USCIS messed up my life and they don't admit their mistake. What is my option?

[geowrian 22,337]

3 minutes ago, SpanishBoyNYC said:

i didn't really think you guys cared about this detail  maybe it was my mistake because i was just thinking about the questions i asked so didn't think that background really matters. so maybe i should have said it more openly and clearly. i know our timeline sounds messed up.. here is why: i got married to my wife in Spain. after 3 years of our marriage she became us citizen(she was becoming a PR and working for US military in abroad and this is how we met) and during that time lived in New York(i had h1 visa) and Madrid, Spain (just couple months in spain). and then i applied for green card through marriage to us citizen when we moved to US AFTER she became a US citizen.  another issue that i couldn't apply for green card earlier was that, our marriage was valid in spain because we didn't OFFICIALY get married in US. so technically my marriage to my wife started 3years late for immigration process. law says that you need to be a resident of NY for at least 6 months to get married here in US. so we had to wait 6months AFTER we moved to US to get married here. and that marriage started the process of my green card.  there are unique exceptions for eligibility for marriage green cards when you're married to a wife/husband who works at US base abroad. this is all explained from attorney we consulted( not hired) so yes i had to apply for 2 year green card first because when i applied for green card we were married for less than 1 year. and then rest of the process was just too long for no reason. my first green card took over 18 months to arrive. my first denied i751 took over 20 months. no rfe etc.

 

Long story short: we got married in spain. technically we lived in spain in first 3 years. ex wife became US citizen 3 years AFTER our marriage and then we moved to US and then we married again in US in state of NY. after all of this, i applied for green card. that is why timeline looks so messed up. i know i should have done it earlier etc but it is what it is. sorry that this was confused you when i asked so many questions...

There is no need to get married in the US. The US recognizes foreign marriages all the time. I'd argue that the majority of spousal visa cases on this website probably only ever married abroad.

Since you consulted an attorney - who I would presume knew the details already and explained why you needed to remarry and were getting a 2 year green card - I'm assuming there's more to the foreign marriage situation. There must have been something that made it not legal under US law, although I can't think of anything off-hand (1st cousin/common law/domestic partnership issues didn't seem to fit here unless I missed something).

I understand there are certain aspects of being a military spouse in play, but the requirements are not more strict as a result.

 

I've never heard of a 6 month waiting period to marry in NY. Destination weddings happen all the time.

There is a 6 month residency requirement to divorce in some states, but I've not heard of one for marriage (just the time to get the marriage license, but that's usually measured in days).

 

Did you get the H1 visa after the foreign marriage? If so, what was put as your marital status on the DS-160 (visa application)? Curiously, what was put as their marital status on their N-400 (naturalization application)?

 

3 minutes ago, SpanishBoyNYC said:

i worry about missing nta(court notice) because uscis may have forwarded wrong address to court. i check online system with my a number but it says 'no case was found' 

this is the link i am using: https://portal.eoir.justice.gov/InfoSystem/Form?Language=EN

So there is no record in the system at this point in time. It means nothing more and nothing less. That's a good thing, though.

 

3 minutes ago, SpanishBoyNYC said:

should i go to their local office in NY to double check this or trust this online system? its has been over 4 months since the first i751 denial. (my appeal took 3 months after denial)

maybe i'm paranoid now after uscis messed up my address. when i call uscis, they confirm my address on the phone but they may have forwarded my case to them when they had the address wrong. not sure how this works. i worry that i miss the court date and judge removes my status and it is the final chance. 

I'll defer to others on if this is necessary or not. Generally calling the phone number + checking the website should be sufficient.

[SpanishBoyNYC 2]

6 hours ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

It doesn't matter where you get married; the marriage is valid as long as there is an official marriage certificate. You didn't need to marry again in the US. Also it didn't matter when your wife became a citizen.

 

At the time of filing, you were the spouse of a US citizen married for over two years, so, you should have gotten the 10 years GC. 

 

The second marriage was unnecessary and actually unleashed this string of inconveniences you've been dealing with. 

i am confused. how could we provide our marriage license for the green card application if we didn't need to marry again in the US? It simply didn't exist at that time. thanks for answer.

