AOS denial after K-1 approval

[Khev 5]

On 5/10/2017 at 2:11 PM, Noivas said:

I am posting our story here in hopes that it helps others going through AOS to know that things are changing now.  It looks like the AOS after a K-1 is not as easy as it used to be.

 

We filed for AOS after a K-1 last September. We didn't go through a lawyer because our case was the simplest and most straightforward possible.  Biometrics appointment soon after we filed, and then just silence from their side for 8 months. I called their 800 number several times during this time, and they said our case was in St. Louis, and was being processed. Another time I called they said our case was in Charlotte. we got no RFEs, and the text online when you click on "check my status" was that they received the biometrics information and they would contact us if they needed more information--same text up there for 8 months. So we just though this was taking a very long time, but we would be approved in the end.

Today we found out, through the intervention of a lawyer and a senator's office, that our case was denied because we never responded to an RFE, which we NEVER RECEIVED (we're at the same address since the beginning).  We also have still not received ANY notification in the mail about the denial, after more than two weeks of the denial notice being posted online. It turns out that the case was being processed in yet another state, not the ones they told me when I called, and they sent an RFE, didn't receive a response (it was a request for a medical exam), and denied the case without sending us a NOID.  And yes, they CAN do this.  And the lawyer we consulted thinks it's better to re-file from the beginning than to ask for them to re-open the case.  And no, we cannot appeal in the case of an I-485.  This is a nightmare, a time-consuming and really expensive one. I, the petitioner, am a US citizen and I feel that my rights are being violated. I feel frustrated, disrespected, angry, and ultimately sad that we are living in such xenophobic times. 

OK first, let's not assign false blame to "xenophobic times". It has nothing to do with it. The issue is with the post office. 

 

Now I am not going to blame them without more knowledge, but here is the thing. The USPS will NOT deliver ANY mail from USCIS if your spouses name is not on  your mail box. I know it is something that is very easy to overlook, but you have to be sure that your spouses name is registered with the post office. If it is just your name, any mail from USCIS will be returned because the mail is addressed to your spouse, not you. So before you go blaming others, please make sure that you did your due diligence and make sure your spouses name is registered at your address. We had an appointment letter returned when we were filing AOS. I had to go to the post office and talk to a supervisor to make sure we were good to go with my wife's name. We have had no problems after that. So please make sure you have done everything possible before you blame someone else. 

[dillygoose 21]

One question about this post office theory.

 

Didn't the NOA letter come correctly?  Didn't the biometrics letter deliver without problems?

 

What about the EAD and AP assuming that was applied for, didn't that arrive at the correct address without incident?

 

ALL of those are addressed to the petitioner.  But I keep reading over and over that RFE's or interview letters aren't received.  Those are "lost in the mail"

 

Am I supposed to assume that somehow the post office and USCIS can deliver these other letters to my home without issue and then somehow after 4-5 months pass, without moving, they somehow can no longer deliver?

 

It doesn't add up.

[Noivas 0]

Exactly. NOA, EAD, AP, everything else arrived with no problem. RFE doesn't arrive, and neither does the denial notice. The address is the same and so is the mail carrier. It REALLY doesn't make sense. I sincerely doubt that he post office is to blame in this story.

[Noivas 0]

As for Khev's comment, I really thought that this was supposed to be a supportive forum, and I think his response is out of place here, and makes (incorrect) assumptions and judges people (us) who reached out for support in times of uncertainty, hurt, worry, and frustration. 

[dillygoose 21]

I'm just baffled at the number of times I've read of people not receiving the RFE letter OR the interview letter.  Why is that?

 

Seems suspect to me.

 

Especially given the myriad ways we have to communicate or give information these days!  Its unacceptable that they wouldn't be able to mail a letter from the US office to a US home and further if they're SOOOO incapable and the mail is SOOO unreliable well there's plenty of other ways to get the information from Person A to Person B.

