Case denied yesterday [merged threads]

[wazzujoel 63]

Does the reasons behind his incarnation prevent him from obtaining permanent residency?  It depends on several factors including the nature of the crime, persons immigration status, and the specific circumstances. The United States has strict immigration laws and regulations that affect the eligibility of individuals with criminal records to enter or remain in the country. Depending on the crime, he could be looking at a lifetime inadmissibility. 

 

Edited October 4 by wazzujoel

[Stormi10 4]

Just now, wazzujoel said:

Does the reasons behind his incarnation prevent him from obtaining permanent residency?  It depends on several factors including the nature of the crime, persons immigration status, and the specific circumstances. The United States has strict immigration laws and regulations that affect the eligibility of individuals with criminal records to enter or remain in the country. 

He is the US citizen.

[wazzujoel 63]

Just now, Stormi10 said:

He is the US citizen.

 

It could still cause problems for you... If either party is found ineligible, then i-130 petition can be rejected. The i-485 then gets rejected because you have no underlying visa claim since i-130 was rejected. I understand that your initial case was denied because he wasn't able to show up to the interview, however even if he had depending on the nature of the criminal offense, they could have still denied the i-130 because of it. I would suggest you talk with a lawyer unless you want to share more information about your husband. And even if you do, I am not certain anyone here is going to be able to give you really great advice here. 

 

That said... Don't take my word for gospel, perhaps someone who is smarter than me will have better answers for you.  

[Stormi10 4]

1 minute ago, wazzujoel said:

 

It could still cause problems for you... If either party is found ineligible, then i-130 petition can be rejected. The i-485 then gets rejected because you have no underlying visa claim since i-130 was rejected. I understand that your initial case was denied because he wasn't able to show up to the interview, however even if he had depending on the nature of the criminal offense, they could have still denied the i-130 because of it. I would suggest you talk with a lawyer unless you want to share more information about your husband. And even if you do, I am not certain anyone here is going to be able to give you really great advice here. 

 

That said... Don't take my word for gospel, perhaps someone who is smarter than me will have better answers for you.  

We have already established before we filed that he was eligible to file for me. I have spoken to a couple lawyers one said it was denied in error the other one said refile . I'm just trying to get insight.

[wazzujoel 63]

2 minutes ago, Stormi10 said:

We have already established before we filed that he was eligible to file for me. I have spoken to a couple lawyers one said it was denied in error the other one said refile . I'm just trying to get insight.

Ah well that's good news then. I wish you best luck on your immigration journey and hope you get your approval. Ill be following this thread to see if anyone has any better tips for you. Cheers 

[Stormi10 4]

1 minute ago, wazzujoel said:

Ah well that's good news then. I wish you best luck on your immigration journey and hope you get your approval. Ill be following this thread to see if anyone has any better tips for you. Cheers 

Thank you so much!

[appleblossom 2,339]

Ooops, ignore! Misread the letter.

Edited October 4 by appleblossom

[Stormi10 4]

Just now, appleblossom said:

 

Unusual for a USC to be required for an interview. Was it definitely him that they wanted to interview?

Yes ,they sent a notice for both of us . We had even requested a waiver of his appearance when we filed in 2021 because we knew their policy states they can waive the appearance. I had even arranged a phone call with the prison.

[Lemonslice 4,798]

On 10/1/2024 at 10:14 AM, Stormi10 said:

Can someone please assist yesterday my husband and I received the denial for our adjustment of status we filed in 2021 and yesterday we were denied. We have been together for 12 years and married for almost eight. I have not received the denial letter yet but I'm not sure what my next steps are I know we have to consult with an immigration  attorney but I'd like to know what do I do as far as my job goes I'm a paralegal I work for a law firm can I continue working until I get The denial letter?  we will obviously refile but I just would like to know what my next options are we are completely and utterly devastated.

No need to tell us, but during those 12, or 8, years, have you ever cohabitated, or has he been incarcerated the whole time?  Just wondering if that is their reasoning behind "Establish a bona fide relationship with the beneficiary".  Hopefully, other members who have adjusted status while their partner were incarcerated will be able to provide guidance.

[Stormi10 4]

1 minute ago, Lemonslice said:

No need to tell us, but during those 12, or 8, years, have you ever cohabitated, or has he been incarcerated the whole time?  Just wondering if that is their reasoning behind "Establish a bona fide relationship with the beneficiary".  Hopefully, other members who have adjusted status while their partner were incarcerated will be able to provide guidance.

No we have not. But I would think 12 years of evidence which includes letters and phone records and in person visits would be enough. The officer was not terribly interested he wouldn't even look at the evidence we had collected following our filing in 2021. It took almost 3 years to get an interview. I believe the denial has less to do with "establish a bonefide" relationship and more to do with discrimination being he is incarcerated . We requested a waiver in 2021. I had arranged a phone call with the case worker at the prison so my husband could answer any questions. They didn't care to do that then still say incarceration is not a reason not to attend an interview 

[Lemonslice 4,798]

23 minutes ago, Stormi10 said:

No we have not. But I would think 12 years of evidence which includes letters and phone records and in person visits would be enough. The officer was not terribly interested he wouldn't even look at the evidence we had collected following our filing in 2021. It took almost 3 years to get an interview. I believe the denial has less to do with "establish a bonefide" relationship and more to do with discrimination being he is incarcerated . We requested a waiver in 2021. I had arranged a phone call with the case worker at the prison so my husband could answer any questions. They didn't care to do that then still say incarceration is not a reason not to attend an interview 

From the wording of the letter (hard to tell from how the cut is done), but it seems to be denied because of the two bullet point lines in the letter, failure to establish "bonafide..." and "... citizenship".

 

I was asking about cohabitation, because @mallafri76 seemed to imply that physical contact/contact visit was a condition of approval in her post here: 

 

Edited October 5 by Lemonslice

[Stormi10 4]

10 minutes ago, Lemonslice said:

From the wording of the letter (hard to tell from how the cut is done), but it seems to be denied because of the two bullet point lines in the letter, failure to establish "bonafide..." and "... citizenship".

 

I was asking about cohabitation, because @mallafri76 seemed to imply that physical contact/contact visit was a condition of approval in her post here: 

 

That's another thing I was wondering which makes me think they didn't bother looking at my file . They would have seen by his birth certificate that he is a born US citizen. The attorney I contacted seemed to think it was denied in error because they are using incarceration and him not being able to attend the interview as an excuse to deny.  Plus 12 years of letters and phone calls and visits?? I'd say that is more than enough to see a bonefide relationship. 

Edited October 5 by Stormi10

[Crazy Cat 41,619]

4 hours ago, Stormi10 said:

@Crazy Cat here is the denial. My husband is incarcerated and could not attend the interview. When we file our initial filing we requested that he's appearance be waived they're now saying that incarceration is not a reason to not attain the interview. Could you possibly advise I'm going out of my mind I don't even know what to think The i485 was simply denied because i-130 was denied. Thank you

I'm very sorry to see this.  I've not seen a denial for that reason before.  

[Stormi10 4]

1 minute ago, Crazy Cat said:

I'm very sorry to see this.  I've not seen a denial for that reason before.  

Me neither and that what makes me think it's because he is incarcerated. 

[wazzujoel 63]

On 10/4/2024 at 10:18 PM, Stormi10 said:

Me neither and that what makes me think it's because he is incarcerated. 

 

I have a couple of comments, and please don't take this negatively because I am coming from a place of trying to help you. First, I am not a lawyer, I'm an engineer.  I have read a lot about immigration due to my own circumstances and have successfully filed many applications without ever seeing an RFE or denial... But I am far from an expert and I have never deeply looked into an immigration case such as yours. So please don't take my comments as fact, but more something to consider as you search for the legal facts that will help you win your case. The best advice would probably be to talk to a very good immigration lawyer that has experience with a USC that is locked up. If you consult with a lawyer or not, I believe your next step needs to be to file an appeal. But prior to filing an appeal I want to talk about the reasons for your denial.    

 

https://www.uscis.gov/forms/all-forms/questions-and-answers-appeals-and-motions

 

Remember that the person denying you is just a person like anyone here. They are looking at the evidence you provided and are making a decision based on what they think is correct in their head. Whenever I am dealing with USCIS, I like to make my evidence organized, concise, and telling a complete story. I don't want to leave anything for them to 'make up' because there were holes in the evidence. I also don't want them having to wade through mountains and mountains of the same bullshit evidence that doesn't really add to the story but overwhelms them which pretty much the same thing. I am not saying you did anything wrong here, I am only telling you my approach to dealing with USCIS because that might help you in your appeal. When an RFE or denial is given, I think it is important that the response be exactly in response to what they asked for. Your goal isn't to re-prove your entire case, but to prove the parts that are in question. Now lets get to your specifics. 

 

1. Did not establish he is a USC. Yet you stated you provided his Birth Certificate. Well that's strange isn't it? Either the agent didn't see the birth certificate, or you didn't provide a decent or official copy? In the US sometimes people will be given a certificate of birth at the hospital, and sometimes people think these are their BC's but they are not.... That's literally just garbage. Could you have submitted that instead of a official birth certificate? I think that one thing you should do in your appeal is get another copy of the BC from town government if it's not too much trouble. I can't think of anything else as to why they would list that as one of the reasons. The good news is if you really did submit the official BC then I personally believe your appeal is very valid. How can they say he's not a USC if he has a US BC? stupid. 

 

2. Did not establish a bona fide relationship. You don't need to convince me but I am not going to sugar coat this because I want you to understand what you are up against. You stated in this post that for the 12 years of your relationship and 8 years of your marriage, you have never cohabitated because I assume he was in prison. My instant reaction to that is, this is a sham of a marriage. How can someone be in a genuine relationship if they have never spent any real time together???.... sleeping in the same bed, working through relationship issues that come up because you see each other 24/7? If someone told me your situation in 2 sentences like I have read here, I would assume that this not a real marriage. What does normal i-130's provide to prove a bona fide relationship? Well supporting documents showing bona fide marriage usually include things like 

     a. Copy of Marriage Certificate

     b. Apartment lease agreement

     c. Health insurance under petitioner

     d. Joint Financials - bank accounts, 401k, Ira, Venmo transactions to each other

     e. Proof of Beneficiary as beneficiary on retirement accounts

     f. Three letters of support from friends with licenses

     g. Pictures of couple together with friends and family

 

All of those things seem like they might be pretty unlikely in your situation.... and that's what you are up against. Are you providing official prison visit logs? Is that even something you can get? I don't think it will be enough to say your visit "3 times a week for 3 hours every day, trust me". Are your correspondences dated? What evidence can you provide to show that this is a real relationship and not that you just found some guy who is locked up with nothing better to do that agreed to help bring you here? In my non-legal, non-expert opinion, you have a massively uphill battle here. What you need to do is find some people who have been in similar circumstances as you, and listen to their advice well... specifically on the evidence part. I've heard stories (this could be made up, never verified) of USCIS agents doubting a bona fide relationship when the couple has a child together and live together full time ("A child just proves you had sex once, not that you are together"). 

 

So my thoughts to you is that your appeal brief needs to specifically address the two reasons for denial. First the USC part which should be easily resolved with a new Official BC. Secondly think really hard about what you can say in response to the Bona Fide marriage. Was the marriage certificate you provided an official government marriage certificate? or an unofficial copy? What hard evidence can you provide that shows the amount of time you spend together and was what you submitted originally sufficient? These are all things you need to address and address it very concisely with clear evidence that backs it up. Don't get yourself stuck on "we were denied because he's incarcerated".... No It specifically stated it was because he didn't think it was a bona fide relationship. Possibly the agent was biased against those incarcerated, but that's not what you are fighting in your appeal... You are fighting that it was a "bona fide" relationship. 

 

Best wishes on your journey for a favorable ruling.