waiting on I-751 decision for over 4 years. What to do?

[bezotveta 0]

Hi. Here is my situation in short. Came here with my mom who got married on K1/K2 visas. My mom's marriage ended in divorce after 1 year because of multiple misunderstandings, threats to deport us both, him going online and writing tons of letters to other women while still being married to my mom behind her back.My mom (and I as beneficiary) filed I-751 in August, 2005. We had the interview in july of 2006, my mom was primarily asked questions about the validity of their marriage and if she entered it in good faith (which she did but it doesn't seem to be enough), when she said that she got divorced because of him being verbally abusive, thretening to deport us and lining up another woman online behind her back, the IO said that "Well, he didn't actually cheat on you..." then he said that they will continue reviewing the case, still no answer... At the time of interview I had already been married to my husband for 2 years and had a 1 year old son. Can anything be done at this point? Should me and my mom both file for citizenship? What are the odds of us getting it? If they deny our I-751 and issue NTA how much will it cost to appeal? ANd we did hire a lawyer and had him all along, didn't seem to help, now we've hired a different one. I just don't have much faith in the fact that they can change the outcome, I don't know who to belive and listen to anymore...

[TracyTN 237]

Applying for citizenship, if you are eligible, certainly will force adjudication of the I 751. I think the only other thing you can do is have your senator/congressman's office make an inquiry on the I 751 and see if they can get any answers about it. But if it's 'stuck', the only way to shake it free might be to apply for citizenship.

[mozplay 29]

Well, usually we all say don't bother with a lawyer, but in this case, I think you may need one. The first thing is to gather all your paperwork, all evidence of submitting the I-751 in the first place along with your interview letter and get yourself an infopass appointment ASAP.

Likely, your approval or denial was sent to the wrong address. Perhaps to the old lawyer? Perhaps to your mom's ex-husband. You may be very well approved and if so, then you really don't need a lawyer at all. You will simply have to file for replacement of the greencard since you never got one and good luck trying to prove that it was USCIS's error that you didn't get it after 5 years.

There is conflicting opinions on this board about whether there is a way around not having a physical GC in order to apply for citizenship - ask when you go to your infopass appt.

IF you discover that you were in fact denied, then you will need your lawyer because then you will have been considered to have overstayed and presumably have been working and living illegally here. Also, I'm guessing you want to stay, so yes, get a GOOD immigration lawyer. You are probably outside of the standard appeal window, but you should do some research on that prior to hiring a lawyer.

Good luck.

[candelari 0]

Unless your mom's file was lost in the USCIS you already have a decison and you are not aware of it yet. I would call USCIS and findout about the result first. I don't understand why you didn't do it before.

You mentioned you were married at the time? How old were you (under 18?). Is he a U.S citizen? Are you still together? If your mother is denied you may still get a chance to re-file with your new husband if you are eligible.

If your mother was married for 2 years and had a year old child from that guy, chances are she was approved and she is not aware of it yet.

I hope our guess (educated guess) will help!

Good Luck!

[wannabe_texan 0]

When you call USCIS, mention to the 1st level person you talk to that you 'don't have a receipt number' etc for your case, in order to be transferred to a 2nd line officer, who's a real IO, and can look up your case by your A#. That may help you decide to retain an attorney/and go for an Infopass etc.

[bezotveta 0]

We went to our local office a gazillion of times with infopass, they all say the case is still pending so the decision hasn't been made yet. I came when I was 20, got married at 21, still married to the same person and my son is currently 4 1/2 years old (somebody asked to clarify). I also filed I-130 couple of weeks ago but I was told that I wouldn't be able to adjust status if our current I-751 is denied

[mozplay 29]

If you have been to an infopass appt. within the last 3 months or so, and they have told you that it is still pending, then at least you know that you haven't been denied and just not heard about it. This is good news.

If your I-751 is pending and you file for citizenship, it often forces action on your I-751 petition. This is one way to go.

