AOS denial: USCIS said i left the country but i did not

[Olomi_811 130]

( a law biting citizen) can't.

I'm going for the sake of educating...LAW ABIDING CITIZEN.

OP I can't provide any advice on something I know nothing about. I can only wish you the best in rectifying the situation.

[DandT14 272]

My husband has canceled several "non-refundable" tickets. One flight he missed (what a disaster that was - NEVER miss the first leg of an international flight on an airline that only does 1 such flight a day). The other two he just canceled the return because he wanted to stay longer. In every case, they gave him a credit to use on a future flight. You lose some booking fees, but get the majority of the cost of the ticket back as a credit that has to be used within the year.

Bottom line, there's every reason to cancel and no reason not to.

[Tanja08 11]

I'm going for the sake of educating...LAW ABIDING CITIZEN.

OP I can't provide any advice on something I know nothing about. I can only wish you the best in rectifying the situation.

Sorry, my mistake! English is not my native language and I don't think writing in German is an option here!

Still got my point across!

Hope everything turns out well for the OP!!!

[Sandra G. 5,047]

JimJane The motion should be filed with the USCIS office that made the decision.

Edited September 8, 2012 by sandranj

[Moomin 292]

People, I completely concur with Harpa - stop freaking out. Unless you have something to hide.

You CAN buy a return ticket, just remember to cancel it. And yes, that is possible. Understanding the process is the key to why. Cancel the ticket after entering the US, get confirmation. Sometimes, asking for a refund through an airline automatically cancels your flight initiary and your name is taken off the passenger list. Other times, not. If the seat has not been sold to anyone else and the airline has not updated the passenger list(even if the seat is sold) it WILL look as if the original passenger boarded that plane and sat in that seat. Did you get any sort of confirmation that your return ticket had been cancelled? If so, include that in your AOS.

You can appeal when arriving on a tourist visa(as long as it is not VWP). You can either reopen or file a new i-485.

That's one way to go around it, another is simply booking the return way out in the future. Mine was booked 9 months from POE, I asked for a refund through airline's webpage before submitting AOS and have confirmation of the refund to my bank account(which btw was a non-refundable ticket), and also emails with the cancelled ticket and the refund in my name. Which airline did OP travel with?

Edited September 8, 2012 by moomin

[asdfg 18]

Listen, OP!

There is a MISTAKE. An ERROR in application of the law.

Under the law you can't be penalized for doing something when in fact you haven't done it.

You bought a ticket, you didn't cancel a ticket or else, the main thing is that you didn't depart US.

That is what matters.

So, what you must do now is PROVE it. If you have verifiable EVIDENCE that you were in US during and after the flight then you can, 100% guaranteed, have the decision reversed or win the removal proceedings in court.

Like others suggested, contact the airline and get a letter confirming that you didn't fly that day. Have the phone numbers, extensions and whatever information of the airline you have made available to USCIS: should they choose to verify it will save the time of searching.

Put as much of additional evidence as you can. For example, if you attended some big event or a wedding party or just about anything in US that is verifiable connected to a specific date and have your pictures taken then you can add these as an evidence of your presence in US on those dates.

Have you visited any official building, a bank or any large business and have witnesses/employees to confirm it?

Do you have unrelated to you neighbors who know you for years and have seen you living at any particular address?

Do you have kids? Did you take them to school and seen their teachers? Do you have other evidence (medical records, driving records , bills etc) to strengthen your case?

Once you submit a proof you should be fine as long as there are no other grounds of inadmissibility.

Good luck.

Edited September 9, 2012 by asdfg

[JimJane 4]

Listen, OP!

There is a MISTAKE. An ERROR in application of the law.

Under the law you can't be penalized for doing something when in fact you haven't done it.

You bought a ticket, you didn't cancel a ticket or else, the main thing is that you didn't depart US.

That is what matters.

So, what you must do now is PROVE it. If you have verifiable EVIDENCE that you were in US during and after the flight then you can, 100% guaranteed, have the decision reversed or win the removal proceedings in court.

Like others suggested, contact the airline and get a letter confirming that you didn't fly that day. Have the phone numbers, extensions and whatever information of the airline you have made available to USCIS: should they choose to verify it will save the time of searching.

Put as much of additional evidence as you can. For example, if you attended some big event or a wedding party or just about anything in US that is verifiable connected to a specific date and have your pictures taken then you can add these as an evidence of your presence in US on those dates.

Have you visited any official building, a bank or any large business and have witnesses/employees to confirm it?

Do you have unrelated to you neighbors who know you for years and have seen you living at any particular address?

Do you have kids? Did you take them to school and seen their teachers? Do you have other evidence (medical records, driving records , bills etc) to strengthen your case?

Once you submit a proof you should be fine as long as there are no other grounds of inadmissibility.

Good luck.

Thaks. Thats what i plan to do

[Dave&Roza 748]

Listen, OP!

There is a MISTAKE. An ERROR in application of the law.

Under the law you can't be penalized for doing something when in fact you haven't done it.

You bought a ticket, you didn't cancel a ticket or else, the main thing is that you didn't depart US.

That is what matters.

So, what you must do now is PROVE it. If you have verifiable EVIDENCE that you were in US during and after the flight then you can, 100% guaranteed, have the decision reversed or win the removal proceedings in court.

