US Postal Service Messed up, now my wife will be deported??

[varsitypride3 0]

Hi guys. Please help my wife and I in this very stressful situation. We filed the I-751 approx 7 months ago. She was sent a Biometrics notice, and she went to it no problem. We haven't moved or anything, and we were checking the website regularly, and hadn't received any responses until 2 weeks ago, when my mom (my prior address on file) received a letter. The letter said they had sent my wife a request for further evidence, and that the USPS returned it as "return to sender - attempted - not nown." They assumed she had moved and not notified them, so they're denying her petition & the letter says she'll receive a notice to appear in front a judge.

We called the USCIS and told them repeatedly that the USPS messed up -- my wife and I live in the same address and have no mail issues. We've lived there steadily for over 2 years. It's a home we purchased -- not a rental. They said they'd put in a "service request" and after 14 days, we received a 2nd letter saying the EXACT SAME THING "we sent you a letter, it was returned by the USPS, you abandoned it, you'll be removed." We called again and were told to call in Monday before 6 to speak to the "higher level" of customer service. Will they even care? Do I have to hire an attorney now? The kicker is -- my wife is IN mexico visiting family when all this happened! One day she's just visiting family and the next we get the letter and she can't return home. I haven't seen my wife in weeks. We're scared mindless and it seems like the USCIS refuses to hear us. What do we do now???

Thanks in advance. Please please point us in the right direction.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Right. So to confirm. Your mother received a letter saying it was being revoked. What is the address on that letter?

They said mail was bounced, bounced from what address?

You said you received biometrics, what address is on that letter?

You received the denial letter AFTER the biometrics letter. This is good. If you correctly filed an AR-11 when you moved from your mothers house, and you correctly received a biometrics notice to the address you filed the I-751 with, then you only need to make an INFOPASS. Take the biometrics letter and the denial letters and show that USCIS stuffed up because your address hasn't changed since biometrics.

The only problem I see is that you SHOULD have got mail sent to your mothers address BUT since your name is (likely) no longer on your mothers mailbox, mail can be bounced (happened all the time for us in Houston.. something about preventing mail fraud).

As for your wife presently being out of the country, send her the letter saying she has an appointment to go before the judge. Have her enter the US (asap) and show that letter if they question her. She should be paroled entry. DO NOT let them convince her to sign anything giving up her GC. She wants to come in to see the judge. OR she can stay out until you sort this out so that her card is "uncancelled"...

I'm not rubbing it in but this is one of the reasons you shouldn't travel out of the country whilst status is pending. Denial means you're locked out (you need to be paroled entry). If you're inside you have many more options.

[varsitypride3 0]

Thank you SO much for your great answer. I very much appreciate it. I think I need to clarify, though.

We filed our i-751 from the address we currently live in. We'll call that 123 fake street. My wife and I live in 123 fake street. This is a home we bought 2 years ago and our permanent address. We receive mail here without problems. When we received the biometrics receipt & the appointment for biometrics, it was sent to 123 fake street. 6 months passed and suddenly, my mom, who lives in her own (and who I used to live with until I got married) got a letter with my wife's name on it -- saying "we sent letters to 123 fake street. it bounced back. You must have moved and never told us. As such, your case is abandoned & we're denying your case."

So we still live at 123 fake st. and the US postal service simply messed up, sending the USCIS the wrong message that my wife doesn't live at 123 fake st. anymore. She does. I still do.

The response to the service request was sent to 123 fake st. This proves I've received mail there before, and I've received mail there AFTER-- proving we haven't moved. I tried explaining this to them, but it's like talking to a wall. Will a lawyer help?? Do I contact them myself and try AGAIN to put in another service request? My wife went to the biometrics appointment and everything... she did NOT abandon her application!

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I wouldn't bother with a lawyer yet. I would make an INFOPASS appointment (where you go IN and speak to them).

