I am new to the site - where can I ask questions about I-130?

[amaryllis29 1]

Hi everyone

I am fairly new to this site. Can somebody please tell me which is the right forum to ask questions about I-130.

Thanks

[calygirl75 12]

Hello. There are different threads on this board depending on the type of visa you filing for. K1 or CR1 or IR1. I have found using those threads and viewing them very helpful. What is your specific question?

[amaryllis29 1]

So, the thing is that I applied for an I-130 spousal petition consular proceeding. My husband is in USA now but he will have to go to the US Consulate in El Salvador to do the interview. The I 130 is approved but instead of going from USCIS to the National Visa Center as it should be, the case end up "stuck" in some office. I had an info pass last Monday July 29 and the USCIS officer told me that they needed to revise the case to see why they did not sent it to the National Visa Center (the I- 130 is approved).

The USCIS Officer noticed that my husband's last name is misspelled (more like totally change). The problem is that his A# is linked to the wrong name. Is not like we gave them the wrong name but instead everything we do comes back with the wrong name because the A# belongs to that name. USCIS officer told me that in USCIS eyes these are two different people.

Now the question: how can I fix his name? I went to the USCIS website but the forms I saw were for when the green card comes with a mistake or the lawyer makes a mistake. I don't know how to fix the name thing and I am concerned that USCIS might thing that we/he tried to misrepresent who he is and he might get permanently banned form USA.

Extra Info:

I am USA citizen

I have a lawyer but doesn't seem to know what to do... unbelievable, I know

Thanks for your help

[calygirl75 12]

Do you have the documentation/correspondence that you can take back to the office that shows the issued A# under your husbands legal name and correct name?

[amaryllis29 1]

No and that is the problem, that all documentation shows the A# with the wrong name. Even if I send his documents (like my petition for example with his right name), when I get a response it comes back with the wrong name. I don't know how to change the name linked to the A#.

[NikLR 13,227]

***moved to IR1/CR1 process and procedures from NVC forum***

Is everything else with the A# correct except the name? I would assume it would be easier to change the A# for your husband than the name attached to that A#! I don't even understand why your husband has an A# at this point, it normally isn't something he should have until he receives his visa at the interview!

[amaryllis29 1]

This is how my husband got the A# and the wrong name. In 2008 my husband got a DUI, usually the police takes you to the police station and lets you go after 6 hours. They do that to let you "sober up". But because of secure communities, the police fingerprinted my husband and send his fingerprints to INS (now USCIS). INS took my husband into custody because my husband came to the USA undocumented. My husband was put on removal proceedings and that's how he got an A#.

When the English speaker INS officer was asked my husband his name, my husband gave his real name but the officer could not understand him. My husband (Spanish speaker with very limited English at the time) repeated his name several times because the officer kept getting it wrong. At some point the officer got frustrated and said whatever and wrote down the wrong last name.

Maybe the officer did not realized that something that might sound so small was going to screw up .

Since 2008 we have been dealing with his immigration issues. USCIS kept changing the court day for the removal proceedings. As of 2013 we never had a court day.

In 2012 I petitioned my husband with a I-130 consular processing. The I 130 was approved in January 2013 but they did not forward it to the NVC because of the removal proceedings. We did an administrative closure of the removal proceeding in order to move forward with the I 130. After the administrative closure, USCIS was supposed to forward the approved I 130 to the NVC but they did not.

That's why I did the infopass and they explained me that the name linked to the A# is wrong. That means that everything we have done (administrative closure, approved I 130) is under another persons name.

As you can see, my case is very long and maybe complicated. We have been dealing with this since 2008. I do have a lawyer but I try to stay on top of things and learn things by myself. As for the A#, even my lawyer doesn't know how to do it and told me that he was going to research about it. I am upset about my lawyer but I am stuck with him. I can not just switch lawyers because a new one will charge me from scratch. We have spent over 10, 000 dollars already.

Anyway, that's my story. I hope this clarifies your question. If you or anyone else has some idea about what I can do, I will really appreciate it.

[calygirl75 12]

Amaryllis29, I'm so sorry to hear this.

To answer your original question, when you are petitioning a spouse and have questions related to the USCIS stage or the NVC stage you post on the IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures threads. It was worth a shot posting here and I encourage to search this site periodically to see if you can obtain information. However, this site can give you ideas and tips through the standard process. Yours is very complex and would definitely require a seasoned legal counsel. As you may already know this is serious, they can say your husband provided a false name. The burden of proof falls on the petitioner/beneficiary in this process.

You might reconsider interviewing immigration lawyers with very specific questions during your consultation. This can give you a good indication if it makes sense to switch counsel to an experienced person who knows what to do and what to ask for. Be direct, "Have you ever represented a client with the following situation.....?"etc.

all be the best, S

[NikLR 13,227]

I agree actually, with all the issues you have you will need a good lawyer to help you figure this mess out. This is not a simple DIY case unfortunately and most of us will not be able to help you. I'm so sorry.

[amaryllis29 1]

Thanks Caligirl 75 and NLR... I know that my case is very complicated and I was looking at this site for extra knowledge and experience... I do have an immigration lawyer but he seems to know as much as I know about this A# situation... I will consult other lawyers and see what I can find out... I will make another info pass to see if someone at USCIS can explain me what will be the next step... Once again thank you for your advice

[amaryllis29 1]

In case you where wondering..

1. I called USCIS Customer Service Center and talked to a Tier 2, she was lost and had no idea what I was taking about... she was not helpful at all...
2. Because of this I made an infopass for Aug 23... I will let you know how that goes
3. I called Customer Service Center and talked to a Tier 2 for the second time and this time the agent was very helpful.. he made a request in the system to fix my husband's name. The good news is that his name should be right on everything related to the I 130. The bad news is that for other stuff like the administrative closure, we still have the name problem.
4. Hopefully the infopass will solve (or at least give me the next step to follow) this situation.

[amaryllis29 1]

In case you are keeping track:

I went to the info pass and talked to the USCIS officer that have our file. I still don't know how to "fix" the name problem but he told me that from now on I should write the full correct name on everything. The good news is that the officer told me that he already got the approval from his supervisor to forward our approved I 130 to the NVC. He told me that he was sending our documents with notes so they know that there is an issue with the name. The officer told me that in the worst case scenario if my husband gets his green card with the wrong name there is a process to correct that.

So, the good news is they are moving the I 130 to the NVC (he told me he was going to send it that same day Aug 23).

The bad news is that we still have the name issue.