[SpanishBoyNYC 2]

4 hours ago, geowrian said:

There is no need to get married in the US. The US recognizes foreign marriages all the time. I'd argue that the majority of spousal visa cases on this website probably only ever married abroad.

Since you consulted an attorney - who I would presume knew the details already and explained why you needed to remarry and were getting a 2 year green card - I'm assuming there's more to the foreign marriage situation. There must have been something that made it not legal under US law, although I can't think of anything off-hand (1st cousin/common law/domestic partnership issues didn't seem to fit here unless I missed something).

I understand there are certain aspects of being a military spouse in play, but the requirements are not more strict as a result.

 

I've never heard of a 6 month waiting period to marry in NY. Destination weddings happen all the time.

There is a 6 month residency requirement to divorce in some states, but I've not heard of one for marriage (just the time to get the marriage license, but that's usually measured in days).

 

Did you get the H1 visa after the foreign marriage? If so, what was put as your marital status on the DS-160 (visa application)? Curiously, what was put as their marital status on their N-400 (naturalization application)?

 

So there is no record in the system at this point in time. It means nothing more and nothing less. That's a good thing, though.

 

I'll defer to others on if this is necessary or not. Generally calling the phone number + checking the website should be sufficient.

no i had h1 visa before marriage and i was single at that time.

like you said, when we came to US we consulted attorney and did what he said. we just didn't know anything obviously and followed his legal advise.  

thank you for answers. 

[jakelake 222]

5 hours ago, geowrian said:

There is no need to get married in the US. The US recognizes foreign marriages all the time. I'd argue that the majority of spousal visa cases on this website probably only ever married abroad.

Since you consulted an attorney - who I would presume knew the details already and explained why you needed to remarry and were getting a 2 year green card - I'm assuming there's more to the foreign marriage situation. There must have been something that made it not legal under US law, although I can't think of anything off-hand (1st cousin/common law/domestic partnership issues didn't seem to fit here unless I missed something).

I understand there are certain aspects of being a military spouse in play, but the requirements are not more strict as a result.

 

I've never heard of a 6 month waiting period to marry in NY. Destination weddings happen all the time.

There is a 6 month residency requirement to divorce in some states, but I've not heard of one for marriage (just the time to get the marriage license, but that's usually measured in days).

 

Did you get the H1 visa after the foreign marriage? If so, what was put as your marital status on the DS-160 (visa application)? Curiously, what was put as their marital status on their N-400 (naturalization application)?

 

So there is no record in the system at this point in time. It means nothing more and nothing less. That's a good thing, though.

 

I'll defer to others on if this is necessary or not. Generally calling the phone number + checking the website should be sufficient.

 

16 minutes ago, SpanishBoyNYC said:

i am confused. how could we provide our marriage license for the green card application if we didn't need to marry again in the US? It simply didn't exist at that time. thanks for answer.

 

[jakelake 222]

 

 

Form I-751 is when you enter the US after being approved by NVC. You file that petition if marriage is less than 2 years from date of entry into the US.

 

If you were already in the US, then you would have filed Form I-130 and then Form I-485 for adjustment of status.

It sounds like you had a terrible lawyer.

 

[mindthegap 2,590]

10 hours ago, SpanishBoyNYC said:

 

stuff

 

I'm out.

 

There is no requirement to get married in the US.

There is no 6 month waiting period requirement to get married in NY (I live here too).

You can fly to JFK on an ESTA, go directly to city hall for a marriage license, and then get married exactly 24hrs later here if you like. I myself got married on an ESTA while living overseas with my spouse, left, and applied and approved via DCF (direct consular filing) from overseas (which was also available in Spain i believe)

 

 

 

It does not matter when she became a citizen - after or before your marriage. The fact remains, if you marriage was legal in the jurisdiction it happened (ie, Spain), and at the time of becoming a LPR (approval after adjusting status OR activation of a spousal immigrant visa at a POE) that marriage was exactly 2 years old or more, and your wife was a US citizen, you should have  been given IR-1 and avoided this whole mess....that is, if you had filed using your original marriage details, not the second (pointless) one.