I would take current bills sent to "123 Fake Street". I would take drivers licences/ID from both of your showing 123 Fake Street as the address. I would speak to USPS and get something from them (if possible) stating it was an error. I would take the letter from the service request showing 123 Fake street (proving you received it) as well as the biometrics letter showing the 123 Fake Street address. And of course the letter claiming the stuff bounced.

The INFOPASS people will tell you what to do and will able to rectify the situation. If that doesn't work I would speak to a senator/congressman and ask them to intervene as USCIS is being ridiculous. If THAT fails then I would engage a lawyer for the hearing before the judge.

Worst case scenario, if she goes before a judge with all the evidence you have that you HAVE NOT moved and that is was a USPS and USCIS error (USPS for bouncing, USCIS for not fixing it when you showed it was USPS) then he'll just overturn the denial and have them proceed with assessing the ROC.

Edited November 19, 2011 by Vanessa&Tony

[varsitypride3 0]

I wouldn't bother with a lawyer yet. I would make an INFOPASS appointment (where you go IN and speak to them).

I would take current bills sent to "123 Fake Street". I would take drivers licences/ID from both of your showing 123 Fake Street as the address. I would speak to USPS and get something from them (if possible) stating it was an error. I would take the letter from the service request showing 123 Fake street (proving you received it) as well as the biometrics letter showing the 123 Fake Street address. And of course the letter claiming the stuff bounced.

The INFOPASS people will tell you what to do and will able to rectify the situation. If that doesn't work I would speak to a senator/congressman and ask them to intervene as USCIS is being ridiculous. If THAT fails then I would engage a lawyer for the hearing before the judge.

Worst case scenario, if she goes before a judge with all the evidence you have that you HAVE NOT moved and that is was a USPS and USCIS error (USPS for bouncing, USCIS for not fixing it when you showed it was USPS) then he'll just overturn the denial and have them proceed with assessing the ROC.

You're fantastic. This help is massive and affect my wife and I more than you can imagine. Thank you SO much for this info.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

You're fantastic. This help is massive and affect my wife and I more than you can imagine. Thank you SO much for this info.

Please come back when it's all fixed (which I have no doubt it will be) to let us know what they said and what you showed (to help others in the future).

[varsitypride3 0]

Please come back when it's all fixed (which I have no doubt it will be) to let us know what they said and what you showed (to help others in the future).

Absolutely!

[Kathryn41 3,205]

When you go for the Infopass appointment ask the officer with whom you speak to request the actual envelope that was returned. Have them check that the envelope itself was correctly filled out. The reason I am suggesting this is that one of my Advance Parole documents was delivered to me with the address so badly blurred that it was virtually undecipherable. I have the greatest appreciation of my postal delivery person who took the time to look closely enough at the envelope to decipher the address. All that showed was the postal code, half of my name and half of the street name, all very badly blurred and running together as if the ink was wet when printed and then smudged. I would have fully understood if that letter had not been delivered. It was also very obvious that the smudging happened at the originating location while the envelope/label was being printed. I suspect, given the information you have provided, that the same thing might have happened with your envelope, thus requesting someone at USCIS to take a look at the actual envelope that was mailed to you might provide additional evidence that the letter was not delivered because the address is somehow damaged and the mail delivery person could not make it out enough to figure out where it should go.

Regardless, you have excellent proof that you have not moved and that the failure to respond to the letter is not yours, as USCIS did receive the letter back. I suspect your case will be re-opened without a problem and I am very confident that if worse came to worse and you had to appear in front of an immigration judge, the ruling would immediately go in your favour for exactly the same reason.

If you don't feel you get a good response after the Infopass appointment you could also ask your elected representative (either Congressman or Senator) to investigate for you. You would sign an authorization giving them permission to discuss your case with USCIS, provide them with the information you have provided here, and they would be able to intervene in a situation where it is obviously clear you are not at fault.

Good luck.

Edited November 19, 2011 by Kathryn41

[Al and Patricia 23]

I worked for the USPS( retired) and I want to apologize to you for the letter carrier that screwed up. This should NEVER have happened. ALL mail is to be delicvered to the address unless there is a good forward filed. I am going to assume that he delivered it to a street close to yours with the same number. I hope the INFOPASS works out for you.

