wazzujoel

hm. I really would be nice if someone official within USCIS would offer some clarification on what they have been directed to specifically do. Because it appears that USCIS might be "effectively freezing" them in their status preventing their ability to move to another legal status; however, unless I misunderstand immigration policies, I believe my fiancée (as an example) became "Pending permanent residency" April 10th 2024 when USCIS received her application and sent us a i-797C receipt of i-485 application informing us that she is pending AOS. From everything I have read, if someone has a pending AOS than they have a protected status of being removed from the country even if the underlying pathway they arrived on expired. The thing is, this is pretty new territory for someone who arrived on CHNV and is seeking AOS based on the law of CAA of 1966. As far as I can tell, her status of "pending AOS" should allow her lawful presence in the USA until USCIS makes a determination on her Residency application. Perhaps that will be the entirety of Trumps presidency. Note per US law 8 USC chapter 13, USCIS is supposed to make a residency decision within 180 days which is the whole point of this thread..... My fiancée is now going on 316 days of pending AOS and I am wondering if filing a writ of Mandamus is advised in a situation where USCIS is already in violation of immigration law and unsubstantiated information is being rumored that USCIS plans to not work on such cases. Thoughts? btw - thanks for the messages. I understand not many here will claim to be experts however there are a lot here who have been around the community a lot so I value the opinions I see here. Reading the forum messages on this site has allowed me to file a successful K1 application That was approved by USCIS before we abandoned it due to the CHNV HP route, file 5 successful CHNV HP petitions that were approved, file 5 i-765's that were all approved, and file 5 i-485's with 2 approved and 3 in limbo. Never received an RFE and I credit the help I have received here for a good chunk of that success.

Although I sponsored these people under Biden's Humanitarian Parole program, I do agree with you that the program was very disorganized, had instances of people getting paroled through fraud, and was very short sighted in vetting the people and making sure they had actual support here in the USA. A large fault to the programs failures should be attributed to USCIS inadequacies which is not only seen with this CHNV program but is wide spread across ALL immigration paths. Not processing applications generally in order, and not using standard practices for vetting applications are two huge reasons for the failures of our agency in charge of making sure we have fair, ethical immigration pathways. USCIS needs to instantly stop the practice of processing newer cases while older cases remain untouched only to prop up their average processing times. If you aren't going to fairly process cases that arrive legally then don't be surprised when desperate people find other ways to skirt a system that isn't even following their own laws and rules. Politics aside - I am not arguing on this forum about what should have been done but talking about real people that are personally apart of my family. I am looking to do what is best for my three people. You stated that they are not immigrants and I am asking you what are they then? These three people are foreigners who were allowed to legally come here temporarily for 2 years. It's perfectly fine if you want to think of this as a two year tourist visa they received, however I will correct you that the people I sponsored did not receive cash benefits from the government, did not receive food benefits from the government, do not receive any sort of housing stipend from the government, nor do they receive health insurance from the government. They paid roughly 500 to USCIS to apply for the authorization to work in this country, which USCIS granted 30 days after their arrival, and then they got overnight jobs at Walmart stocking shelfs because those were jobs Americans didn't want because Walmart couldn't find anyone to do that work. In the last 1.5 years they have worked full time, and have paid taxes on the money, bought cars, pay for insurance, pay for a non-subsidized apartment, and would love to buy a house this summer if they can find one. They have applied for Permanent Residency i-485 under the 1966 law titled Cuban Adjustment Act. They have satisfied all conditions of this US law and as such 2 of the 5 people I sponsored on CHNV have been approved. The other three will be approved if someone at USCIS bothers to look at their application that they submitted 10 months ago. So if they are not immigrants what are they? Are you saying they are "non-immigrants that have legally applied for permanent residency per US law"?

