VAWA, Part 21

[Villanelle 4,122]

1 hour ago, ValeryK said:

Does ombudsman help more than congressman does? Which person would you get better help from? 

It depends on the issue you are having. The ombudsman is generally more for complaints or issues with the process. 

I highlighted in red the following that may apply to VAWA petitioners taken from https://www.dhs.gov/cisomb-jurisdiction 

The Ombudsman provides case assistance to address the following procedural and technical issues:

• Typographic errors in immigration documents;
• USCIS’ failure to schedule biometrics appointment, interviews, naturalization oath ceremonies, or other appointments;
• Refunds in cases of clear USCIS error;
• Lost files and/or file transfer problems;
• Change of address and mailing issues, including non-delivery of notices or action and/or completed immigration documents (e.g., Employment Authorization Cards, Permanent Resident Cards, etc.), except where USCIS properly mailed the notice or documents to the individual’s address on file and it was not returned; and
• Cases where the beneficiary may “age-out” of eligibility for the requested immigration benefit. 

The Ombudsman provides case assistance to address the following substantive matters:

• Applications and petitions that were improperly rejected by USCIS;
• Ongoing, systemic issues that should be subjected to higher level review (e.g., the exercise of discretion, the misapplication of evidentiary standards, USCIS employees failing to comply with USCIS policy, etc.);
• Cases where an individual is in removal proceeding before the immigration court and has an application or petition pending before USCIS that may have a bearing on the outcome of removal proceeding;
• Clear errors of fact, or gross obvious misapplication of the relevant law by USCIS in Requests for Evidence, Notice of Intent to Deny, and denials; and
• Certain cases involving U.S. military personnel and their families (e.g., citizenship for military members and dependents, family-based survivor benefits for the immediate relatives, etc.).

As stillwinning posted the Ombudsman should be the last resort for help. It directly says so on the web page for case assistance. (https://www.dhs.gov/case-assistance). If you do file a case with the ombudsman it can take a very long time for them to first respond and accept the case and then another long period of time for them to actually do something about it. 

 

Your congressman is the better option. Everyone has 3 congressman they can ask for help from. 2 senators and 1 representative. The following link is a very quick way to locate your congressman based on zip code- https://whoismyrepresentative.com/ 

 

Political affiliation does not matter when asking for help but you will find some congressmans offices are more helpful then others. In heavily populated areas you may have a harder time getting assistance from senators since they cover the entire state and your house of representatives member has a smaller area of jurisdiction. If you are dissatisfied with the help or lack of help you get from the rep you contacted you can contact one of the other 2. Do not contact them all at the same time for assistance. Pick one and attempt to get the help you need, but yes, if they are unhelpful or unresponsive you definitely should seek out assistance from another. 

 

As explained previously in the thread there is currently a variety of issues going on right now with due to the pandemic causing a large number of people requesting help from their congressman so your wait time for assistance may be longer then normal. You may also get back generic responses for your request for help as they most likely have a heavier then normal workload of requests + reduced staff. That just means you may have to be more persistent in your efforts to get help and should stress when asking for help that its a VAWA case so you are unable to use the online tools for service requests or 800 number like other petitioners can. 

 

Here is a very basic outline of how to make a inquiry through your congressman- https://lawandborder.com/asking-a-member-of-congress-for-help-with-your-immigration-case/  It outlines the general procedure and typical info you should provide when asking for help. Remember there is no official format required. You just need to provide the necessary information like your name/ A#/case number/service center etc and a description of the issue specifically what you need them to do for you  If anyone is still struggling with how to word their request for help please do not hesitate to post here and ask for assistance. 

[Stillwinning!!!😊 4,570]

7 minutes ago, ValeryK said:

Yes, financial loss and medical emergency. I’m 38 weeks pregnant and I have my health insurance through my employer. I would lose my job as well as health insurance if my EAD don’t come on time. Then I wouldn’t be able to pay for my medical expenses. I submitted recommendation letter from employer, notice from doctor and copy of health insurance card which shows it was obtained through employment. 
Do you think it’s a good reason to expedite? 
I’m already waiting 7 months. Filed in July 2020

Yes good reason.. so did you submit bills due and bank statements to reflect economic loss? its also a requirement for the financial loss part..but still they are supposed to have reached out to you ...7 months you say?😳

[ValeryK 29]

9 minutes ago, Villanelle said:

It depends on the issue you are having. The ombudsman is generally more for complaints or issues with the process. 

I highlighted in red the following that may apply to VAWA petitioners taken from https://www.dhs.gov/cisomb-jurisdiction 

The Ombudsman provides case assistance to address the following procedural and technical issues:

• Typographic errors in immigration documents;
• USCIS’ failure to schedule biometrics appointment, interviews, naturalization oath ceremonies, or other appointments;
• Refunds in cases of clear USCIS error;
• Lost files and/or file transfer problems;
• Change of address and mailing issues, including non-delivery of notices or action and/or completed immigration documents (e.g., Employment Authorization Cards, Permanent Resident Cards, etc.), except where USCIS properly mailed the notice or documents to the individual’s address on file and it was not returned; and
• Cases where the beneficiary may “age-out” of eligibility for the requested immigration benefit. 

