i-130 denied due to improper marriage certificate how long for appeal

[Cathi 5,748]

What documentation did you send with the I-130? Did you send a marriage certificate and they misplaced it? Or did you just never send one? When you refile you need to read and re-read the filing instructions and send everything that is asked for, you don't want to risk another RFE. I agree with everyone else, you have no grounds for an appeal, it was your mistake, not theirs. Just think of it this way, at least your first I-130 only took a few months for a decision, most people as of late have been waiting minimum 6 months or more for NOA2, if you file now you are less than 3 months into it, so you didn't lose a lot of time. Best of luck.

[pushbrk 12,882]

IMO, you should have just filed a new I-130 with the proper documentation. It is my understanding that unless USCIS did something wrong then the appeal won't be won. They asked you for a proper marriage certificate and you didn't give it to them. You might want to think about just refiling, although I'm sure someone more knowledgable can clarify.

Bingo. Appealing the correct decision is a loser. File again. USCIS was correct. They asked you for something and gave you a deadline to correctly respond. You did not correctly respond within the allowed time, so they correctly denied the petition accordingly. You can't win.

[210045803 1]

Bingo. Appealing the correct decision is a loser. File again. USCIS was correct. They asked you for something and gave you a deadline to correctly respond. You did not correctly respond within the allowed time, so they correctly denied the petition accordingly. You can't win.

I never included a birth certificate for either me or my wife. Do I need to include it? I hear of people including it but it doesn't say anything anywhere about needing to include it.

[NY_BX 397]

I never included a birth certificate for either me or my wife. Do I need to include it? I hear of people including it but it doesn't say anything anywhere about needing to include it.

Sounds to me like you need to refile and read the guidelines prior to sending it.

Good luck.

[210045803 1]

Bingo. Appealing the correct decision is a loser. File again. USCIS was correct. They asked you for something and gave you a deadline to correctly respond. You did not correctly respond within the allowed time, so they correctly denied the petition accordingly. You can't win.

This is straight from the USCIS website:

Q. What happens when I file an appeal?

A. When an applicant or petitioner appeals a decision to the AAO, the officer who made the original decision will first review the record. A review of the record will determine whether the evidence or argument submitted in the appeal warrants reopening or reconsidering the decision. If the adjudicating officer determines that reopening or reconsidering the decision is not warranted, the officer will forward the case for further review to the AAO or the BIA.

Note: Filing an appeal does not suspend the execution of any decision made in your case or extend a previously set departure date.

This suggests that I can include evidence to reconsider the decision which is what I did in my appeal. They also told me which form to use and where to get the proper marriage certificate so I am guessing they want me to file the appeal. They stated that although the record of solemnation shows that I got married it is not a legal document.

Sounds to me like you need to refile and read the guidelines prior to sending it.

Good luck.

I re read the guidelines. It does not say to include a birth certificate for either of us. I never did and they never asked for it. The only mistake I made was I sent a non-legal marriage certificate although it was stamped officially etc. In their denial that is all they wrote to correct.

[Cathi 5,748]

This is straight from the USCIS website:

Q. What happens when I file an appeal?

A. When an applicant or petitioner appeals a decision to the AAO, the officer who made the original decision will first review the record. A review of the record will determine whether the evidence or argument submitted in the appeal warrants reopening or reconsidering the decision. If the adjudicating officer determines that reopening or reconsidering the decision is not warranted, the officer will forward the case for further review to the AAO or the BIA.

Note: Filing an appeal does not suspend the execution of any decision made in your case or extend a previously set departure date.

This suggests that I can include evidence to reconsider the decision which is what I did in my appeal. They also told me which form to use and where to get the proper marriage certificate so I am guessing they want me to file the appeal. They stated that although the record of solemnation shows that I got married it is not a legal document.

I re read the guidelines. It does not say to include a birth certificate for either of us. I never did and they never asked for it. The only mistake I made was I sent a non-legal marriage certificate although it was stamped officially etc. In their denial that is all they wrote to correct.

actually it does ask for a birth certificate of the petitioner OR a copy of all pages of the US citizens passport.

[pushbrk 12,882]

This is straight from the USCIS website:

Q. What happens when I file an appeal?

A. When an applicant or petitioner appeals a decision to the AAO, the officer who made the original decision will first review the record. A review of the record will determine whether the evidence or argument submitted in the appeal warrants reopening or reconsidering the decision. If the adjudicating officer determines that reopening or reconsidering the decision is not warranted, the officer will forward the case for further review to the AAO or the BIA.

Note: Filing an appeal does not suspend the execution of any decision made in your case or extend a previously set departure date.

This suggests that I can include evidence to reconsider the decision which is what I did in my appeal. They also told me which form to use and where to get the proper marriage certificate so I am guessing they want me to file the appeal. They stated that although the record of solemnation shows that I got married it is not a legal document.