I am 99.9% on the bolded part? I have read multiple cases where someone comes to the US, and then while here they find some immigration path to become a Permanent Resident, and while they are waiting for a decision on their i-485 that status here lapses and they are allowed to stay until a decision has been made. I see no reason why this should be any different. Everything I have read is that when your status expires but you have a pending i-485 you are allowed to stay indefinitely until a decision has been made; however, if the application ends up being denied than the foreigner is required to immediately leave the country because they no longer have any legal basis for remaining. I know you have been around these forums a lot and you seem quite knowledgeable.... Are you saying you've never heard of situations such as this? This being CHNV seems pretty irrelevant in my opinion, because although that was their legal entry into the country (call it a 2 year tourist visa if you want) was CHNV, at this point in time they legally applied for permanent residency meeting all conditions of the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act Law. They applied for for residency 1 year before their "2 year tourist window" expired, and USCIS has taken more than the 180 days to process a residency application which brings USCIS in violation of the law per 8 USC Chapter 13. Thoughts? Do you really think that Trump will try and deport someone who has a pending permanent residency application? It's really quite frustrating to me... The 5 people I sponsored are all great people. One is in HS and graduating this spring with honors. One is my partner. The other three have full time jobs, working hard, paying taxes, not living on any form of government assistance... So USCIS approved the dad of this family unit, and then a friend of my partner. Who has not been approved is my partner, her mom, and her brother. All five i-485 applications were exactly the same with the only difference being biographic data.... It's the same code, just different names and dates. USCIS then approves 2 of them in roughly 90 days and then the other 3 just remain in limbo and then they announce they are not going to process any application regarding people that arrived with CHNV no matter if they have a legal basis for being here.

Then what are they? Under US law, they are Cuban nationals who are now allowed to become permanent residents of this country under Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 because they are Cubans who were lawfully present on US soil for 1 year and 1 day. Under US law they are now adjustable to residents. Perhaps I am misunderstanding your comment - can you clarify?

Since USCIS are no longer processing any cases for people that came on CHNV (Biden's Humanitarian Parole for Cubans, Hattians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans), I am questioning if I should start this process of filing a lawsuit. I have 3 family members that are still pending permeant residency with application dates from April 2024. I personally filled out 5 i-485 applications for this family group and 2 of the 5 were approved in September. Their parole period ends this spring, and I know that since they are pending residency they will be allowed to stay legally until a decision has been made with their application... However once their parole period ends, so does their work authorization... and from what I have read USCIS is stopping work on all applications related to anyone who came on CHNV which means they wont be able to get a work authorization renewal as they wait for the "indefinite suspension of processing any case of a CHNV individual" to end. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-pauses-immigration-applications-for-certain-migrants-welcomed-under-biden/ How is this legal? Does Trump expect these immigrants who are here legally to just stop working, and go on public assistance until USCIS decides to start processing their applications again? These immigrants that I helped come here are not on any form of public assistance, work full time on minimum wage paying jobs that Americans don't want, pay taxes, and abide all laws.

Replying to my own topic because I have the answer. Yes it should be c(9) and the filing fee is $260

This is sorta related to my last post, but now I am questing everything I was doing. Cuban citizen originally came to the US legally under Biden's Cuban Humanitarian Parole Program. She applied for I-765 EAD with code "Parole c(11)" in May of 2023 and received her EAD card 30 days later. The expiration of her EAD lines up with the expiration of her 2-year humanitarian parole window. She applied for i-485 permanent residency 1 year + 1 day after her arrival in the US via Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966. It should be noted that I personally did 5 of these applications, and 2 of the 5 received their green cards 3 months later where the other 3 are just "pending" but will certainly be approved. Since USCIS is such a mess, and there is no real timeline for when they will do their job, I feel she needs to file for some sort of extension of her work authorization. Questions : 1. What should her i-765 filing category be? 2. What is the filing fee?

Yes those can remain unchecked.

There has been a lot of helpful tips in this thread already, but I want to stress one important thing to you.... They provided you a bulleted list of the sort of evidence they are looking for. Now you don't need to include a response to every bullet, because some of those things will not be relevant for you; however, what I would do is read each bullet carefully multiple times, and try and capture some sort of evidence for each bullet. It sounds like you have an agent that is being very nit-picky so make sure you provide substantial evidence that proves that you intend to marry. I know you said you previously sent a couple photos of you together, however I would definitely make sure you send more, and make sure you write the date and location on the back of them. Also have the majority of the photos you send be taken between one year (or a few months prior) prior to filing for K1, to the filing date of K1. This is a requirement for K1... You must prove that you have seen each other in person at least once in the previous 2 years before applying for K1. If you wanted to provide one photo from after you filed K1, that's okay, but put that at the back. Like if you have photos of her ring and the engagement (prior to filing) that would be very helpful

Perfectly good reason. It sounds like what they are asking is for an explanation of your intent. Why don't you make a rough draft of what you intend to say, and post it here and then we can help you revise it to make sure it's perfectly clear. You letter should contain the following : 1. You and the beneficiary intend to both reside together in NYC for two months because you want to provide your direct family and your partner the chance to get to know each other better, before you both move back to California at the address you reside in. 2. Explain where you will be residing together in NYC - address, who owns the property, etc 3. Provide the complete name of the mutual relative that introduced you two. Additionally define the relationship between this third party in how they are related to you AND how they are related to her. I'd expect this to be a single page, maybe three paragraphs. and also when you send back this letter, make sure attach the RFE coversheet (exactly what they put in bold). I don't think you need to provide any additional evidence... Just a signed letter explaining the details they are asking for.

