USCIS Memo: Potential Denial with No Interview for Removal of Conditions Add to Watch List Options

[csoul]

Hi to all. I'm back to Visajourney... just starting to read more and more about Removal Conditions (I'm going to do that next year) and I found this information that is a little bit scary... I have everything to prove that my marriage is genuine and I will send a lot of stuff to prove the bona fide but in any case is scary for anyone to receive a letter with a denial without even give us the opportunity to prove or anything. In this article you also will find some recommendations to avoid this, I hope will help to everybody filling the I-751 in the next days/monts. Take care and good luck!!

This is the information that I found:

Potential Denial with No Interview for Removal of Conditions
Source: (www.murthy.com) Posted Feb 24, 2006

The USCIS announced an important procedural change for I-751s, Petitions to Remove Conditions on Residence cases, effective as of January 30, 2006. The change will result in some I-751 cases being denied without interviews. The memorandum can be found on the USCIS WebSite.

The I-751 form is filed by an individual who obtains permanent residence via a U.S. citizen spouse's petition when the marriage was entered into less than two years prior to the green card approval. In these situations, as an anti-fraud measure, the green card is considered "conditional." This means that only the individual's status is valid for two years, until the I-751 is filed and approved, removing the conditions and granting the individual final permanent residence status.

The January 30, 2006 USCIS Memo delegates the authority to deny I-751s to the USCIS Service Center directors in cases where it is clear a marriage was entered into in order to evade immigration laws. These are cases in which marriage was used solely to obtain the green card and not for genuine marital purposes. In addition to the USCIS District Offices, the Service Center directors now have the authority to deny these cases.

PRE-MEMO PROCEDURE

Clearly Bona Fide Cases

Under the procedures in place before the January 30, 2006 Memo, the interview could be waived by the Service Center in any case it was convinced was based on a marriage that was bona fide. In a situation where the evidence was sufficient to reflect a bona fide marriage, the case could simply be approved by the Service Center without the need for an in-person interview at the local office.

Questionable Cases

Prior to this Memo, a case that was questionable in terms of whether it was bona fide would be forwarded to the local USCIS office for an interview. The local offices would conduct personal interviews with the parties to the marriage prior to making a final decision. Now, under the January 30, 2006 Memo, some of these cases can be denied without the in-person interview.

NEW PROCEDURE

Forward to Fraud Unit

Under the new procedures, if the USCIS Service Center finds that the evidence in a case reflects that the marriage was entered into fraudulently, the case will be forwarded to the Office of Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS). They will review the case and present their findings in a memo to the Service Center.

Findings of Fraud Unit

If the FDNS verifies the fraud, the Service Center will issue a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) and accord the petitioner the ability to rebut the evidence in writing. This will be reviewed and a decision will be made. If the FDNS does not verify the fraud, the case can be sent to the local USCIS office for an in-person interview.

Recommendations When Filing I-751s

This change in procedure makes it vital for one to properly document any I-751 filing. It should not be assumed that additional evidence can be presented at an in-person interview. The case should be filed upfront, with complete documentation, in order to persuade the USCIS at the Service Center level that the marriage is bona fide.

Questions about suitable types of evidentiary support should be discussed with an immigration lawyer. No one should create documentation to prove a marriage and there is no one piece of proof that is absolutely needed to show that one's marriage is bona fide. It is more in the nature of being able to substantiate clearly interconnected lives, as appropriate for a married couple. Couples should keep this documentation and have it organized and ready to present when needed.

Conclusion

When filing the I-751, besides filing a properly prepared package, there are other considerations. There is the problem of the angry spouse letter, often accusing the foreign national of marrying to get a green card. We would hope that these will continue to be reviewed in the proper light, as angry and unacceptable accusations that often follow failed, genuine relationships. Such letters should not be sufficient for a denial, or worse, for fraud allegations, absent additional evidence.

The USCIS takes the issue of fraud in the marriage context very seriously. There are severe and long term immigration consequences of involvement in an attempt to obtain immigration benefits through a fraudulent marriage. Thus, we at the Murthy Law Firm strongly caution anyone who is contemplating such a marriage against taking this action.

This post has been edited by gustahot: Feb 2 2008, 11:58 PM

[Carolyn]

Sounds like a lawyer's office trying to make people paranoid enough to hire them...

[mawilson]

Sounds like a lawyer's office trying to make people paranoid enough to hire them...

Also old news. Effective as of January 30, 2006? We've seen lots of approvals since then...

[lucyrich]

Sounds like a lawyer's office trying to make people paranoid enough to hire them...

Yep. That memo is two years old. I've been watching here for about four years. Maybe I've missed one, but in all that time, I haven't seen anybody report a denial of their I-751 for any reason, with or without interview. I have seen a few couples reporting interviews, and quite a few RFEs reported. But among the people reporting here, they've all reported eventual success at removing conditions, some with no problem at all, some with minor problems. I've seen denials reported here on VJ at every other phase of the process, but not yet for removal of conditions.

I guess some are probably denied without interview, but only when there's fairly clear evidence of outright fraud. Those couples aren't typically posting here.

I also suspect some are denied after an interview, but again, they're not posting here, so I can only guess that the interview uncovered something pretty bad.

Oh, and don't take the good success rate to mean you can just do anything with your I-751. Take the process seriously and don't become the first VJ'er to report a denial.

[diadromous merma...]

Sounds like a lawyer's office trying to make people paranoid enough to hire them...

Yep. That memo is two years old. I've been watching here for about four years. Maybe I've missed one, but in all that time, I haven't seen anybody report a denial of their I-751 for any reason, with or without interview. I have seen a few couples reporting interviews, and quite a few RFEs reported. But among the people reporting here, they've all reported eventual success at removing conditions, some with no problem at all, some with minor problems. I've seen denials reported here on VJ at every other phase of the process, but not yet for removal of conditions.

I guess some are probably denied without interview, but only when there's fairly clear evidence of outright fraud. Those couples aren't typically posting here.

I also suspect some are denied after an interview, but again, they're not posting here, so I can only guess that the interview uncovered something pretty bad.

Oh, and don't take the good success rate to mean you can just do anything with your I-751. Take the process seriously and don't become the first VJ'er to report a denial.

Well, I think we should be realistic. Bear in mind that this board only has a year or so of archived material. I know of a few....