should be able to advise you on this, but I would hope that USCIS wouldn't do anything until your 33 days runs out. Needless to say, there is also a procedure and form that can be used to stop deportation or removal proceedings if it comes to that. Let's hope not.

 

I wish I could provide definite answers, but this is something that your lawyer will have to provide. Good luck.

[MarsofBorg]

Sheesh!

[LeeFisher3]

Bruce, this may be a silly question, but did you go down to the post office and get her name added for delivery? Both the name listed in her passport and married name if different.

 

The USCIS has a non-forward policy and if for some reason the post office didn't have the name listed it is possible they returned it.

[tonado]

Wow. Sorry to hear this. I agree with others that you need to find a lawyer now.

[Bruce&Ying]

Thanks all. I will file a Motion to Reopen immediately.

 

Ying has been here for a year, and there's been no problem with the mail or receipt of the other correspondence from the USCIS. In addition, the case status on the USCIS website has been the same for months (Ying checks it regularly). It says

________________________________________________

Current Status:

 

On August 1, 2005, the results of your fingerprint review for your I485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status were received, and processing has resumed on your case. We will mail you a notice if further action is needed, or when a decision is made.

_______________________________________________

 

I'm interesting in finding out if I can file another I-485 in the event that I can't get them to admit they never sent the RFE notice. If not, and they say she has to leave, we could rent out the house and move back to China, and I can teach while we wait for a new petition to be processed.

 

I'm just worried that it will be hard to prove they never sent the notice. And although it's rare, things do occasionally get lost in the mail. I certainly can't prove that we never got it.

 

We'll see.....

[Mick]

Thanks all.  I will file a Motion to Reopen immediately.

 

Ying has been here for a year, and there's been no problem with the mail or receipt of the other correspondence from the USCIS.  In addition, the case status on the USCIS website has been the same for months (Ying checks it regularly). It says

________________________________________________

Current Status:

 

On August 1, 2005, the results of your fingerprint review for your I485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status were received, and processing has resumed on your case. We will mail you a notice if further action is needed, or when a decision is made.

_______________________________________________

 

I'm interesting in finding out if I can file another I-485 in the event that I can't get them to admit they never sent the RFE notice.  If not, and they say she has to leave, we could rent out the house and move back to China, and I can teach while we wait for a new petition to be processed.

 

I'm just worried that it will be hard to prove they never sent the notice.  And although it's rare, things do occasionally get lost in the mail.  I certainly can't prove that we never got it.

 

We'll see.....

192295[/snapback]

I am so sorry to hear of this. I am afraid I don't have much advice to add, other that what others have said about perhaps getting legal advice.

 

Time and time again it irks me so much that when folks try to follow all the rules and do things legally, they run into constant hassles. However, people come in illegally, have few problems, and in some cases, even get government benefits such as health care.

 

Please, keep us posted as you go through this process. I am certain your experience will be helpful to others in the future. In the meantime, hang in there. Our prayers and best wishes are with you.

[Bruce&Ying]

A quick update: a call to the USCIS this morning yielded some important info; the woman cautiously admitted it may have been a mistake on their part, as there didn't seem to be anything in the file indicating that they had asked for any further evidence. But she said I still had to file a Motion to Reconsider, whcih I did, along with a request for a waiver of the filing fee and a motion to extend the deadline until March 14 (30 days from the date of the postmark, instead of 30 days from the date of the letter, which had sat in the USCIS office for 20 days before it was mailed).

 

I also spoke with the local office of my congressman, and sent them a complete copy of my filings, and they promised to help me get things straightened out.

 

So we're hopeful that things will be OK...

[pkfops]

A quick update: a call to the USCIS this morning yielded some important info; the woman cautiously admitted it may have been a mistake on their part, as there didn't seem to be anything in the file indicating that they had asked for  any further evidence.  But she said I still had to file a Motion to Reconsider, whcih I did, along with a request for a waiver of the filing fee and a motion to extend the deadline until March 14 (30 days from the date of the postmark, instead of 30 days from the date of the letter, which had sat in the USCIS office for 20 days before it was mailed).