I feel like this is either "no" or "enough of a grey area to not do it". If this was some sort of unpaid training that didn't result in a job at the place you're training then it's probably legit. receiving scholarship money to me seems like too close to being considered pay and I woudn't take the risk personally.

Just for clarification, I meant 'good news' because less requirements means less things that can go wrong. I am not anti-vax or anything.... We just are past the point where Covid is no longer really dangerous to society, so seems good to remove the requirement. It's kinda like if there was a requirement for everyone having Dengue vaccine and they got rid of that requirement. This would be good because Dengue isn't really a huge health to concern US society even though it could be a pretty serious illness.

My significant other is from Cuba and their address are really weird too. it would be something like "main and pike, down the alley, second floor 4 doors down with red door handle". When I did her K1, I just kinda invented an address that seemed more accurate by using google. She told me that what I wrote, no one in Cuba would be able to find her like that but I also wasn't going to list it like she wanted which was more like have you give someone directions to their place. Anyways... my point - We were approved without an RFE. I don't think the address is used to send any communications. everything goes through email so make sure the email is correct. Do the best you can and EatVulaga's answers were good. One thing though - Whatever you do, take note and always use that... be consistent.

Trump made this change or the new USCIS director? good news either way

Could you please post the actual RFE so I can understand the context of the request? Blur out sensitive stuff if you want. Do you have a list of what you originally sent in with the initial application packet? Edit - Why are you planning on moving to NY for 2 months, getting married, and then moving back to CA? It's pretty unusual thing to say. Im wondering how you stated all this on your initial application.

My MIL arrived to the USA on C(11) Cuban Humanitarian Parole and has applied for Permanent Residency (i-485) based on Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966. Her husband who arrived at the same time, and applied for residency at the same time, was approved 6 months ago. Her 2 year parole period will expire in a few months and she needs her job so she is filing for i-765 renewal based on C(09) "Pending i-485". It's obvious that she will get approved if someone at USCIS decides to glance at her application.... My question is for line item 25 - "What is you current immigration status" should i put "pending i-485" or should I put "CHP - Cuban humanitarian Parole" since her parole period doesn't expire until May?

I second this. Nothing wrong with making a forum post that has a detailed list of what you plan to submit 🙂 I personally love posts where we help decide if the evidence is sufficient, insufficient, or over-kill. My personal approach to dealing with USCIS is to aim for "sufficient" and not venture into over-kill. Remember the agents are people to, so I don't want them getting annoyed at having to wade through too much repeat or unnecessary evidence. At the same time, you want to make sure you aren't missing anything.

Apologies that you read my comment as condescending/rude, it certainly wasn't my intent. My intent was to show you what was requested versus what you submitted and why this wasn't sufficient such that if you attempt to continue to do this on your own then you will see your errors and hopefully learn not repeat. My comment intent was to provide insight and thus by providing insight you might learn and then have success in the future. If I wasn't trying to help you, I wouldn't have taken the time to write such a long post. I'm too busy with life, and too old in life to waste my time with non-sense. The RFE did not ask for W-2's from 2020, 2021. The RFE specifically asked for "The joint sponsors most recent year tax return and all supporting tax documents (W-2's, 1099s, Form 2555, and tax schedules)". So although it was good that you submitted the W-2 for 2022, that was only a small part of what they asked for because you are missing the 2022 1040, 1099's, 2555, and tax schedules (or alternatively the tax transcript). They also did not ask for your 2022 W-2, just your joint sponsors. Do you understand this? My goal of this paragraph is to make sure you understand that you didn't need to supply documents they didn't request - In this situation W-2's from 2020 and 2021. When dealing with USCIS, always respond with the most concise evidence that address the request. Don't over-think it, don't try and swamp them with documentation you think proves the case, but only provide them exactly what they request. If you go the route of submitting a new i-485 then make sure you provide them exactly what they need which you have a good guide since you saw this RFE. reread my last comment and make sure you have concise evidence for the 7 items they asked for. Sincerely I am wishing the best for you, even though I don't know you. I have empathy for you because I also went through the K1 process and I understand how mentally exhausting the process can be. Best wishes. Note - I don't have an opinion on if you should refile i-485 or if you might have success with a I-290B. Is it possible to do both? I am not sure if a I-290B would allow the application to be reconsidered with new evidence that was previously not submitted in response to the RFE. If I was you, for this reason alone, I would probably want a quick consult with a lawyer at least.

