Expedite denied without USCIS receiving evidence

[jameswhunt 12]

Sorry guys but I've got to rant for a second...

I filed an expedite on our I-129f under the categories of severe financial loss, medical emergency and a humanitarian issue. Long story short, my fiance lives in a town called High River, Alberta. Last year they were hit with one of the worst natural disasters in Canada's history. The floods totaled a majority of the homes in her city and the place was evacuated by the military. They were able to keep the house but it had to be gutted. They lost a lot of their possessions in the process and the house is still a mess. Most of the businesses in the town left and haven't come back.

I visited Canada for a couple weeks and the town is currently sandbagging in preparation for more flooding. I filed the expedite hoping that we could get her out of there before any more hit. She's already taken a big hit financially but we're trying to avoid her getting caught in a dangerous situation.

We obviously have all the proof associated with the financial loss, along with documentation of the floods.

Easy breezy, right? Wrong.

I call USCIS and am on the phone with them for 30 minutes. I honestly had the best guy ever. He was very polite and easy to understand. He puts me on hold while he does some stuff and the line drops. I don't have his extension and he doesn't call me back so I go ahead and start the process over again. I talk with a guy who seriously sounds like he has no clue what he's doing. I tell them I've already started the process so he pulls up my records and says that before we lost the line the other guy filed the expedite and everything's ready to go. I tell him that I didn't explain anything about the expedite and he says I don't need to, but that someone will contact me in a couple days in order to explain why we need an expedite and to provide proof at that point.

Today I get an email from USCIS stating that "although your situation sounds serious, it does not qualify under one of the expedite categories. Your expedite has been denied."

WHAT? HOW WOULD THEY KNOW IF MY SITUATION IS SERIOUS? THEY NEVER CALLED ME TO GET THE EVIDENCE OR TO GET ANY EXPLANATION OF WHAT'S GOING ON.

I got this message at a lunch meeting but got up immediately and called USCIS. The lady on the phone goes, "well the customer service representative is supposed to get that information from you."

Well... HE DIDN'T...

So she goes through the entire process over again and at the very end goes, "I'm sorry but you are going to have to wait until Monday to try and resolve this. It hasn't been 5 days from the time the expedite was filed."

I just get so tired of our government. I pay taxes. I fund this #######. It shouldn't be that hard to look at a case and handle it correctly or follow the steps that have been laid out. As angry as I am, I do find it hilarious that they responded about how my case sounds serious... Right, since I didn't get the opportunity to tell anyone what the issue is or how serious it is.

Anyways guys, sorry for the rant. Just a little bit frustrated today.

[sweetswinks 400]

Hi there,

I am sorry this has happened. You absolutely do need to explain why you need an expedite when requesting it on the phone, that is then entered into the system and then the officer assigned to your case can read that and they will send a denial or a request for evidence supporting the necessity to expedite.

[NikLR 13,227]

That really sucks. Some areas of Alberta are very hard hit by flooding in the last 5 years. I hope you can get the expedite to go through for you.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

The problem is they are not concerned with the NON USC. It is you that needs to have the issues to get approved most of the time

[sweetswinks 400]

The problem is they are not concerned with the NON USC. It is you that needs to have the issues to get approved most of the time

Not necessarily, I am the beneficiary (foreign fiance) and the expedite based on my medical diagnosis was approved today.

[Lenny&Sanna 114]

Put in another request. Obviously the person who overlooked your last one doesn't see that it is a viable request to get your fiance here.