If you were already legally married - you can't reset/override the original date by having a second wedding 🤦‍♀️

 

If you were married in Spain, your second 'wedding' in the US was basically pointless and has caused all of this. 

Whichever attorney told you differently is incompetent (seeing a pattern here). 

 

Unless of course there is more that you aren't disclosing.... honestly, this is a perfect example of someone posting for help, and having to pull teeth to get the full facts relevant to the situation, that slowly drip out and change the picture drastically. 

 

 

 

 

 

We won't get into the matter of the missed opportunity of expedited citizenship for LPR spouses of US citizens stationed overseas on Govt/military orders...

 

 

 

 

Edited July 3, 2020 by mindthegap

[Orangesapples 1,954]

1 hour ago, SpanishBoyNYC said:

no i had h1 visa before marriage and i was single at that time.

like you said, when we came to US we consulted attorney and did what he said. we just didn't know anything obviously and followed his legal advise.  

thank you for answers. 

Wait, wait, don't you have a Spanish marriage certificate? 

 

1 hour ago, SpanishBoyNYC said:

i am confused. how could we provide our marriage license for the green card application if we didn't need to marry again in the US? It simply didn't exist at that time. thanks for answer.

 

[Orangesapples 1,954]

43 minutes ago, mindthegap said:

 

I'm out.

 

There is no requirement to get married in the US.

There is no 6 month waiting period requirement to get married in NY (I live here too).

You can fly to JFK on an ESTA, go directly to city hall for a marriage license, and then get married exactly 24hrs later here if you like. I myself got married on an ESTA while living overseas with my spouse, left, and applied and approved via DCF (direct consular filing) from overseas (which was also available in Spain i believe)

 

 

 

It does not matter when she became a citizen - after or before your marriage. The fact remains, if you marriage was legal in the jurisdiction it happened (ie, Spain), and at the time of becoming a LPR (approval after adjusting status OR activation of a spousal immigrant visa at a POE) that marriage was exactly 2 years old or more, and your wife was a US citizen, you should have  been given IR-1 and avoided this whole mess....that is, if you had filed using your original marriage details, not the second (pointless) one.

If you were already legally married - you can't reset/override the original date by having a second wedding 🤦‍♀️

 

If you were married in Spain, your second 'wedding' in the US was basically pointless and has caused all of this. 

Whichever attorney told you differently is incompetent (seeing a pattern here). 

 

Unless of course there is more that you aren't disclosing.... honestly, this is a perfect example of someone posting for help, and having to pull teeth to get the full facts relevant to the situation, that slowly drip out and change the picture drastically. 

 

 

 

 

 

We won't get into the matter of the missed opportunity of expedited citizenship for LPR spouses of US citizens stationed overseas on Govt/military orders...

 

 

 

 

Honestly, from reading this website, I reached the conclusion that immigration lawyers do more harm than good. What kind of a lawyer would give such ridiculous advice? 

Edited July 3, 2020 by Orangesapples

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

4 hours ago, SpanishBoyNYC said:

i am confused. how could we provide our marriage license for the green card application if we didn't need to marry again in the US? It simply didn't exist at that time. thanks for answer.

What you should have provided when you initially filed for residency, was the certificado de matrimonio issued by the Registro Civil in Spain. 

[jakelake 222]

Sometimes doing a little research on your own before filing and before hiring an attorney can go a long way. If you had access to visa journey then, maybe things would have been different.

[xyz12345 260]

Is this an easier fix then inspite of the I-751 denial? Can you just rebutt saying I  was already married for more than 2 years so I didn't need to file this in the first place?

 

I'm sorry to say this but with the way the OP's story is presented here, I wouldn't be surprised if the couple, when they arrived in the US, didn't even tell the lawyer that they were already married overseas. Four pages here in 1 direction and then about face! MIscommunication galore!

 

I don't think you should leave the US until everything is sorted out.