Did you look really hard on the computer you used to create the application? Check the download folder, document folder, desktop, etc...

Hi Marshmellow-E, I just wanted to say that I think your evidence is sufficient as is, however there were a lot of other ideas suggested in this thread that are also a good idea. In your situation I don't think it will hurt you to include as much evidence as you can even if it might be a little over kill. I especially liked Sukie's idea of a letter affidavit from you as a couple explaining your marriage life and how you have co-mingled your finances and how you are both students working part-time. Just a short couple paragraph letter stating you have integrated your lives. Honestly though, I think what you have is already enough. Best wishes.

I would highly advise you to hire a lawyer. I read your RFE and they bulleted everything that was required and the denial letter very clearly states why you were denied. The RFE stated you needed to submit 1. Provide i-864 from Joint Sponsor ✅ 2. Provide Social Security Number of Joint Sponsor on i-485 ⚠️ 3. Provide correct calculated household size on -485 ⚠️ 4. Provide Joint Sponsors complete tax return including W2's and schedules for last year ❌ 5. Submit evidence that joint sponsor is a US Citizen ✅ 6. Verify that Joint sponsor + you meet income requirements with lots of ways to verify that. ⚠️ 7. Proof that you are a US Citizen ❌ And then from the denial letter documented what you actually submitted in response to this RFE was 1. A 2020 copy of W2 from joint sponsor - . ❌ Not asked for. 2. A copy of 2022 W2 for the petitioner - ❌ Not asked for 3. A copy of 2022 W-2 for joint sponsor - ⚠️ ❌ Close, but where is their full tax return? 4. A copy of the 2021 W-2 for the joint sponsor - ❌ Not asked for 5. A completed USCIS form i-864 for the joint sponsor - ⚠️✅ Good this was asked for. BUT Did you include their SSN, correct household size, and was it signed? 6. A copy of the joint sponsors birth Certificate. ✅ Great! They asked for this. With all due respect, the RFE is very clear what they were asking for and your response to the RFE did not respond with the items they were asking for AND you provided stuff they were not asking for. You are certainly not the first person to do this, nor will you be the last... But to me it is just wild that people receive RFE's or do the original application and just regurgitate a lot of irrelevant information not being asked for like that is somehow going to help their case? For what reason would you supply W2's from 202 and 2021 when they were asking for the full tax return for 2022??!?! You see, it's irrelevant. When an RFE is issued one should read it very closely, take a separate piece of paper and write down a numbered list of everything they are asking for, and then work on getting exactly that evidence and nothing further. I personally even like including a cover letter that documents what was requested, and what I am sending to meet the evidence for the request. This probably isn't necessary however I like making the connection between request and evidence extremely obvious. I really suggest you hire a lawyer because I have concerns about you being able to successfully navigate this process. Please don't take that as harsh criticism because I really do wish you all the best on this process. Based on this RFE and Denial though, this might be beyond your ability to navigate. To be successful you really need to read the rules and regulations carefully and provide exactly what is required and respond with exactly what they are asking for.

That's wild they would say you didn't prove he is a USC with the copy from vital statics. Although I agree with you that sounds like a lot of evidence, remember ultimately it was just the USCIS agent making the determination if he thought your evidence proved a bona fide relationship. Based on that one person's opinion, it did not. Were they influenced by discrimination? Maybe, but that's not easily provable. You have to focus on what are the facts and the facts are this one USCIS agent did not think your husband was 1. a USC 2. That you two had a bona fide marriage. In my non-legal opinion, I think your next steps are to file an appeal which means your case, and the appeal brief you submit will be reviewed by a secondary agent who might agree with your position and approve. I can't really offer you any real advice on what additional evidence to submit or what to write in your appeal, but don't make the appeal be about things you can't prove (the last agent maybe using discrimination to deny you) and instead focus on why he is a USC and why your evidence was sufficient to prove a bona fide marriage. Best wishes

100%. If I were to ever use a "preparer" or a lawyer, I would completely review everything they planned on submitting before it was submitted. I've seen far too many cases where people had issues with preparers or lawyers overlooking details that result in RFE's or denials. No one is more invested in this then the beneficiary and petitioner. Always review everything and make sure all responses are accurate and sufficiently address the issue.

Oh also... when I say "your appeal" I meant your USC husbands appeal. You cannot file an appeal, only the petitioner can.

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.