[varsitypride3 0]

Hi guys. Bit of an update.

We called the USCIS customer service line -- they said to call monday and ask the "upper level" customer service people. We did so, and unfortunately the agent to helped us wasn't the most helpful person ever. We explained the situation and everyone understands, but nobody can give us a concrete answer. 1 customer service person in the lower level said that lost letters weren't uncommon and that surely they could help. She also suggested the infopass route. The upper level person said basically, we were screwed and have to wait for a summons to appear before a judge-- and that we have to file a motion to reopen. I explained the letter we received said we can't appeal, she said to not even bother. I explained to her that my wife is in Mexico stuck there -- if she's summoned to appear, she can't--because the U.S. won't let her in. She said if she doesn't appear "things will only get worse". I asked if an attorney can appear for her. She said maybe, but usually they require the applicant and the lawyer present. I explained that gives us a catch 22. She said it does and basically shrugged. She said she understood the USPS messed up but that it's not their fault and that I'll have to explain to the judge.

I'll make an infopass appointment -- but question is, how fast can we expect this judge summons to arrive? a week? months? How much time do we have? is NOW a good time for a lawyer? I simply cannot believe my own country won't help with a situation that wasn't our fault!

[VanessaTony 3,567]

As I said before, make an INFOPASS. That's the best way to find out where you are. THEN I would hire a lawyer.

No-one knows when this letter will arrive. You need to make an INFOPASS.

[AmberOctober 25]

Just a thought - can your wife still cross the border in a car? I remember Canada isn't very strict with it (as far as I was told; I personally only traveled there by air). Maybe she'll be able to cross somewhere and then get on a plane here in the US.

Crossing my fingers for you anyway, I was thinking about your situation all day. We, too, moved, and now I don't know what to expect from USPS and USCIS.

[varsitypride3 0]

As I said before, make an INFOPASS. That's the best way to find out where you are. THEN I would hire a lawyer.

No-one knows when this letter will arrive. You need to make an INFOPASS.

yes.. I went ahead and made an appointment. earliest was december 6th.. so I'll have to show up. I'm thinking I'll bring all our proof and our marriage license. I'm afraid that they won't want to talk to me because I'm not her... even if I explain she's stuck in Mexico. So much uncertainty

I guess we can't do anything but wait for the appointment now. I'm thinking if her summons for the judge comes up before anything is resolved I'll have to hire a lawyer to represent her at the hearing... but hopefully that's not before december 6. This is ALL SO frustrating

[varsitypride3 0]

Just a thought - can your wife still cross the border in a car? I remember Canada isn't very strict with it (as far as I was told; I personally only traveled there by air). Maybe she'll be able to cross somewhere and then get on a plane here in the US.

Crossing my fingers for you anyway, I was thinking about your situation all day. We, too, moved, and now I don't know what to expect from USPS and USCIS.

that's not a terrible idea, but I was told today that if she ever tried to enter the US, the agent would see her as a "no status" person and could either reject or detain her. Almost not worth the risk :-/

[VanessaTony 3,567]

yes.. I went ahead and made an appointment. earliest was december 6th.. so I'll have to show up. I'm thinking I'll bring all our proof and our marriage license. I'm afraid that they won't want to talk to me because I'm not her... even if I explain she's stuck in Mexico. So much uncertainty

I guess we can't do anything but wait for the appointment now. I'm thinking if her summons for the judge comes up before anything is resolved I'll have to hire a lawyer to represent her at the hearing... but hopefully that's not before december 6. This is ALL SO frustrating

I do understand. Maybe see an immigration lawyer then (seeing you've got a lot of time) for a free consultation. Hopefully they'll have a solution on how to get her to enter. I REALLY hope so for your sake.

I just had a thought.. is it a Notice of Intent to Deny or an ACTUAL denial? If it's just a NOID her card should still be active and she can enter. in which case i would do so tomorrow.