Edited July 3, 2020 by xyz12345

[SpanishBoyNYC 2]

i just got more upset as i find out all of this... unfortunately i didn't know laws and rules before moving to us so i had to trust the lawyer. i found one that was recommended by our landlord and he was a legit one in new york.. i was new and i wanted to get legal advise from professionals and follow their advise. i also called uscis to confirm attorney's advise before submitting first green card application. i guess i was either unlucky or stupid enough to find the worst one. i just fallowed what the attorney said and i wish i researched it but i never thought a lawyer can give this bad advise. 

 

we did have a foreign marriage certificate but when i questioned the lawyer he showed me a requirement list that lists "valid marriage certificate" so i believed him when he said "you guys have to get married here". because it made sense that they need a valid us based marriage certificate for immigration. i did think about going to spanish embassy to get a proof for marriage license but i honestly thought that lawyer would tell me to do it if it was needed..... so i said ok we can get married here too. 

 

right now, time has already passed and unfortunately i even got a divorce. i'm already upset about what happened and i know i could have been more careful but i did my best. at least i didn't lie to anyone. i will have to do what i need to do now. and yes i'm here on this forum so i won't make same mistakes again. i actually consulted lawyers and if you notice my first massage, i only try to make sure advise i get is correct by asking questions here. i didn't tell the whole story to lawyers i recently talked to because i was only paying to get advise on my denied i751

 

i learned my lesson that is why i have been researching about what to do next for last 2 weeks. i don't want to rush but at the same time i have to send new i751 asap. please let me know if what i know is correct.

 

1 - Now i will have to refile new i751 with divorce and wait it to be finalized. is this true?

 

2 - and should i worry about missing nta? when i check the online site, it says no case found. is that system trustworthy?

 

thanks. 

 

 

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

1 hour ago, SpanishBoyNYC said:

i'm already upset about what happened and i know i could have been more careful but i did my best. at least i didn't lie to anyone. i will have to do what i need to do now. and yes i'm here on this forum so i won't make same mistakes again.

The whole situation is very unfortunate and shows that one should not blindly trust anyone, but rather have official sources of information.

But, no point in crying over spilt milk now. (Unless you decided to go against this highly incompetent lawyer).

 

As things are now, maybe it wouldn't be that bad to go through court and actually present your case to the judge, arguing you were actually entitled a 10 years GC rather than a 2 years one. 

 

I am actively searching a similar case but have been unsuccessful so far. Seems your situation is quite unique. 

Edited July 3, 2020 by Allaboutwaiting

[SpanishBoyNYC 2]

2 minutes ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

The whole situation is very unfortunate and shows that one should not blindly trust anyone, but rather have official sources of information.

But, no point in crying over spilled milk now. (Unless you decided to go against this highly incompetent lawyer).

 

As things are now, maybe it wouldn't be that bad to go through court and actually present your case to the judge, arguing you were actually entitled a 10 years GC rather than a 2 years one. 

 

I am actively searching a similar case but have been unsuccessful so far. Seems your situation is quite unique. 

thank you for advise. my initial i751 was denied in march. when i search website with my a number, it says there is no case. do you know how long it takes to recieve this letter?

i keep asking but how can i make sure that i am not in court process?

 

based on my research it may take months/years to get to court. my final question: if court can make final decision, why would i just with for court? its free and it can make final decision. (of course i'm saying this because i know my marriage was real so i can prove it.) my lawyer says, i have to refile i751 no matter what. is that true? 

 

 

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

19 minutes ago, SpanishBoyNYC said:

thank you for advise. my initial i751 was denied in march. when i search website with my a number, it says there is no case. do you know how long it takes to recieve this letter?

i keep asking but how can i make sure that i am not in court process?

 

based on my research it may take months/years to get to court. my final question: if court can make final decision, why would i just with for court? its free and it can make final decision. (of course i'm saying this because i know my marriage was real so i can prove it.) my lawyer says, i have to refile i751 no matter what. is that true? 

 

 

To ensure you have authorized stay, yes, you must file the I-751 again.