Denied I130 due to Marriage Certifcate

[vicko_164 1]

Hello All,

My case to sponsor my wife to the US was denied one week ago due to me not providing the correct marriage certificate according to USCIS. According to USCIS, the denial letter states the following:

On February 28, 2024, your response was received and included the following:

"Copy of the same Marriage Certificate that accompanied the initial filing, but with the signature not obscured.
While you did submit a marriage certificate, it does not match the Department of State's reciprocity
table. The submitted marriage certificate lacks the civil authority's affixed seal, which is noted on the
certificate itself to be not valid without the seal affixed.

USCIS has determined that you have not submitted sufficient evidence to establish the claimed
relationship and/or eligibility for the benefit sought and your petition is denied."

My marriage took place in Guyana, South America, and the marriage certificate I sent to the response to RFE is the original certificate given to me by the GPO or General Post Office of Guyana. I am so confused as to why they denied my case, I waited 11 months.

[Crazy Cat 41,984]

Have you seen this information?

Guyana (state.gov)

 

[vicko_164 1]

I did see that already, I have the original marriage certificate handed to me by the clerk when I had gotten married in Guyana. My wife has one copy, and I sent in one as a response to the RFE. I reached to an immigration lawyer, and she said there wasn't issue with my case nor the certificate I gave to prove my marriage. This is an egregious error on USCIS.

[powerpuff 6,744]

28 minutes ago, vicko_164 said:

I did see that already, I have the original marriage certificate handed to me by the clerk when I had gotten married in Guyana. My wife has one copy, and I sent in one as a response to the RFE. I reached to an immigration lawyer, and she said there wasn't issue with my case nor the certificate I gave to prove my marriage. This is an egregious error on USCIS.

Ok but does the certificate have the exact seal they want or not?

[vicko_164 1]

4 minutes ago, powerpuff said:

Ok but does the certificate have the exact seal they want or not?

Yes, the certificate has everything that is stated on the state.gov reprecocity site.

[powerpuff 6,744]

8 minutes ago, vicko_164 said:

Yes, the certificate has everything that is stated on the state.gov reprecocity site.

If you’re certain then it looks like USCIS made a mistake. I believe you can appeal their decision but I’m not well versed in that so hopefully others can advise how to proceed.

[Boiler 45,732]

Reply with what the Cat mentioned. 

 

Quote

but with the signature not obscured

 

Was your signature obscured?

[vicko_164 1]

4 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Reply with what the Cat mentioned. 

 

 

Was your signature obscured?

I had originally scanned my marriage certificate and uploaded it to the online website. The RFE did state the signature was obscured, but once they received the original through USPS, they cleared that comment.

[Boiler 45,732]

7 minutes ago, vicko_164 said:

I had originally scanned my marriage certificate and uploaded it to the online website. The RFE did state the signature was obscured, but once they received the original through USPS, they cleared that comment.

I forget what it was I had a similar issue and reloaded the same document and they cleared it.

[pushbrk 12,994]

USCIS adjudicators do this all day every day, and it is their job and training to pay attention to details. You keep talking about "original handed to me".  That's not really the point.  They said it didn't match what is described on the reciprocity table.  You've seen a copy of that above.  You responded with something they say doesn't match.  Every denial is reviewed before the letter goes out.  

You'll need to file again.  This time obtain a new certified copy of your marriage certificate and make sure it matches every detail mentioned in the reciprocity table.  Accept that something is wrong or missing, even if you don't yet know what it is.  This is the ONLY possible solution.  Continuing to insist you have and sent the right document will get you nowhere.

 

First thing to look for is what they already told you was missing, a "seal".

If you still think your document should be accepted, then make a new copy, black out the the names of the couple and post it here.  We/I will compare it to what the table says is required, and tell you what's wrong.

Edited March 11 by pushbrk

[vicko_164 1]

10 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

USCIS adjudicators do this all day every day, and it is their job and training to pay attention to details. You keep talking about "original handed to me".  That's not really the point.  They said it didn't match what is described on the reciprocity table.  You've seen a copy of that above.  You responded with something they say doesn't match.  Every denial is reviewed before the letter goes out.  

You'll need to file again.  This time obtain a new certified copy of your marriage certificate and make sure it matches every detail mentioned in the reciprocity table.  Accept that something is wrong or missing, even if you don't yet know what it is.  This is the ONLY possible solution.  Continuing to insist you have and sent the right document will get you nowhere.

If you still think your document should be accepted, then make a new copy, black out the the names of the couple and post it here.  We/I will compare it to what the table says is required, and tell you what's wrong.

Please tell me what is wrong with this certificate.

https://ibb.co/NCKJBkN

[Redro 4,611]

27 minutes ago, vicko_164 said:

Please tell me what is wrong with this certificate.

https://ibb.co/NCKJBkN

Similar things have happened in the past with previous posters. I believe one poster received an RFE for a English translation for their birth certificate but their birth certificate was in English…  you will have to appeal the decision as it is USCIS error. 

[pushbrk 12,994]

34 minutes ago, vicko_164 said:

Please tell me what is wrong with this certificate.

https://ibb.co/NCKJBkN

I can't see anything wrong with it at all.  The seal is dry embossed and otherwise exactly as described.  An "appeal" will take longer than filing again.  I would still obtain a new certificate, and compare them before filing, or to have in case of another RFE.  One minor detail is that the "signature" of the transcription clerk is just a printed initial and surname.  No reason to believe that would be an issue, and it is not mentioned in your denial.

[vicko_164 1]

16 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

I can't see anything wrong with it at all.  The seal is dry embossed and otherwise exactly as described.  An "appeal" will take longer than filing again.  I would still obtain a new certificate, and compare them before filing, or to have in case of another RFE.  One minor detail is that the "signature" of the transcription clerk is just a printed initial and surname.  No reason to believe that would be an issue, and it is not mentioned in your denial.

In the RFE, they did mentioned the signature of the transcription clerk being obscured, but once I sent the original in, they rescinded that statement. I have spoken to two different lawyers, and they said the same thing. The agent who looked at my case is incompetent, and the person to let the denial letter through is even more incompetent. I am a United States Marine Corp Veteran, I deserve better than what I got here. I followed everything to a tee, made sure I checked every boxes before I sent out my package.

 

Your statement of "USCIS adjudicators do this all day every day, and it is their job and training to pay attention to details", is incorrect. They are incompetent.

[J.M. 247]

If you want to nit-pick, the seal is not 100% visible, specifically "Guyana" is not legible.  I see a "G" but can only assume it says Guyana.  The detailed description of the seal provided above also does not say "Guyana" is part of the text, only "General Register Office."