Can I request a copy of previous I 130 ?

[JojoandTomas 218]

Hey all,

Quick question. Can you request a copy of a previous I 130? Specifically I am looking for what they have as a reason to why it was denied. 

I had a previous I130 and cannot find it in my records. Any suggestions as to where I would get this info?

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

Under the Freedom of Information Act, you can request your immigration record, using the USCIS FOIA online system. 

[geowrian 22,338]

I would try requesting the NOID (if denied prior to approval) or NOIR (if revoked after initial approval) from USCIS first. Resending that is free and may take weeks to a couple/few months.

After or alongside that, you can do a FOIA request. The fee is fairly low and the timeline is longer, but the real issue there is making sure you ask for exactly what you want to see.

 

Was it an I-130 for a spouse? Sibling? Parent? Child?

[JojoandTomas 218]

5 minutes ago, geowrian said:

I would try requesting the NOID (if denied prior to approval) or NOIR (if revoked after initial approval) from USCIS first. Resending that is free and may take weeks to a couple/few months.

After or alongside that, you can do a FOIA request. The fee is fairly low and the timeline is longer, but the real issue there is making sure you ask for exactly what you want to see.

 

Was it an I-130 for a spouse? Sibling? Parent? Child?

It was for a spouse. And it was approved by the NVC at the time as well. Does the FOIA apply if I need to retrieve the files from NVC? Should I contact NVC?

[pushbrk 13,176]

11 minutes ago, JojoandTomas said:

It was for a spouse. And it was approved by the NVC at the time as well. Does the FOIA apply if I need to retrieve the files from NVC? Should I contact NVC?

Your I-130 file will be with USCIS.  Sounds like the I-130 was approved, but the visa was denied.  Subsequently, you would have received a Notice of Intent to Revoke from USCIS and ultimately a notice of revocation of the petition approval.  Not sure why you need to see anything.  When asked the reason, tell them the reason you remember.

[geowrian 22,338]

14 minutes ago, JojoandTomas said:

It was for a spouse. And it was approved by the NVC at the time as well. Does the FOIA apply if I need to retrieve the files from NVC? Should I contact NVC?

USCIS is responsible for all I-130s. If it was denied or revoked, that would only have been done by USCIS.

 

If there was a visa interview based upon that I-130, and the visa was refused due to the I-130 being invalid (i.e. if they felt the marriage was not legal or was not bona fide), they would send the petition back to USCIS (passing through NVC on the way). USCIS would then review the I-130 and either reaffirm it or issue a NOIR. Failure to respond to the NOIR, or providing an insufficient response to it, would result in revocation of the I-130. Either way, USCIS is the one who would be responsible for the I-130 and would hold any such notices.

Edited July 14, 2020 by geowrian

[JojoandTomas 218]

3 minutes ago, geowrian said:

USCIS is responsible for all I-130s. If it was denied or revoked, that would only have been done by USCIS.

 

If there was a visa interview based upon that I-130, and the visa was refused due to the I-130 being invalid (i.e. if they felt the marriage was not legal or was not bona fide), they would send the petition back to USCIS (passing through NVC on the way). USCIS would then review the I-130 and either reaffirm it or issue a NOIR. Failure to respond to the NOIR, or providing an insufficient response to it, would result in denial of the I-130. Either way, USCIS is the one who would be responsible for the I-130 and would hold any such notices.

There was an interview in the DR and it was denied due to marriage not deemed bona fide as you stated, we broke up shortly after and I never pursued it or even remember receiving any additional paperwork from USCIS. I am currently petitioning for my fiance and want to have that for my records because I am positive it's coming up whenever we go to the interview. I want to see what specific reason it states and also to have for my records. 

[JojoandTomas 218]

8 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

Your I-130 file will be with USCIS.  Sounds like the I-130 was approved, but the visa was denied.  Subsequently, you would have received a Notice of Intent to Revoke from USCIS and ultimately a notice of revocation of the petition approval.  Not sure why you need to see anything.  When asked the reason, tell them the reason you remember.

Yes sorry for the confusion. That's correct, the Visa was denied. In this case the form I am looking for is the Notice of Intent to Revoke and the revocation I assume? 

I mostly want to see it because I want it for my records and also in case it ever comes up. I would like to be prepared just in case.

This might be a dumb question but I figured they'd also have those records at the interview for my current fiancee

[pushbrk 13,176]

1 minute ago, JojoandTomas said:

Yes sorry for the confusion. That's correct, the Visa was denied. In this case the form I am looking for is the Notice of Intent to Revoke and the revocation I assume? 

I mostly want to see it because I want it for my records and also in case it ever comes up. I would like to be prepared just in case.

This might be a dumb question but I figured they'd also have those records at the interview for my current fiancee

Yes, they will and while it would be nice to have a copy, I'm sure you remember the reason the visa was denied.  Your current fiancee should be properly informed, in case she is asked.  Informed with the truth, regardless of what's on any paper.

[JojoandTomas 218]

8 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

Yes, they will and while it would be nice to have a copy, I'm sure you remember the reason the visa was denied.  Your current fiancee should be properly informed, in case she is asked.  Informed with the truth, regardless of what's on any paper.

I figured as much. I just didn't want the prior petition to decrease the chances of getting approved for this one. It happened over 15 years ago but I know they'll still bring it up

[pushbrk 13,176]

1 minute ago, JojoandTomas said:

I figured as much. I just didn't want the prior petition to decrease the chances of getting approved for this one. It happened over 15 years ago but I know they'll still bring it up

The potential impact on the current petition depends entirely on the reason for the prior denial.

[JojoandTomas 218]

4 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

The potential impact on the current petition depends entirely on the reason for the prior denial.

As I stated above they deemed the marriage not bonafide. Afterwards, I did not pursue it any further. No follow ups or anything. 

[pushbrk 13,176]

2 minutes ago, JojoandTomas said:

As I stated above they deemed the marriage not bonafide. Afterwards, I did not pursue it any further. No follow ups or anything. 

The key is the reason they didn't believe the "relationship" was bona fide, and whether that reason included fraudulent behavior on your part or just the foreigner's part.

[JojoandTomas 218]

1 minute ago, pushbrk said:

The key is the reason they didn't believe the "relationship" was bona fide, and whether that reason included fraudulent behavior on your part or just the foreigner's part.

There was fraudulent behavior on his part, hence why I declined to pursue it further. They stated they didn't believe the relationship was bonafide and I agreed with them ,i also did not think he was in it for the right reasons and visa was denied. But as I said this was years back and I just don't want this to interfere with my current fiance's petition 

[pushbrk 13,176]

6 minutes ago, JojoandTomas said:

There was fraudulent behavior on his part, hence why I declined to pursue it further. They stated they didn't believe the relationship was bonafide and I agreed with them ,i also did not think he was in it for the right reasons and visa was denied. But as I said this was years back and I just don't want this to interfere with my current fiance's petition 

What you "don't want" is not in your control.  Make sure your current fiance understands all the actual "whys" in the past case.  If so, I wouldn't expect a problem, provided you have plenty of evidence THIS relationship is bona fide.