Another would be to get your congressman or senator involved. That won't add to your lawyer's bills and often all it takes is one call on your behalf and things start to move. Ask to speak direction with their immigration liaison.

The fact is that this is way beyond the 6 month worst case scenario processing time, and you have every right to seek a higher authority for help.

Why are you filing an I-130, btw?

Edited November 9, 2009 by mozplay

[rika60607 215]

May be this could help?

http://www.visajourney.com/news/2009/08/15...ervice-centers/

[sjr09 155]

Applying for citizenship, if you are eligible, certainly will force adjudication of the I 751. I think the only other thing you can do is have your senator/congressman's office make an inquiry on the I 751 and see if they can get any answers about it. But if it's 'stuck', the only way to shake it free might be to apply for citizenship.

Agree,

even though the I-751 has not yet been approved, you can still apply for Naturalization. What happens is the I-751 will be processed either before or as part of the Naturalization process, since the I-751 must be approved in order for you to apply for Naturalization 3 years after AOS based on marriage to a US Citizen. This all means that you do not have to wait for the I-751 approval, but it may mean a delay in the Naturalization process.

[candelari 0]

I might be INCORRECT but here is the recent situation with a family:

Family of four has a U.S citizen (born in the U.S) son. Years after living abroad they are back in the states because wife got a job at the consulate with A1 visa. Entire family except the USC son is depending on her visa. When the son is old enough he applies for for green card for all the memebr of the family. Father, mother and 14 years old sister. Case goes by without a single notice over 8 months and they finally reach someone who works at USCIS and who is from t heir own country to findout ,or gets a head up, about the process. The IO(from their own country) finally tells thme the truth;

It takes shorter to approve mother and father of the US citizen then the sister. If USCIS approves mom and dad for green card then the sister will be out of status because she is on her mom's visa. Mom's visa will be automatically invalid as soon as she gets a green card. As a result no one was touching the file at USCIS because it was so complicated. Family pulled back the application and applied for sister and father only. After they get approval they will be applying for mom.

I have suspicion that since you were over 18 it is hard to get a green card from your mom's application. Again I might be incorrect! If you can revise the application with your mom only, you should be able to go through with your I130. You will definetely need a very good lawyer and congress' support. Not all immigration lawyers can deal with this complicated case. If you know who is retired from USCIS and works in the lawyer office that also helps. (Plenty of good -pricey- lawyers are hiring retired IOs to accelerate the process)

I hope things will resolve soon.

[TracyTN 237]

The situation you describe is completely different from the OPs. You have to take each case on it's own merits - not compare those that have very little do with one another.

[candelari 0]

The situation you describe is completely different from the OPs. You have to take each case on it's own merits - not compare those that have very little do with one another.

I hope you have better conclusion than I do....

In order to become a permanent residence via relative (in her case mom or stepfather) you have to be under 21 and unmarried. She was married when the case was interviewed. If IO approves the mom which they have joint application, she will be approved and she wasn't exactly quailified. If IO denies the case than it can not be re-file and mom which is already qualified will loose the qualification.

I am not an immigration attorney and my guess is base from other experiences. I m trying to give her another view since she has doubt over the interview result. Maybe the case is on hold for other reasons that she has never tought of it. I have a hard time to believe USCIS is holding the case this long because they have a doubt over the marriage or interview.....

[TracyTN 237]

But she is already a permanent resident. She has a 2 year green card - she has filed the I 751 to remove the conditions on that green card. It's that application she is waiting on and that is seemingly 'stuck'.

[bezotveta 0]

Thank you all for your responces. By the way, we already wrote congressmen and had them place an inquiry on our behalf - didn't really do anything, they also said that the case is still pending...

[mozplay 29]

Thank you all for your responces. By the way, we already wrote congressmen and had them place an inquiry on our behalf - didn't really do anything, they also said that the case is still pending...

You need to contact them again. 4 years if ridiculous. But seriously - file for citizenship - it can only help!

In the meantime, what do you have to show legal status? Have you got infopass to put a stamp in your passport?