USCIS Denied I-751 Case due to their error, please help

[Trymester3 6]

My ex-wife is Japanese and we were married in New York.

 

I have been helping my ex-wife with the "Removal of Conditions" and eventual New Green Card/Residence Card process, but we just found out that there was a huge error.

 

In June 2018, they supposedly sent her an RFE where she was supposed to send in a copy of the Official Divorce Decree. She never received this letter.

 

In Nov. 2018, they supposedly sent a letter stating that because she never replied to the RFE that her Permanent Residence status, along with her rights (including her right to work) is TERMINATED. She never received this letter.

 

In the Nov. 2018 letter they are also asking for her to mail in her expired I-551 and saying that she no longer has any rights granted to her as a Resident. This also means that technically she is no longer allowed to work either. She is employed however, and says that initially when she applied for that job all they asked for was her social security number.

 

*The way that all this was found out was because 1 week ago on the USCIS website (January 2018) she put in a request for a "case status update". 

 

They sent her an envelope yesterday, and in this envelope was a January 2019 letter, along with the June 2018 letter and the November 2018 letter. She had never received any update prior to yesterday. They bundled everything up and sent it as if they had forgotten to send it the first time around. How can she prove this?

 

On the Nov. 2018 letter it says that: "In accordance with Section 216 of the Immigration and Nationality Act", she can have the case reviewed before the Executive Office of Immigration Review (anyone know where this is?).

 

On the Jan. 2019 Case Status Update, it states that she may NOT appeal a denial due to abandonment, but she can re-apply at her earliest convenience (which I guess just means paying the $680 again). 

 

 

Should she: 

A.) Take the Nov. 2018 advice about having the case reviewed before the Executive Office of Immigration Review?

 

B.) Take the Jan. 2019 advice and simply re-apply

 

C.) Just seek out a Lawyer (she didn't use a lawyer throughout the whole process, because I did everything with the help of Visa Journey)?

 

Have any of you had a similar situation? Can any of you point me to other threads where this is discussed?

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

 Did she move and keep USCIS informed of her current address ?   What did the case status online say during this time frame ?   

[Crazy Cat 41,860]

I would get an attorney.....like today!!!  Sounds like she could be detained at any time.  I doubt that the just forgot to send her the documents.......As above, did she notify them of any address change?

Edited January 29, 2019 by missileman

[Trymester3 6]

Thank you both for your replies thus far. I do recall putting in a change of address online, but I can't recall if that was for the USCIS or if that was for the divorce procedure. In any case, they would have only had 2 addresses for her, either her new address or my current address. The June 2018 and Nov. 2018 letters that they supposedly sent, didn't arrive to any of these 2 addresses.

[MohU3 57]

31 minutes ago, Trymester3 said:

My ex-wife is Japanese and we were married in New York.

 

I have been helping my ex-wife with the "Removal of Conditions" and eventual New Green Card/Residence Card process, but we just found out that there was a huge error.

 

In June 2018, they supposedly sent her an RFE where she was supposed to send in a copy of the Official Divorce Decree. She never received this letter.

 

In Nov. 2018, they supposedly sent a letter stating that because she never replied to the RFE that her Permanent Residence status, along with her rights (including her right to work) is TERMINATED. She never received this letter.

 

In the Nov. 2018 letter they are also asking for her to mail in her expired I-551 and saying that she no longer has any rights granted to her as a Resident. This also means that technically she is no longer allowed to work either. She is employed however, and says that initially when she applied for that job all they asked for was her social security number.

 

*The way that all this was found out was because 1 week ago on the USCIS website (January 2018) she put in a request for a "case status update". 

 

They sent her an envelope yesterday, and in this envelope was a January 2019 letter, along with the June 2018 letter and the November 2018 letter. She had never received any update prior to yesterday. They bundled everything up and sent it as if they had forgotten to send it the first time around. How can she prove this?

 

On the Nov. 2018 letter it says that: "In accordance with Section 216 of the Immigration and Nationality Act", she can have the case reviewed before the Executive Office of Immigration Review (anyone know where this is?).

 

On the Jan. 2019 Case Status Update, it states that she may NOT appeal a denial due to abandonment, but she can re-apply at her earliest convenience (which I guess just means paying the $680 again). 

 

 

Should she: 

A.) Take the Nov. 2018 advice about having the case reviewed before the Executive Office of Immigration Review?

