K1 to I485 but a lawyer says we need I130 before which does not sound right

[lplplpx3 13]

I submitted an I-129F for my fiancée, and she received a K-1 visa. Once she arrived in the US, we married within the specified time  frame and filed the I-485 shortly  thereafter. Despite responding to an initial Request for Evidence (RFE) which was accepted and the case put back into "processing", the I-485 has been stuck there for seven years. During this time, my wife has received timely Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) and travel documents (I-131) from USCIS with no issues.
 

Just learning about the Writ of Mandamus as a means to expedite the decision, I sought legal help. But the lawyer said I need to file an I-130 for my spouse BEFORE the I-485 as we're already married, which seems contrary to the typical process of going from the I-129F/K-1 visa to the I-485. I've never heard of needing an I-130 in this scenario. Can anyone help, clarify, or suggest next steps? The I-130 application costs over $500, so I want to be sure I really need to do this. But they insist that this is why the I-485 is being held up. Thanks.

Edited December 7, 2023 by lplplpx3

[powerpuff 6,744]

No, I-130 is not needed if married within the 90 days.

 

However, with the case pending for 7 years, maybe the lawyer knows something we don’t.

 

If I were you I’d get a second and third opinion from reputable attorneys.

[OldUser 7,004]

This is such a mess. What's the current status of I-485? What was the RFE for?

It seems like a brand new I-130 and new I-485 may be approved within 18-24 months.

 

 

Are you sure marriage and I-485 filing occured within the 90 days of entering on visa?

Edited December 7, 2023 by OldUser

[lplplpx3 13]

Absolutely EVERYTHING was done in time. We followed EVERYTHING to a fault that's why all of sudden hearing of a form we never heard of before, I thought I'd check here to see if someone had experienced (or heard of) this also.

 

The RFE was for some tax documents and the response was "we received your response to our Request for Evidence for your Form I-485. USCIS has begun working on your case again. We will send you a decision or notify you if we need something from you." And like I said following up we always we the same "it's processing" response.

 

Thanks, I think I will get a second and third opinion before going forward with the i130. Just crazy.

Edited December 7, 2023 by lplplpx3

[OldUser 7,004]

15 minutes ago, lplplpx3 said:

The RFE was for some tax documents and the response was "we received your response to our Request for Evidence for your Form I-485. USCIS has begun working on your case again.

1. When did you receive RFE?

2. How many days were you given to respond?

3. When did USCIS receive your response?

 

[lplplpx3 13]

Hey everything was done in time as witnessed by their response, we literally turned around the RFE in 2 days and if it was not accepted or if they needed more they would have said so. The problem we're experiencing was not anything on our end. I cannot stress that enough. I was thinking covid had this all turned around but now I'm thinking different. 

They gave the date it was sent, the date they received the response...it was all good. Plus all the phone calls said the same, there was nothing else for us to do. Not sure what else to say.

And if there was really a "problem" with the application or steps then I doubt we'd have got 6 years of EADS and I131 travel docs.

Edited December 7, 2023 by lplplpx3

[OldUser 7,004]

9 minutes ago, lplplpx3 said:

Plus all the phone calls said the same, there was nothing else for us to do. Not sure what else to say.

The phone calls mean very little. A lot of the times Tier 1 agents make things up to get callers off the phone.

 

9 minutes ago, lplplpx3 said:

And if there was really a "problem" with the application or steps then I doubt we'd have got 6 years of EADS and I131 travel docs.

USCIS mistakenly denies cases from time to time. USCIS mistakenly issues documents and even naturalizes people, which sometimes gets discovered and reverted, other times not.

 

I understand your frustration with my seemingly pointless questions, but I'm trying to get some clues as to what could be holding it up. Is the immigrant admissible into the US? Did you ask the lawyers what could be the reason? 

 

You may want to file FOIA to get all the details of the case.