 

I also spoke with the local office of my congressman, and sent them a complete copy of my filings, and they promised to help me get things straightened out.

 

So we're hopeful that things will be OK...

192649[/snapback]

Good news.

 

I will tell you when I had to call for my RFE about my tax return, a lady

said; "it probably got lost" and to mention that in my letter.

 

Sounds like they have a QA problem; too bad you have to go

through the hassle to get it fixed.

 

Let us know how much extra $$$ you have to shell out.

[frank1538]

That sounds very promising. I wish you and Ying the best.

[tonado]

Great news and hope no more problems.

[Bruce&Ying]

This is what has happened since my last post:

 

After getting the denial, we immediately filed the Motion to Reconsider which asked them to reopen the case because we never recieved a RFE and had NOT abandoned the case. In addition, we noted that we had called them numerous times and checked the website case status service continuously and were told that the case was being processed; we were never informed they needed further info. On the advice of our congressman, we sent the Motion by certified mail and it was signed for by a USCIS employee well within the time limit for filing such Motions. We also sent a copy at the same time to the congressman's office.

 

Three months went by and no word, not even acknowledgement of reciept. Calls to the USCIS told us to be patient, that these motions take time, and that we would be contacted. We finally had our senator's office contact them and they replied that they HAD sent a RFE asking for the medical update, but that they didn't have any Motion to Reconsider from us. We provided the certified mail reciept and a copy of the Motion. After another long wait, they informed us that the Motion was denied because it hadn't been filed in time, using the date they recieved the COPY, months after the original was sent, as the date of reciept.

 

After further intervention from the senator, they finally acknowledged (sort of) that they had lost the original, but apparently aren't willing to accept the certified mail receipt, the copy, (and a letter from the congressman affirming that I had mailed their office a copy of the Motion on the same day as I sent it to the USCIS) as proof that it had been filed in time. Instead they suggested we submit a 'sua sponte' request setting out the facts of the case and asking that the USCIS reopen the case on their motion.

 

So we did; but there is no telling how long it will take, and before long Ying's driver's license and EAD are set to expire, and so her job as a teller at a local bank are in jeopardy. Since her official status is 'AOS denied' we don't know if we can renew them.

 

We will go to the Boston office next week to talk to an immigration officer about what we can do...

[Randy W]

This is what has happened since my last post:

 

After getting the denial, we immediately filed the Motion to Reconsider which asked them to reopen the case because we never recieved a RFE and had NOT abandoned the case.  In addition, we noted that we had called them numerous times and checked the website case status service continuously and were told that the case was being processed; we were never informed they needed further info.  On the advice of our congressman, we sent the Motion by certified mail and it was signed for by a USCIS employee well within the time limit for filing such Motions.  We also sent a copy at the same time to the congressman's office.

 

Three months went by and no word, not even acknowledgement of reciept.  Calls to the USCIS told us to be patient, that these motions take time, and that we would be contacted. We finally had our senator's office contact them and they replied that they HAD sent a RFE asking for the medical update, but that they didn't have any Motion to Reconsider from us.  We provided the certified mail reciept and a copy of the Motion.  After another long wait, they informed us that the Motion was denied because it hadn't been filed in time, using the date they recieved the COPY, months after the original was sent, as the date of reciept.

 

After further intervention from the senator, they finally acknowledged (sort of) that they had lost the original, but apparently aren't willing to accept the certified mail receipt, the copy, (and a letter from the congressman affirming that I had mailed their office a copy of the Motion on the same day as I sent it to the USCIS) as proof that it had been filed in time.  Instead they suggested we submit a 'sua sponte' request setting out the facts of the case and asking that the USCIS reopen the case on their motion.

 

So we did; but there is no telling how long it will take, and before long Ying's driver's license and EAD are set to expire, and so her job as a teller at a local bank are in jeopardy.  Since her official status is 'AOS denied' we don't know if we can renew them.

 

We will go to the Boston office next week to talk to an immigration officer about what we can do...

234061[/snapback]

 

 

Once again making it very clear how much our lives are in their hands.

 

A sad story.