Was not aware of the I-751 requirement

[bolin786 21]

Might be a good idea to consult with a lawyer.  I was trying to save her monies but you might be right.

[NikLR 13,232]

You will need a lawyer.  Its been years.  You may have deportation issues and may need to AOS again.  

[geowrian 22,338]

4 hours ago, bolin786 said:

Go right away to your local USCIS office and try to convince her of the oversight.  If no nefarious intention is discovered, I am sure they will accommodate without deportation.

The local USCIS office won't be able to do anything with the case. It's not like they can just say "OK, I'll excuse this"...they don't have the ability to make that decision (even if you get to speak to a CO directly). USCIS is all about policy and procedures. You have to go through the correct process to get the late filing excused.

 

Nefarious intentions (or not) are not a consideration according to the AFM. "Good cause" is a requirement for approving an I-751 filed late. Not knowing about it and not getting a reminder is not considered "good cause".

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/is-uscis-failure-advise-conditional-resident-need-file-i-751-good-cause-filing-late.html

 

There are plenty of reasons for a "good cause" case to be made, and that's where a lawyer would be highly suggested. I do believe that there's a fairly good chance of approval here as "good cause" is so broad and a low bar.

[f f 725]

every time I move I change my address with the post office and they will forward your mail to the new address. this gives you more than enough time to update everything.

[Hypnos 6,579]

As stated, you'll need to try and attempt a late I-751 and would need to enclose a written explanation for the late filing. 

 

If USCIS accept your reasons for filing late then the application will go ahead; if they didn't, your wife may be referred to immigration court to begin deportation proceedings. 

 

Given these circumstances, I would consult with an experienced immigration attorney before filing. I would also not visit a USCIS office in-person in the current climate either, since your wife is out of status and could be detained; there's nothing they can do for you anyway. 

Edited April 29, 2017 by Hypnos

[s + j 71]

16 hours ago, Scandi said:

The failure to file for ROC aside.. This a great point, to change your address with USCIS is SO important, and I bet tons of people don't even know about it or think about it. You have to give USCIS your new address within 10 days (I think?) from when you've moved no matter if you have a pending petition/application or not. You have to do this every single time you move (until you become a citizen).

Actually I just spoke to USCIS the other day and they don't like that you put in your address change before the day you actually move. I move 5/6 so that's the day I'm going to put the change in.

[NikLR 13,232]

9 minutes ago, s + j said:

Actually I just spoke to USCIS the other day and they don't like that you put in your address change before the day you actually move. I move 5/6 so that's the day I'm going to put the change in.

Thats what the person said that you quoted.  By law, a LPR must update their address within 10 days of taking up new residence.  Sponsors are supposed to update their addresses within 30 days. 

[Scandi 4,222]

17 minutes ago, s + j said:

Actually I just spoke to USCIS the other day and they don't like that you put in your address change before the day you actually move. I move 5/6 so that's the day I'm going to put the change in.

I didn't say before you move, I said "within 10 days from when you've moved". 

[CitizenshipBound 5]

Thank you for all the replies. Since everyone recommended it, we contacted an immigration lawyer who came highly recommended and has experience with this situation and made an appointment for Monday to have the I-751 prepared. They said if deportation proceedings haven't started the fee is $1,500 however if they have, it will be higher. This is a high price to pay for this huge oversight on our part but it is something I will gladly give to keep my wife in the country.

 

Just in case anyone else finds themselves in this situation, I will keep the thread updated with our progress.

 

Thanks again.

[neilsqueen 433]

3 hours ago, CitizenshipBound said:

Thank you for all the replies. Since everyone recommended it, we contacted an immigration lawyer who came highly recommended and has experience with this situation and made an appointment for Monday to have the I-751 prepared. They said if deportation proceedings haven't started the fee is $1,500 however if they have, it will be higher. This is a high price to pay for this huge oversight on our part but it is something I will gladly give to keep my wife in the country.

 

Just in case anyone else finds themselves in this situation, I will keep the thread updated with our progress.

 

Thanks again.

So glad you found a good attorney!  Best wishes to you and your wife.  I hope things go smoothly for you.

[MnMJourney 28]

On 4/29/2017 at 8:29 PM, CitizenshipBound said:

Thank you for all the replies. Since everyone recommended it, we contacted an immigration lawyer who came highly recommended and has experience with this situation and made an appointment for Monday to have the I-751 prepared. They said if deportation proceedings haven't started the fee is $1,500 however if they have, it will be higher. This is a high price to pay for this huge oversight on our part but it is something I will gladly give to keep my wife in the country.

 

Just in case anyone else finds themselves in this situation, I will keep the thread updated with our progress.

 

Thanks again.

Indeed...but, as you mention the justification may be there, and everything is relative. Technically your wife could be under deportation proceedings, so based on that perhaps not too "high" a price to pay for the oversight, eh?

 

I wish you all the best, as you've picked the best course of action to take care of this. 

 

[f f 725]

is there any reason she could not just aos again?  to save the potential removal proceedings.

[geowrian 22,338]

30 minutes ago, f f said:

is there any reason she could not just aos again?  to save the potential removal proceedings.

I'll defer to others if this is even possible, but it's unlikely to succeed since you cannot AOS if you are a current green card holder, so an immigration judge would have to terminate LPR status first. But they would open removal proceedings at the same time, and once removal proceedings are open, you cannot concurrently file and therefore you won't have any authorized stay (since AOS can't be filed yet) while also being in the middle of removal proceedings.

 

Removal proceedings can be cancelled, especially if a new I-130 were filed and gets approved, but this is not a route you want to have to take. The late filing of ROC (with a skilled immigration lawyer's guidance) is more likely a better course of action.

Edited May 1, 2017 by geowrian

[QueenOfBlades 224]

I wouldn't do anything at this point without the guidance of an experienced immigration attorney. It's complicated and there is too much at stake. 

[CitizenshipBound 5]

Well, we had the meeting today and it went pretty well, though I have to say it was a bit unexpected.

 

The first thing the lawyer did was a call an automated phone number to check if deportation proceedings were underway. She entered my wife's A number and the prompt responded that no case was found, which she explained meant that no proceedings had begun. After listening to what happened, she actually recommended filing our N-400 shortly after the I-751 (an extra $500).

 

Her reasoning was that normally when I-751 is filed, it is sent to the California processing center and right now the turnaround time for them is around 10 months. N-400s are sent to the Chicago processing center and it takes normally around 4 months for them to be processed. So if we did it lineally, it could take up to 14 months to get her citizenship. However, If we first file the I-751, and then include the receipt with N-400, when they inevitably get to the N-400 first four months from now, they will request the I-751 file from California since they need it processed it before they can process the N-400. This means the same person in Chicago will process both the I-751 and N-400 and my wife could actually have her citizenship within 8 months.

 

On the topic of of the I-751 specifically though, she was actually pretty dismissive of it and said we had nothing to worry about and that it would be accepted. As far as what the "good cause" is, I'm not entirely sure what she will be going with and will have to wait and see what the copy of the filing says. We scrambled the whole weekend to put the evidence together and in the end, it was not nearly as extensive as what I've other seen other people send here, but she said it was fine, so I guess we'll see how it goes.