 

Sorry if I'm being repetitive. What's the actual case status right now as you check it by case number here?

https://egov.uscis.gov/

 

Edited December 7, 2023 by OldUser

[SalishSea 17,980]

2 hours ago, lplplpx3 said:

I submitted an I-129F for my fiancée, and she received a K-1 visa. Once she arrived in the US, we married within the specified time  frame and filed the I-485 shortly  thereafter. Despite responding to an initial Request for Evidence (RFE) which was accepted and the case put back into "processing", the I-485 has been stuck there for seven years. During this time, my wife has received timely Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) and travel documents (I-131) from USCIS with no issues.
 

Just learning about the Writ of Mandamus as a means to expedite the decision, I sought legal help. But the lawyer said I need to file an I-130 for my spouse BEFORE the I-485 as we're already married, which seems contrary to the typical process of going from the I-129F/K-1 visa to the I-485. I've never heard of needing an I-130 in this scenario. Can anyone help, clarify, or suggest next steps? The I-130 application costs over $500, so I want to be sure I really need to do this. But they insist that this is why the I-485 is being held up. Thanks.

SEVEN years???   
 

You have way bigger issues than whether to file an I-130….

 

Have you not pursued a decision on your case for all these years?

[SalishSea 17,980]

21 minutes ago, lplplpx3 said:

I was thinking covid had this all turned around but now I'm thinking different. 

Definitely not.  People who have applied post-COVID already have their green cards.   This 7 years is completely atypical, and something is very wrong here.

[SalishSea 17,980]

26 minutes ago, lplplpx3 said:

I was thinking covid had this all turned around but now I'm thinking different. 

 

 

I thought this absurd story sounded familiar.   OP, you got similar feedback on your thread from last month.

Edited December 7, 2023 by SalishSea

[OldUser 7,004]

2 minutes ago, SalishSea said:

This 7 years is completely atypical, and something is very wrong here.

In these 7 years wife could have naturalized by now and gotten green cards for her parents if this was ever a wish...

1 minute ago, SalishSea said:

OP, you got similar feedback on your thread from last month.

Do you mind sharing?

[SalishSea 17,980]

Just now, OldUser said:

In these 7 years wife could have naturalized by now and gotten green cards for her parents if this was ever a wish...

Yep.   Very lucrative for the lawyer, though.

[SalishSea 17,980]

6 minutes ago, OldUser said:

In these 7 years wife could have naturalized by now and gotten green cards for her parents if this was ever a wish...

Do you mind sharing?

 

From November 2023, and another one two years prior to that.

Edited December 7, 2023 by SalishSea

[lplplpx3 13]

34 minutes ago, OldUser said:

The phone calls mean very little. A lot of the times Tier 1 agents make things up to get callers off the phone.

 

USCIS mistakenly denies cases from time to time. USCIS mistakenly issues documents and even naturalizes people, which sometimes gets discovered and reverted, other times not.

 

I understand your frustration with my seemingly pointless questions, but I'm trying to get some clues as to what could be holding it up. Is the immigrant admissible into the US? Did you ask the lawyers what could be the reason? 

 

You may want to file FOIA to get all the details of the case.

 

Sorry if I'm being repetitive. What's the actual case status right now as you check it by case number here?

https://egov.uscis.gov/

 

No worries...thanks for the help. Actual case status is same as what its been saying for 6 years: On January 19, 2017, we received your response to our Request for Evidence for your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, Receipt Number ***. USCIS has begun working on your case again. We will send you a decision or notify you if we need something from you. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address

[lplplpx3 13]

20 minutes ago, SalishSea said:

 

From November 2023, and another one two years prior to that.

Thanks for your comments and help SalishSea and yes that's where/when I found out about Writ of Mandamus which I attempted to pursue and was advised on the i130. The lawyer actually refunded my money when he found out I was married and suggested the i130 which is when I came back to the forum see if anyone was familiar. Hope that clears this up for you. I guess you get a kick out of trying to make people feel stupid. Oh well! It's a pity we can't all be as clued up as you

Edited December 7, 2023 by lplplpx3