The Ombudsman provides case assistance to address the following substantive matters:

• Applications and petitions that were improperly rejected by USCIS;
• Ongoing, systemic issues that should be subjected to higher level review (e.g., the exercise of discretion, the misapplication of evidentiary standards, USCIS employees failing to comply with USCIS policy, etc.);
• Cases where an individual is in removal proceeding before the immigration court and has an application or petition pending before USCIS that may have a bearing on the outcome of removal proceeding;
• Clear errors of fact, or gross obvious misapplication of the relevant law by USCIS in Requests for Evidence, Notice of Intent to Deny, and denials; and
• Certain cases involving U.S. military personnel and their families (e.g., citizenship for military members and dependents, family-based survivor benefits for the immediate relatives, etc.).

As stillwinning posted the Ombudsman should be the last resort for help. It directly says so on the web page for case assistance. (https://www.dhs.gov/case-assistance). If you do file a case with the ombudsman it can take a very long time for them to first respond and accept the case and then another long period of time for them to actually do something about it. 

 

Your congressman is the better option. Everyone has 3 congressman they can ask for help from. 2 senators and 1 representative. The following link is a very quick way to locate your congressman based on zip code- https://whoismyrepresentative.com/ 

 

Political affiliation does not matter when asking for help but you will find some congressmans offices are more helpful then others. In heavily populated areas you may have a harder time getting assistance from senators since they cover the entire state and your house of representatives member has a smaller area of jurisdiction. If you are dissatisfied with the help or lack of help you get from the rep you contacted you can contact one of the other 2. Do not contact them all at the same time for assistance. Pick one and attempt to get the help you need, but yes, if they are unhelpful or unresponsive you definitely should seek out assistance from another. 

 

As explained previously in the thread there is currently a variety of issues going on right now with due to the pandemic causing a large number of people requesting help from their congressman so your wait time for assistance may be longer then normal. You may also get back generic responses for your request for help as they most likely have a heavier then normal workload of requests + reduced staff. That just means you may have to be more persistent in your efforts to get help and should stress when asking for help that its a VAWA case so you are unable to use the online tools for service requests or 800 number like other petitioners can. 

 

Here is a very basic outline of how to make a inquiry through your congressman- https://lawandborder.com/asking-a-member-of-congress-for-help-with-your-immigration-case/  It outlines the general procedure and typical info you should provide when asking for help. Remember there is no official format required. You just need to provide the necessary information like your name/ A#/case number/service center etc and a description of the issue specifically what you need them to do for you  If anyone is still struggling with how to word their request for help please do not hesitate to post here and ask for assistance. 

Is having my I-765 pending since July, 2019 considered an issue??? 

[ValeryK 29]

12 minutes ago, Stillwinning!!!😊 said:

Yes good reason.. so did you submit bills due and bank statements to reflect economic loss? its also a requirement for the financial loss part..but still they are supposed to have reached out to you ...7 months you say?😳

Yes, 7 months for one I-765 and 19 months for another one. I have two I-765 forms pending at VSC 

[Jumzzy 0]

Hi All,  thanks for all you do. Pls I have a question...

I’m filing for Vawa based on emotional, psychological and financial abuse on my kids and I. My abuser is a citizen. We are divorced already. These are my questions

 

1. Can I file i360 together with i485 or I need to wait for the i360 to be approved first?

2. Do I file different i360 for my kids and I? Or a single i360 will cover us all?
3. Do I submit all evidences I have with the i360 or I wait for them to ask for RFE?
I await your reply. Thank you.

[Villanelle 4,122]

Multiple filings can cause a variety of issues.

 

The c09 EAD is issued based on having a pending 485. Did your spouse withdraw the 130? If so it would cause the 485 attached to it to no longer be valid. (which may be why the 765 applied for in 2019 was never issued) I understand the online system is showing you the 485 is pending but sometimes the system is slow to reflect things- when you use the online tools it has a disclaimer stating such. You also mentioned previously getting a transfer notice for your 485/first 765/first 131 (filed back in 2019) in Sept 2020 saying its all at VSC now. It is possible for you to have gotten a generic notice and the case was transferred but if the 130 was withdrawn the 485 they transferred will ultimately be determined to be not valid so no EAD will ever be issued based on such.  It does not appear you filed a second 485 with your 360, you just mention filing the 360 along with a second 765/131. Technically it is possible for them to transfer your 485 from the initially submitted 130 package to your 360 package but that transfer must be done prior to the 130 being withdrawn and  it would have needed to be specifically requested to happen by the attny and a confirmation of such occurring would have been received back. 

 

I would suggest getting confirmation from the attny that this occurred (your previously filed 485 was successfully attached to your 360 prior to the 130 being withdrawn) and clarification from them on which 765 case number they asked for an expedite on.  

[ValeryK 29]

26 minutes ago, Villanelle said:

Multiple filings can cause a variety of issues.

