I-751: Biometrics letter declared undeliverable, so our whole GC application was DENIED

[bklynarts 0]

Hi, everyone. My husband, who is from Denmark, and I went through the whole green card app process, and he got a 2-year green card (family reunification, via marriage) in late 2009. Then last year, coming up on 2 years later, we filed an I-751 to remove conditions. We got a request for evidence, sent the evidence in, and got a letter stating he'd be sent a notice with a biometrics appointment.

We never got the biometrics letter, so we called twice to see if it had been sent--but they said it hadn't, and that we had to wait. So we did, and then we got a letter saying his whole case had been denied--because his biometrics appointment letter had been returned as undeliverable. We hadn't moved, however, and always check our mail, so apparently the post office made a mistake. We have received every other notice they have ever sent us, before and since.

We called USCIS and had them file a request for an administrative check to see if they had made a mistake somewhere (like maybe not sending it to us to begin with), and even made an INFOPASS appointment, where we met with a USCIS woman. She was sympathetic and filed an internal inquiry from her, on our behalf, to find out what might have happened. But the other day we got a letter from USCIS saying they had checked into it, and since the letter had indeed been returned as undeliverable (which we already knew), they were not at fault--so the case was justifiably rejected.

As an additional note, when we check the status of our case online, and talk to USCIS on the phone and have them look it up, it says the I-751 is still under review. There is no record of any biometrics letter having been sent at all, never mind our whole case having been denied.

Our lawyer recommends we file an I-290B Motion to Reconsider, and also a new I-751, just in case they reject the motion to reconsider and agree to accept the new I-751 late.

But here is what I am wondering: Has anyone else had this happen at this point in the process, and had success by taking any different steps? I know from reading on this site that people often have problems with USCIS notices being returned as undeliverable, so I know we're not the only ones to have that happen, but I haven't been able to find another case where it happened this far along in the process. The whole thing is so ridiculous, and we can't really afford the additional $1200 in filing fees required to file these two forms, so I'm wondering if anyone has been able to find any way around having to refile.

Any insight will be much appreciated--thanks!