I-485 denied. Whats next? (full details inside..)

yeswecan · February 22, 2010

Heloo people..

We were reffered to you by a friend and he advised that we send

visa journers our situation and see if we can get any help.

Here is a timeline in details of my processing time with the USCIS. A

more detailed explanation is below.

January 14th 2008 - we got married

September 6, 2008 - 1-30 application approved by uscis

November 20, 2008 - biometrics done

Febuary 1, 2009- interview ( went relatively well, was not seperated)

May 17th 2009 - Recieved NOID

June 10th 2009- sent rubbutal letter in response to NOID.

Febuary 18th 2010 - Denial notice sent.

After we got married my husband (USC) filed for a form I-130 and I filed for

a form I-485. Our application was approved on September 6th 2008. We

were scheduled for an interview, it went relatively well - we were not

seperated, they asked about how we meet, if we had ever spent any day

apart.. and similar questions like that. We both were pretty nervous

but we answered all the questions.

On May17th after about 6 months since the interview, we got a

notice if intent to deny (NOID) based on the following reasons :

1)That me and my husband don't live together - according to the NOID

letter, they stated that they performed a field trip to the our

apartment and spoke with the leasing manager which wrongly told them

that I my husband doesn't live with me despite the fact that both of

our names are bolding written on the lease. The decision from the

leasing office was based on wrong facts and we included that in the

rebuttal letter.

2) They also stated that the address on his W2 is a different address

from our home address. We explained to them in the rebuttal letter

stating the address used was his mothers addresss and currently, he is

still on the mothers leaae because he is entitled to since he lived

there prior to college.

3) the last concern they had involved his work location deemed as

geographically challenging from the home location. On the rebuttal

letter sent, we explained that he schooled in City A and has sinced worked in City B

since graduation.

Those were the concerns they highlighted and we sent them rebuttal

letter on the June 10th, 2009 (approximately 21 days after the

NOID notice was sent).

On the 18th of febuary 2010, we recieved an email stating that we have

being denied " denial notice sent". We are still yet to recieve the

letter stating the reasons for the denial and the next step to take.

This is a brief summary of our case. I went to school all through and

maitained my F-1 status up until when I transfered school. I still

took the full 12 hours at my new school but failed to transfer my I-20

and F1 status.

Please what are our options ? Thank you. We have 33 days from the

Notice of Denial sent date( febuary 18th) to respond. Me and my husband

are so stressed out about . Please tell us your thoughts and i also wish and pray enyone else

going through any immigration trouble the best. Amen.

Thanks and have great day.

JimVaPhuong · February 22, 2010

You should probably get a good immigration attorney. You should be able to appeal your case, but you have a limited amount of time to act. It's unlikely you could learn what you'd need to know in order to successfully appeal in such a short amount of time.

From what you describe, it sounds like your rebuttal was denied because you tried to dismiss their evidence with an explanation. The job of the adjudicator is to weigh the evidence. They had evidence that you don't live together. Obviously, you need to address their evidence in your rebuttal, but you also needed to provide stronger evidence to counter theirs. It doesn't sound like you did this, but instead relied on your statements of explanation to "balance the scales". In the eyes of the adjudicator, your statements have very little weight to tip the scales.

yeswecan · February 22, 2010

You should probably get a good immigration attorney. You should be able to appeal your case, but you have a limited amount of time to act. It's unlikely you could learn what you'd need to know in order to successfully appeal in such a short amount of time.
From what you describe, it sounds like your rebuttal was denied because you tried to dismiss their evidence with an explanation. The job of the adjudicator is to weigh the evidence. They had evidence that you don't live together. Obviously, you need to address their evidence in your rebuttal, but you also needed to provide stronger evidence to counter theirs. It doesn't sound like you did this, but instead relied on your statements of explanation to "balance the scales". In the eyes of the adjudicator, your statements have very little weight to tip the scales.

Thanks so much for your reply. We backed all our explanation with eveidence if lease contracts, W2 forms, affidavits and others. I am not sure what you meant by this though " It's unlikely you could learn what you'd need to know in order to successfully appeal in such a short amount of time". Can u explain what you mean by that?

We plan on appealling as soon as we get the denial letter in the mail as to the reasons why. Thanks so much for your reply. I hope to hear from you soon.

sachinky · February 22, 2010

Get an attorney ASAP.

JERIII · February 22, 2010

Get an attorney ASAP.

Agree, you need an attorney. The appeals process is complex and very limited. I'm not sure anyone here has been through it. Do not go into this thinking that becauase you are in a bonafide marriage everything will come out right in the end.

JERIII · February 22, 2010

Thanks so much for your reply. We backed all our explanation with eveidence if lease contracts, W2 forms, affidavits and others. I am not sure what you meant by this though " It's unlikely you could learn what you'd need to know in order to successfully appeal in such a short amount of time". Can u explain what you mean by that?
We plan on appealling as soon as we get the denial letter in the mail as to the reasons why. Thanks so much for your reply. I hope to hear from you soon.

I'll elaborate a little bit on my other comment, but please, this is just my understanding, please see an experienced lawyer.

There is no "appeal" from adjustment of status denials. There is a motion to reopen, but that just sends the case back to the same officer.

There is also a motion to reconsider (which you have 33 days to file.) A motion to reconsider requires a legal argument, not a restatement of your belief that your marriage is bonafide. Unless you can write a legal brief, you cannot do this yourself. Explaining why USCIS made a mistake will not help.

You can also refile for AOS, which might be your best option.

SEE A LAWYER.

Kathryn41 · February 23, 2010

moved from General Immigration to AOS from Work, Student & Tourist Visa as applicant is trying to adjust status from a student visa

Starburst · February 23, 2010

I don't have any advice, Just wishing you luck on having everything work out!

/star :star:

yeswecan · September 1, 2011

Here was my post earlier: