AOS - US citizen child petition for his mother

[Naturalizemeplz 5]

My nephew petition for his mother his i130 was approved and the priority date current.  
 

An i485 was subsequently file for her.

All required documents were submitted and USCIS even mentioned that they received all the documents. 
 

Yesterday she checked her case and her application was denied. The reason stated they didn’t receive Tax returns for her sponsor.  There was no interview and the denial letter is contradictory because it mentioned that the tax return was submitted along with other documents they sent a RFE for.  
 

We are confuse as they stated that her case is closed and cannot be appealed.  
 

Does anyone have similar experience or suggestions.  We’ve already decided to ask a lawyer but we l am trying to see if others have experienced this 

[appleblossom 3,364]

Can you upload a copy of the denial letter (obviously redacting any personal info)?

[Dashinka 24,930]

It seems your nephew needs to file an I290B.  If the RFE was answered properly and within the time period, the I485 should be re-opened.

 

Good Luck!

[Naturalizemeplz 5]

[Naturalizemeplz 5]

1 hour ago, appleblossom said:

Can you upload a copy of the denial letter (obviously redacting any personal info)?

 

[Demise 1,355]

Yeah there's your problem. When they say federal income tax return what they really mean is one of the following:

1. Signed copy of 1040

2. IRS Tax Transcript

3. If you were not required to file your taxes then a letter explaining why you were exempt from filing. If you were required to file but didn't, then file, and give them one of the two above.

 

So what do now? Have nephew get a copy of his tax transcript from the IRS (https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript), make a copy of the I-485 denial notice, fill out an I-290B (tick box 2.a., for reason just write "attached missing tax transcript"), and send that in.

 

Just make sure she doesn't travel abroad in the meantime, the AP if she had one went kaput the moment the I-485 was denied.

 

Alternatively she could refile the I-485/I-765/etc from scratch on the same I-130 provided that's still pending or was approved.

 

Also it wasn't denied out of the blue, it was denied after an RFE, now they might interview and tell you to bring whatever was missing, but generally RFE is either you give them what they want or they will deny you.

Edited 23 hours ago by Demise

[Naturalizemeplz 5]

14 hours ago, Demise said:

Yeah there's your problem. When they say federal income tax return what they really mean is one of the following:

1. Signed copy of 1040

2. IRS Tax Transcript

3. If you were not required to file your taxes then a letter explaining why you were exempt from filing. If you were required to file but didn't, then file, and give them one of the two above.

 

So what do now? Have nephew get a copy of his tax transcript from the IRS (https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript), make a copy of the I-485 denial notice, fill out an I-290B (tick box 2.a., for reason just write "attached missing tax transcript"), and send that in.

 

Just make sure she doesn't travel abroad in the meantime, the AP if she had one went kaput the moment the I-485 was denied.

 

Alternatively she could refile the I-485/I-765/etc from scratch on the same I-130 provided that's still pending or was approved.

 

Also it wasn't denied out of the blue, it was denied after an RFE, now they might interview and tell you to bring whatever was missing, but generally RFE is either you give them what they want or they will deny you.

 
Thank you for your response.  He sent in a copy of his 2023 tax transcript along with his W2.

 

Everything they requested was sent in and itemized.  I appreciate your outline of what the next steps should be.  
 

I am just so surprised they denied a child/parent AOS without an interview 😩.  Lesson learned, I guess. 

[Dashinka 24,930]

11 minutes ago, Naturalizemeplz said:

 
Thank you for your response.  He sent in a copy of his 2023 tax transcript along with his W2.

 

Everything they requested was sent in and itemized.  I appreciate your outline of what the next steps should be.  
 

I am just so surprised they denied a child/parent AOS without an interview 😩.  Lesson learned, I guess. 

I have seen this create confusion within USCIS.  If submitting an IRS transcript, there is no need to include any W2's/1099's as that information is included in the transcript, but since he included a copy of his W2 in the RFE response, USCIS appears to be looking for a copy of the return (1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ) that was submitted to the IRS which is not the same as the transcript from the IRS.  I know, it doesn't make any sense, but that can come from a bureaucracy.  I agree with @Demise, file the I290B with the copy of the 1040 form submitted, or start the I485 all over again (I would do the I290B it it were me).

 

As to the denial, it is more about not responding to an RFE properly at least according to USCIS.  Generally speaking, if an RFE is issued, that is the petitioner's/beneficiary's chance to correct a mistake in a petition, if that is not correctly done, the case is denied, and USCIS moves on.

 

Good Luck!

[Demise 1,355]

3 hours ago, Naturalizemeplz said:

 
Thank you for your response.  He sent in a copy of his 2023 tax transcript along with his W2.

 

Everything they requested was sent in and itemized.  I appreciate your outline of what the next steps should be.  
 

I am just so surprised they denied a child/parent AOS without an interview 😩.  Lesson learned, I guess. 

 

The denial notice just lists the W2s (twice for some reason). So you know, if he send it in and USCIS lost it then that's another matter (in case of which file I-290B as a combined motion to reopen and reconsider and give them the tax transcript regardless), but taken at face value it looks like he sent just the W2s and that's not enough. They want either the complete 1040 or a tax transcript from the IRS, which again is not a W2 even if the W2 shows the withholdings your job did for you. The transcript looks like this:

 

W2s show how much you made at a job. The thing is that your Adjusted Gross Income (which the number that matters for an I-864) can be reduced by things like capital losses, business expenses, student loan interest, education expenses, alimony payments, etc. and that's a double jagged sword since on one hand you pay less in taxes on the other you can fall under the line to qualify to sponsor a relative.

 

Also, ordinarily USCIS doesn't interview for parent cases because the basis for the eligibility is normally pretty straightforward and there's no "procreated to skirt immigration law". Unlike for spouses where they treat most marriages as possibly fraudulent and interview for both I-130 and I-485 and in case like that, sure they might just let you bring whatever to the interview rather than RFE you and then RFE you for it if you messed up. In some cases like VAWA they might RFE you twice or RFE and then NOID you, but generally if you get an RFE you just want to give them exactly what they ask for even if document A is similar enough to document B (there are some cases where you can substitute one for the other but you need to know what ticks the box they're asking for), even if you want to attack the RFE itself as improper you write that in the cover letter and then attach the documents they want regardless. After you respond to an RFE it's generally just sink or swim, either they'll approve it or deny it, they won't go back and forth with you unless something else unrelated to the original RFE pops up.

Edited 5 hours ago by Demise