Like others suggested, contact the airline and get a letter confirming that you didn't fly that day. Have the phone numbers, extensions and whatever information of the airline you have made available to USCIS: should they choose to verify it will save the time of searching.

Put as much of additional evidence as you can. For example, if you attended some big event or a wedding party or just about anything in US that is verifiable connected to a specific date and have your pictures taken then you can add these as an evidence of your presence in US on those dates.

Have you visited any official building, a bank or any large business and have witnesses/employees to confirm it?

Do you have unrelated to you neighbors who know you for years and have seen you living at any particular address?

Do you have kids? Did you take them to school and seen their teachers? Do you have other evidence (medical records, driving records , bills etc) to strengthen your case?

Once you submit a proof you should be fine as long as there are no other grounds of inadmissibility.

Good luck.

This is all correct. It is just trying to prove a negative is very hard. "You left the country." "Here is my passport, I do not have an exit stamp or an entry stamp for any date after my original POE in the US." "Oh they just forgot to stamp your passport." "But I still have my I-94." "Oh they forgot to take that from you. The airline has you boarding that flight so you left the country." "But I did not board that flight." "Where's your proof?"

The only way to prove the OP did not board that flight is to have the airline proved the manifest for whose boarding passes got scanned. They will not release that without some sort of court order. So the OP needs to get the airline to write a letter stating they he did not board that flight. They may or may not do that. It may take several phone calls and going up the chain at the airline. Unfortunately his fate is in the airline's hands to prove he did not board that flight. They have the only piece of evidence that will show he did not leave the country since they are the ones that said he did. All the other suggests you make are good at proving that he stayed in the country, but will the USCIS accept this or will this have to court?

I wish the OP well and hope it all turns out okay in the end,

Dave

[JimJane 4]

Thanks everyone

I have booked an infopass

[DandT14 272]

Thanks everyone

I have booked an infopass

Good luck. I hope it is all resolved as quickly and painlessly as possible.

[icefresh 1]

I have a pending I-485/I-131/I-765 since Mid-August. I'm on a J1-visa and my return ticket was at the beginning of September, since I never intended to stay. I obviously did not use the return ticket and called my travel agent to reschedule/cancel it. They told me that rescheduling is >200€ + additional fare and cancellation with refund is not possible.

I ended up not showing up for my flight and I did not check-in online or anything.

Now I discovered this threat and got pretty nervous. I have a biometrics appointment on Friday. They should obviously see that I didn't leave the country, but I am still very nervous. Can I just let them know that I didn't leave? I can probably provide receipts/bank statements that I did debit & credit card transactions from the beginning of September til Mid-September, but I don't know if that is sufficient.

I guess I am worrying too much but I am really nervous. Please help.

[Moomin 292]

This does not happen very often because the airline company's passenger lists are usually updated. When you're already past the original return date, you can't do that much about it. You will have an interview though, and you may bring any sort of confirmation that you did not board the plane. The interview letter won't ask you to bring documents like that with you.

One of the times I was in the US(only visiting), I missed my flight twice, and the first day I got an email about not having checked in/boarded.

Even though cancellation with refund is impossible, if you have no intention boarding the plane or using your ticket, might as well just cancel that leg of the flight.

I have a pending I-485/I-131/I-765 since Mid-August. I'm on a J1-visa and my return ticket was at the beginning of September, since I never intended to stay. I obviously did not use the return ticket and called my travel agent to reschedule/cancel it. They told me that rescheduling is >200€ + additional fare and cancellation with refund is not possible.

I ended up not showing up for my flight and I did not check-in online or anything.

Now I discovered this threat and got pretty nervous. I have a biometrics appointment on Friday. They should obviously see that I didn't leave the country, but I am still very nervous. Can I just let them know that I didn't leave? I can probably provide receipts/bank statements that I did debit & credit card transactions from the beginning of September til Mid-September, but I don't know if that is sufficient.

I guess I am worrying too much but I am really nervous. Please help.

[icefresh 1]

This does not happen very often because the airline company's passenger lists are usually updated. When you're already past the original return date, you can't do that much about it. You will have an interview though, and you may bring any sort of confirmation that you did not board the plane. The interview letter won't ask you to bring documents like that with you.

One of the times I was in the US(only visiting), I missed my flight twice, and the first day I got an email about not having checked in/boarded.

Even though cancellation with refund is impossible, if you have no intention boarding the plane or using your ticket, might as well just cancel that leg of the flight.

Thank you for your help. I contacted British Airways and they confirmed me on the phone that I was listed as "No Show" and send me a confirmation via email that I did not travel on the flight. Hope that helps now.

For the OP, I wish you all the best and hope that USCIS will make it right. Will include you in my prayers.

[Moomin 292]

Thank you for your help. I contacted British Airways and they confirmed me on the phone that I was listed as "No Show" and send me a confirmation via email that I did not travel on the flight. Hope that helps now.

For the OP, I wish you all the best and hope that USCIS will make it right. Will include you in my prayers.

Alles gut - glad you got out of that concern. : )

[JimJane 4]

Took letter from airline to them via Infopass.Three days later,online status changed to card production ordered.

Thanks everyone

VJ is a lifesaver