 

The c09 EAD is issued based on having a pending 485. Did your spouse withdraw the 130? If so it would cause the 485 attached to it to no longer be valid. (which may be why the 765 applied for in 2019 was never issued) I understand the online system is showing you the 485 is pending but sometimes the system is slow to reflect things- when you use the online tools it has a disclaimer stating such. You also mentioned previously getting a transfer notice for your 485/first 765/first 131 (filed back in 2019) in Sept 2020 saying its all at VSC now. It is possible for you to have gotten a generic notice and the case was transferred but if the 130 was withdrawn the 485 they transferred will ultimately be determined to be not valid so no EAD will ever be issued based on such.  It does not appear you filed a second 485 with your 360, you just mention filing the 360 along with a second 765/131. Technically it is possible for them to transfer your 485 from the initially submitted 130 package to your 360 package but that transfer must be done prior to the 130 being withdrawn and  it would have needed to be specifically requested to happen by the attny and a confirmation of such occurring would have been received back. 

 

I would suggest getting confirmation from the attny that this occurred (your previously filed 485 was successfully attached to your 360 prior to the 130 being withdrawn) and clarification from them on which 765 case number they asked for an expedite on.  

No, I-130 is still active/pending! 
For I-485 it’s showing that it was transferred to VSC and I received a proper transfer notice regarding it. 
With everything being said, my I-485 was attached to VAWA after my attorney requested it when we filed I-360. I-130 was never withdrawn. 
Attorney mentioned receipt numbers for both I-765 in a letter. She asked for one filed in July, 2020 to be expedite or as an alternative way for one filed in July, 2019 to be approved since its way outside of normal processing time. 

[IWA123 11]

Hi every one, I filed I-795(09) on January 7,2021 because I made a mistake of filling C31 when 

I initially submit all my applications back in Sep2020. I received a finger print request notice for February 17,2021 and I did that.

My question is, on February 4,2021 my status for I-765(09) was saying finger print were taken, so why did they made me

give another one if they already used the one on file?

The finger print request notice says for cases 360/I485. Is this a normal process ? did you submit finger print for 360/485?other 

than for i765? I am sorry if it is  Silly question☺️

 

[Tatsi0830 23]

4 minutes ago, IWA123 said:

Hi every one, I filed I-795(09) on January 7,2021 because I made a mistake of filling C31 when 

I initially submit all my applications back in Sep2020. I received a finger print request notice for February 17,2021 and I did that.

My question is, on February 4,2021 my status for I-765(09) was saying finger print were taken, so why did they made me

give another one if they already used the one on file?

The finger print request notice says for cases 360/I485. Is this a normal process ? did you submit finger print for 360/485?other 

than for i765? I am sorry if it is  Silly question☺️

 

Yeah, I had to do fingerprints for 485 and 360 separately. No worries!

[sam012019 14]

3 hours ago, Stillwinning!!!😊 said:

Re-submit the evidences you have and add affidavits from friends family and landlord affirming you lived with your spouse!👍

Thank you and others for responding. I have 3 months time to respond to this query, will they send my EAD renewal. I applied for EAD renewal in June 2020 and still have not got it. will they wait for my respone to RFE or will they send EAD and let me respond to their RFE in 3 months? Sorry to confuse, will this affect my EAD renewal, I have been expecting it since few weeks.

[IWA123 11]

2 minutes ago, Tatsi0830 said:

Yeah, I had to do fingerprints for 485 and 360 separately. No worries!

Oh, okay! Thank you! I guess my case is moving😀 I did not expect any activity any time soon since I applied 5month ago

[Tatsi0830 23]

3 minutes ago, IWA123 said:

Oh, okay! Thank you! I guess my case is moving😀 I did not expect any activity any time soon since I applied 5month ago

I submitted 360 in July and had biometrics appointment in January, and 485 in September, biometrics for it in December.

Status on 485 changed to fingerprints applied, but 360 did not. 360 status also doesn't change for Prima Facie, so if anything to expect next that would be RFE or Card being produced (this will take a while though)  🙂

[IWA123 11]

3 minutes ago, Tatsi0830 said:

I submitted 360 in July and had biometrics appointment in January, and 485 in September, biometrics for it in December.

Status on 485 changed to fingerprints applied, but 360 did not. 360 status also doesn't change for Prima Facie, so if anything to expect next that would be RFE or Card being produced (this will take a while though)  🙂

I see, you are right, I checked now and my i485 have changed.  My I360 did not changed too, when I received the Prima Facie. 

 

[Sandra G. 5,057]

On 2/16/2021 at 8:16 PM, Jennifer90 said:

Hello all,

 

The abuser just emailed me " you are the devil" ," you are doing is for money  and green card" ,can I use this go to get the Protection order for me ? I have also the record that he abused me about 3 years ago  .

 

 

Please help !

You should file a protection order you fear for your life. His message is what he thinks about you, but there is no threat against you  in this message  Recorded messages are not accepted by the USCIS, you need to have the messages transcribed in order to be accepted ok.

[Sandra G. 5,057]

On 2/15/2021 at 3:25 PM, Formykid said:

Hi everyone, 

LPR (ex spouse) here.

I had the overstayed status way before my Vawa was approved. 

Should i worry for my upcoming i485 interview?

Don't worry , you will be fine.