 

Why do they have an online case system when it doesn't give the information - it doesn't update?  Why am I signing up for email notifications when they aren't going to use the system they established?  You can call them on the phone via their info/help line but they won't actually be able to give you any information!  I mean there's a baseline level of competence and they can't seem to meet that low bar?

 

And yes I realize sometimes things go ok.  But one of the things I keep coming across here is case after case of people who aren't being given the information and then they pay the price.

[geowrian 22,337]

56 minutes ago, Noivas said:

As for Khev's comment, I really thought that this was supposed to be a supportive forum, and I think his response is out of place here, and makes (incorrect) assumptions and judges people (us) who reached out for support in times of uncertainty, hurt, worry, and frustration. 

That's not how I read it at all. You blamed, at least in part, xenophobia for the troubles you've experienced. He/She said xenophobia has nothing to do with it. I agree...everybody has to go through the same processes and there's nothing indicating that you are being singled out. It's awful. It's stressful. It has always (in at least somewhat recent history) been this way. I also did not see any judgements in the post. He/She provided advice to check that your spouse is registered at your address and to ensure that you do your due diligence.

 

Let's step back for a moment and taker a deep breath. I think more is being read into the comment than was intended.

 

21 minutes ago, dillygoose said:

I'm just baffled at the number of times I've read of people not receiving the RFE letter OR the interview letter.  Why is that?

 

Seems suspect to me.

 

Especially given the myriad ways we have to communicate or give information these days!  Its unacceptable that they wouldn't be able to mail a letter from the US office to a US home and further if they're SOOOO incapable and the mail is SOOO unreliable well there's plenty of other ways to get the information from Person A to Person B.

 

Why do they have an online case system when it doesn't give the information - it doesn't update?  Why am I signing up for email notifications when they aren't going to use the system they established?  You can call them on the phone via their info/help line but they won't actually be able to give you any information!  I mean there's a baseline level of competence and they can't seem to meet that low bar?

 

And yes I realize sometimes things go ok.  But one of the things I keep coming across here is case after case of people who aren't being given the information and then they pay the price.

It's hard to say, really. Keep in mind USCIS is handling several thousand AOS applications every single work day. And far, far more applications total. Each application usually has 2 or more notifications sent about it during its lifetime. I'm not justifying it or saying it can't be better, but just saying let's put it in perspective. The people who do not get a notification are likely the exceptions, not the norm. If even 1% gets lost in the mail, that's a massive number of notifications lost per month. Some could be from USCIS mistakes (they certainly are not 100% accurate). Some could be lost/damaged in their mail rooms. Some could be lost at USPS' PDCs or sorting/bundling rooms. Some could be lost by the mail carrier. And some are just undeliverable for reasons at no fault of USCIS or USPS.

 

There's a reason why some government agencies, financial institutions, etc. send everything in duplicate. The odds of any single mail piece getting lost is slim. The odds of 2 getting lost is a small fraction of that. Maybe USCIS should go that route, albeit it would directly result in higher fees and/or more backlogs. Or they could send everything registered (also with more fees). Pick your poison.

 

Then again, I'm a little biased. I do contract work in IT for USPS. We (my coworkers and I) see the swarm of metrics every morning scroll across our ACE computers. One suggestion is to signup for Informed Delivery...we get the info from the PDCs so if something gets lost after that stage, there would still be a digital scan of it so you would know if something never made it to your mailbox. It doesn't help if there's a wrong IMB or it gets processed wrong before that, but I've had it catch 2 mailpieces to my address that were not delivered so far.

[Charles_n_Grace 24]

1 hour ago, Noivas said:

Exactly. NOA, EAD, AP, everything else arrived with no problem. RFE doesn't arrive, and neither does the denial notice. The address is the same and so is the mail carrier. It REALLY doesn't make sense. I sincerely doubt that he post office is to blame in this story.

Even if the carrier hasn't changed, they do get days off. I can almost count on taking a misdirected letter to a neighbor everytime a substitute carrier delivers the mail.