 

B.) Take the Jan. 2019 advice and simply re-apply

 

C.) Just seek out a Lawyer (she didn't use a lawyer throughout the whole process, because I did everything with the help of Visa Journey)?

 

Have any of you had a similar situation? Can any of you point me to other threads where this is discussed?

I saw a lot of people with problems with the change of address service for i751 specifically. That is because of the 2 receipt numbers. one for the 751 and the other one for the CRI89. In your situation, I would just apply again, with a divorce waiver. Also I would include a letter explaining everything that happened that you just explained to us. Include all documents starting with the divorce decree of course. You do not need a lawyer, it's a straight forward process, beside the lost mail situation. But if you feel better going through a lawyer, it's totally up to you. 

[Crazy Cat 41,860]

2 minutes ago, Trymester3 said:

Thank you both for your replies thus far. I do recall putting in a change of address online, but I can't recall if that was for the USCIS or if that was for the divorce procedure. In any case, they would have only had 2 addresses for her, either her new address or my current address. The June 2018 and Nov. 2018 letters that they supposedly sent, didn't arrive to any of these 2 addresses.

When I changed my wife's address online, I received a confirmation email.....Perhaps you have one, too.....

[MohU3 57]

35 minutes ago, Trymester3 said:

They sent her an envelope yesterday, and in this envelope was a January 2019 letter, along with the June 2018 letter and the November 2018 letter. She had never received any update prior to yesterday. They bundled everything up and sent it as if they had forgotten to send it the first time around. How can she prove this?

what was the address on the June 2018 and the January 2019 letters in the package that they sent recently ?

[Crazy Cat 41,860]

1 minute ago, MohU3 said:

You do not need a lawyer, it's a straight forward process, beside the lost mail situation.

Even though she now has received a letter terminating her legal status?  Personally, I think this is pretty serious.

[MohU3 57]

1 minute ago, missileman said:

Even though she now has received a letter terminating her legal status?  Personally, I think this is pretty serious.

Once she apply again for the 751, She is legal. Once she have a receipt for the new 751, she will have proof of status. Don't forget, A permanent resident is Permanent resident till a judge takes it away. They would came detain her otherwise. They could've came when they terminated her status. 

[MohU3 57]

35 minutes ago, missileman said:

I would get an attorney

Think about it, what can the lawyer do other than reapplying for the 751 ?

[Crazy Cat 41,860]

Just now, MohU3 said:

Think about it, what can the lawyer do other than reapplying for the 751 ?

Represent her in removal proceeding, perhaps?

[MohU3 57]

Just now, missileman said:

Represent her in removal proceeding, perhaps?

She is not in removal. and I doubt she will ever be. She is a permanent resident. If she is in removal, yes of course I would go to a lawyer, but why waste money on re-applying 751 that they even did it by their self before.

[Crazy Cat 41,860]

5 minutes ago, MohU3 said:

Once she apply again for the 751, She is legal. Once she have a receipt for the new 751, she will have proof of status

Can you list a source for this statement?

1 minute ago, MohU3 said:

She is not in removal. and I doubt she will ever be. She is a permanent resident. If she is in removal, yes of course I would go to a lawyer, but why waste money on re-applying 751 that they even did it by their self before.

You are taking much more casually than I would.......

[MohU3 57]

I don't have a source for this, but I know people with denied 751 and by re-applying for another 751, USCIS accepted the new case, sent them extension, and they got the stamp for extra proof. Check @mindthegap  timeline. Think about it, if she's removable, where are they since November 2018 till today. Plus, why would they ask her to re-apply in the letter of January 2019 if she can't ?

[Trymester3 6]

I just noticed that the June 2018 and November 2018 letters are the same address as the January 2019 letter, but the only exception is that the prior letters don't have an apartment listed. It's possible that those letters did arrive to her building but just never reached her because they did not have an apartment listed.

 

In the November 2018 letter titled Decision, it states: "Your Petition is considered abandoned and is denied under 8 CFR 103.2 (b)(13) This denial is without prejudice to the filing of a new form I-751." Does this mean that she's not even allowed to file a new application?

 

By the way, just to try to clarify things, would she be considered a permanent resident or a conditional resident? The reason I ask is because she has a social security number and had a green card but only for two years. She never got to the process of applying for the 10-year green card.

Edited January 29, 2019 by Trymester3