I re read the guidelines. It does not say to include a birth certificate for either of us. I never did and they never asked for it. The only mistake I made was I sent a non-legal marriage certificate although it was stamped officially etc. In their denial that is all they wrote to correct.

You unless you can submit evidence that you actually did send the correct marriage certificate on time, your appeal will be denied. Since you never sent the correct certificate, they were correct in denying your petition. Sending the right one in an appeal will not change their decision.

With regard to birth certificates, please read the I-130 instructions again. You MUST send either a photocopy of a certified copy of your birth certificate OR a photocopy of every page of your US passport as evidence of your US Citizenship. At this time, although your spouse's birth certificate is not listed as a requirement, it is a good idea to include a photocopy of it. The actual certified copy of the foreign spouse's birth certificate is needed later, at the NVC stage. This paragraph is about refiling, not your appeal Any appeal will be denied.

[Villanelle 4,122]

This is straight from the USCIS website:

Q. What happens when I file an appeal?

A. When an applicant or petitioner appeals a decision to the AAO, the officer who made the original decision will first review the record. A review of the record will determine whether the evidence or argument submitted in the appeal warrants reopening or reconsidering the decision. If the adjudicating officer determines that reopening or reconsidering the decision is not warranted, the officer will forward the case for further review to the AAO or the BIA.

This suggests that I can include evidence to reconsider the decision which is what I did in my appeal. They also told me which form to use and where to get the proper marriage certificate so I am guessing they want me to file the appeal. They stated that although the record of solemnation shows that I got married it is not a legal document.

Oh my. I see what youre thinking and why you thought an appeal was another way to send in the RFE for a fee.

When an applicant or petitioner appeals a decision to the AAO, -you send your form-

the officer who made the original decision will first review the record.A review of the record will determine whether the evidence or argument submitted in the appeal warrants reopening or reconsidering the decision. -the officer who denied you looks at it-

If the officer determines your evidence is good and they were wrong to deny you, theyll approve it if they dont read on-

If the adjudicating officer determines that reopening or reconsidering the decision is not warranted, the officer will forward the case for further review to the AAO or the BIA. If they still feel they were RIGHT to deny you they have to forward it to the AAO to tell you nope the Officer was right youre denied. The Officer isnt going to deny you again, this time the AAO is going to do it and it could take as long as 6 months for the AAO to tell you this.

Yes, you were suppose to include evidence in your appeal showing they were wrong. The appeal instructions will state what you need to include. But you have no evidence because they were right. You sent the wrong thing. Yes, they advised you where to get the proper certificate- but ??? That by no means implied they were advising you to file the appeal. Or were advising you you had legal grounds to win the appeal. They were simply advising you of your rights. You have the right to file an appeal. Figuring out if you have grounds for it or not is your problem. (you dont) Dont misinterpret the fact that you are advised you are allowed to appeal as "go for an appeal cause it'll work" - they did not say that to you. Youre connecting dots that arent there.

[pushbrk 12,882]

Youre connecting dots that arent there.

That is correct. The appeal will be useless because they were right to deny your petition. Properly file a new petition.

[Kaoticor 5]

I would be interested to know the outcome of the appeal. We had a complex tax situation that gave us an RFE for some additional documentation adjusting from a K1. Trying my best to be prepared for anything, I scheduled an infopass appointment. I very specifically asked the IO what were our options if the AOS was denied. The answer was:

1 - We could refile.

2 - We could submit an appeal with the documents we felt would clarify any last questions about the affidavit.

I could be mistaken, but what I got out of our nice long talk with the immigration offices was that an appeal could be used as a "third" chance to submit documentation. However, the IO told me that filing a new petition was the recommended way, since it could end up being faster, and that you might have another RFE available to you if you accidentally forgot something; NOT likely on an appeal.

Not recommending anything or giving any advice. Just thought I'd share our experience

[pushbrk 12,882]

Can I refile while the appeal is in process?

Yes. Do it as soon as you can get ready to do so. Your appeal is going to be denied. Don't wait for that.

[Villanelle 4,122]

Everyones case is different. If you had a complicated tax situation and received an RFE in regards to your aff of support and you sent in what was required/asked of you and it was still denied and you appealed it- you would be appealing something completely different.

This petitioner is appealing a decision. The decision was no to "was the proper certificate sent in with the 130 yes or no" The answer was no and it will still be no when they review the record.

Perhaps in your situation the decision was "does the petitioner meet the guidelines" and the answer was no based on the complicated tax forms presented. You can appeal it and submit evidence the decision was reached incorrectly because the tax forms were complicated and win. I really dont know. (youd have to make your own thread explaining your situation so as not to derail this one)