Where to file an Appeal

[Carlos B. 0]

In late December my petition for a fiancé visa was decline due to a lack of evidence that my fiancé and I had met in the two years before applying. I submitted pictures and scans of tickets, but the letter specifically mention the lack of evidence with dates. The letter also listed passport entry/exit stamps and ticket itineraries as examples of acceptable evidence. I scanned my passport and visa stamps and printed out a copy of the itinerary and am ready to file for an appeal using the I-290B form. The issue I am having is that I am not sure where to send the appeal to. I read through all of the options listed here https://www.uscis.gov/i-290b-addresses and got confused with a couple of the instructions. I think I am supposed to send the appeal to the service center that made the decision, in this case the California Service Center, but I also see that I could file at a Phoenix Lockbox address since I think it counts as a "Decision made by a USCIS service center on a form not listed in any section of the chart above". 

 

Another question I have is whether or not I should submit evidence of a meeting after I filed the petition. I was supposed to visit my fiancé for a few months in 2020, but that turned into almost 7 months due to COVID19. Would it be a good idea to submit the same kind of evidence, photos, passport stamps and itineraries to show that we have continued to meet each other? 

 

Any and all help is appreciated. Thank you.

[payxibka 10,047]

Chances are a newly submitted i129f with proper sufficient evidence would be faster to approval than an appeal

Edited January 4, 2021 by payxibka

[Timona 4,208]

From what I've read here before, appeals are rarely successful. Best bet is to start a fresh. 

 

I'll let others chime in too

[aaron2020 11,651]

Another vote to refile. 

You would have to pay to repeal and prove that USCIS made an error.  Adding more information does not show that USCIS made an error.  That just shows you didn't submit the evidence the first time around.  

[JeanneAdil 6,610]

According to my path to citzenship site explains it all

 

You may have heard of people appealing a denial decision for other applicants and wonder if it’s possible for the K1 visa.

Sadly, the answer is no.

https://mypathtocitizenship.com/k1-visa-denied-and-what-to-do-next/#:~:text=You can't appeal a,when it comes to denials.

you can refile the K1 with all evidence to support it or marry and do CR1

i did an appeal for a denied CR1 / a purple (i think purple ) paper came with the NOIR telling me how to appeal, where to send the appeal  and how to submit evidence and the fee,  my appeal took over a year and i won (said my marriage was bona fida) but i had to refile. So, don't waste time just refile

 

[SalishSea 18,087]

3 hours ago, JeanneAdil said:

According to my path to citzenship site explains it all

 

You may have heard of people appealing a denial decision for other applicants and wonder if it’s possible for the K1 visa.

Sadly, the answer is no.

https://mypathtocitizenship.com/k1-visa-denied-and-what-to-do-next/#:~:text=You can't appeal a,when it comes to denials.

you can refile the K1 with all evidence to support it or marry and do CR1

i did an appeal for a denied CR1 / a purple (i think purple ) paper came with the NOIR telling me how to appeal, where to send the appeal  and how to submit evidence and the fee,  my appeal took over a year and i won (said my marriage was bona fida) but i had to refile. So, don't waste time just refile

 

Appealing an incorrectly denied I-129F petition, when it was a USCIS error, is definitely possible.  Appealing a K-1 denial after an embassy interview is not.

 

OP, while I have read successful appeal decisions on the USCIS website, I agree with the others that it will be faster to simply refile with the evidence you didn't submit initially.

[SalishSea 18,087]

I also think it is pretty interesting that they denied it outright, rather than allowing the petitioner to attempt to mitigate with an RFE - if that is indeed what happened.

[Crazy Cat 42,099]

14 hours ago, Carlos B. said:

In late December my petition for a fiancé visa was decline due to a lack of evidence that my fiancé and I had met in the two years before applying. I submitted pictures and scans of tickets, but the letter specifically mention the lack of evidence with dates. The letter also listed passport entry/exit stamps and ticket itineraries as examples of acceptable evidence. I scanned my passport and visa stamps and printed out a copy of the itinerary and am ready to file for an appeal using the I-290B form. The issue I am having is that I am not sure where to send the appeal to. I read through all of the options listed here https://www.uscis.gov/i-290b-addresses and got confused with a couple of the instructions. I think I am supposed to send the appeal to the service center that made the decision, in this case the California Service Center, but I also see that I could file at a Phoenix Lockbox address since I think it counts as a "Decision made by a USCIS service center on a form not listed in any section of the chart above". 

 

Another question I have is whether or not I should submit evidence of a meeting after I filed the petition. I was supposed to visit my fiancé for a few months in 2020, but that turned into almost 7 months due to COVID19. Would it be a good idea to submit the same kind of evidence, photos, passport stamps and itineraries to show that we have continued to meet each other? 

 

Any and all help is appreciated. Thank you.

If USCIS denied the petition, it is likely you failed to respond to an RFE....which can result in an unappealable denial.  Is that possibly what happened?

Edited January 5, 2021 by Lucky Cat

[payxibka 10,047]

9 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

 Appealing a K-1 denial after an embassy interview is not.

True, but only once a petition is returned stateside.   If the petition is still on station,  the answer is different.

[Crazy Cat 42,099]

Another vote to re-apply.

[Carlos B. 0]

2 hours ago, Lucky Cat said:

If USCIS denied the petition, it is likely you failed to respond to an RFE....which can result in an unappealable denial.  Is that possibly what happened?

I did get a RFE, but they did not specify what kind of evidence I needed to send. So I sent the same as I had before, photos of us together, ticket scans, receipts and even intent to marry letters just to be sure. I thought I had sent scans of my visa stamps, but I guess I didn't..

 

But yeah, seems like the consensus is to refile/reapply. Anyone have an idea of how long the wait is now? 

 

Thank you all for your time and answers.

[Crazy Cat 42,099]

7 minutes ago, Carlos B. said:

I did get a RFE, but they did not specify what kind of evidence I needed to send. So I sent the same as I had before, photos of us together, ticket scans, receipts and even intent to marry letters just to be sure. I thought I had sent scans of my visa stamps, but I guess I didn't..

 

But yeah, seems like the consensus is to refile/reapply. Anyone have an idea of how long the wait is now? 

 

Thank you all for your time and answers.

I see.  If you sent the same information twice, it is likely they deemed it insufficient both times.  Anyway, I still think re-applying is, unfortunately, your best plan of action.  Any appeal could result in another denial.  

Can you post a copy of that RFE?  I'm curious as to how it was worded.

Edited January 5, 2021 by Lucky Cat

[SalishSea 18,087]

3 hours ago, Carlos B. said:

I did get a RFE, but they did not specify what kind of evidence I needed to send. So I sent the same as I had before, photos of us together, ticket scans, receipts and even intent to marry letters just to be sure. I thought I had sent scans of my visa stamps, but I guess I didn't..

 

But yeah, seems like the consensus is to refile/reapply. Anyone have an idea of how long the wait is now? 

 

Thank you all for your time and answers.

That makes sense.  Passport stamps are by far the best evidence of having met in person within the specified timeframe.

 

Intent  to marry letters and photos together are not evidence of the timing of any meeting.

Edited January 5, 2021 by Jorgedig

[SalishSea 18,087]

Typo

Edited January 5, 2021 by Jorgedig