Petition I-129(O-1) was sent to the USCIS with the recommendation that it be revoked

[Alex Katala 0]

Hello!

I would appreciate if anyone could help me or give any recommendations on my case:

I came to the States on B1/B2 visa. Due to family circumstances I've changed my status to F2 and stayed on it for 2,5 years. Recently, I was petitioned as an artist for the O1 visa (I-129) (on January 26, 2012), and it was approved by USCIS within two weeks (Feb. 7). My case included recommendation letters from art professionals, international press, two exhibition invitations and a job offer. The petitioner is an agent, who represents me.

Upon this approval, I traveled to my home country – the Russian Federation – in order to obtain the O1 visa. My case, however, was subjected to administrative processing upon my 10 minutes interview at the US embassy in Moscow on March 2, 2012.

The case has been in process for more then four months now.

Me, my attorney and petitioner have contacted the Moscow embassy many times with requests to obtain any further information on the case, but with no success. 

On July 3, I received an e-mail from the embassy stating: “According to our records, your visa petition was sent to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) office with the recommendation that it be revoked on May 22, 2012. Any further correspondence should be addressed directly to the local USCIS office that approved the petition.” 

The same day my wife received a call from the office of the senator who assists us and we were told that the embassy informed them that this information was delayed till July 3, because the system was broken.

During the period of waiting my attorney and myself were sending numerous emails to the consulate with questions about the case and offers to send more documents if needed. Responses were very simple and very rare: No more additional info is needed. The case is still under AP.

Timeline:

January 26, 2012: The petition for his O1 visa was filed with USCIS

Februry 7, 2012: USCIS approved the petition

March 2, 2012: interview in Moscow, case put on administrative processing

June 8, 2012: asked senator's assistance

July 3, 2012: embassy informs me that they sent the recommendation to the USCIS for the case to be revoked on May 22, 2012.

Questions:

I would greatly appreciate if anyone could share any information they know about such situation (embassy sending to USCIS a recommendation to revoke the visa). What can be  done in such situation?

According to this info http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/87853.pdf, http://travel.state.gov/visa/laws/telegrams/telegrams_1388.html, http://travel.state.gov/visa/laws/telegrams/telegrams_1415.html, the embassy violated my right to supplement the case, they didn't let me know the reason of the refusal and finally they were sitting on the case for 6 weeks instead of 1-2.

Do you know how long it usually takes for USCIS to reconsider the case?

Do they usually send the Notice of Revocation? And what kind of paperwork I can submit so that they reaffirm the approval?

What are the ways to expedite this process?

I have senator assisting me, is it usually helpful?

What should I do next? Should I just wait for NOIR and try to prove the case again?

Thanks.

[jkelly07 120]

it looks like your case is put on administrative processing more back round checks,you called your state senator for assistance and you have your lawyer,so what can vj do for you. you have to wait for the uscis decison,

[aaron2020 11,651]

it looks like your case is put on administrative processing more back round checks,you called your state senator for assistance and you have your lawyer,so what can vj do for you. you have to wait for the uscis decison,

He doesn't have a state senator. He's Russian. He's applying on his own. No petitioner. No sponsor.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hello!

I would appreciate if anyone could help me or give any recommendations on my case:

I came to the States on B1/B2 visa. Due to family circumstances I've changed my status to F2 and stayed on it for 2,5 years. Recently, I was petitioned as an artist for the O1 visa (I-129) (on January 26, 2012), and it was approved by USCIS within two weeks (Feb. 7). My case included recommendation letters from art professionals, international press, two exhibition invitations and a job offer. The petitioner is an agent, who represents me.

Upon this approval, I traveled to my home country – the Russian Federation – in order to obtain the O1 visa. My case, however, was subjected to administrative processing upon my 10 minutes interview at the US embassy in Moscow on March 2, 2012.

The case has been in process for more then four months now.

Me, my attorney and petitioner have contacted the Moscow embassy many times with requests to obtain any further information on the case, but with no success.

On July 3, I received an e-mail from the embassy stating: “According to our records, your visa petition was sent to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) office with the recommendation that it be revoked on May 22, 2012. Any further correspondence should be addressed directly to the local USCIS office that approved the petition.”

The same day my wife received a call from the office of the senator who assists us and we were told that the embassy informed them that this information was delayed till July 3, because the system was broken.

During the period of waiting my attorney and myself were sending numerous emails to the consulate with questions about the case and offers to send more documents if needed. Responses were very simple and very rare: No more additional info is needed. The case is still under AP.

Timeline:

January 26, 2012: The petition for his O1 visa was filed with USCIS

Februry 7, 2012: USCIS approved the petition

March 2, 2012: interview in Moscow, case put on administrative processing

June 8, 2012: asked senator's assistance

July 3, 2012: embassy informs me that they sent the recommendation to the USCIS for the case to be revoked on May 22, 2012.

Questions:

I would greatly appreciate if anyone could share any information they know about such situation (embassy sending to USCIS a recommendation to revoke the visa). What can be done in such situation?

According to this info http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/87853.pdf, http://travel.state.gov/visa/laws/telegrams/telegrams_1388.html, http://travel.state.gov/visa/laws/telegrams/telegrams_1415.html, the embassy violated my right to supplement the case, they didn't let me know the reason of the refusal and finally they were sitting on the case for 6 weeks instead of 1-2.

Do you know how long it usually takes for USCIS to reconsider the case?

Do they usually send the Notice of Revocation? And what kind of paperwork I can submit so that they reaffirm the approval?

What are the ways to expedite this process?

I have senator assisting me, is it usually helpful?

What should I do next? Should I just wait for NOIR and try to prove the case again?

Thanks.

Your lawyer who has all the relevant facts is in the best position to advise you. We don't know all the details of your case.

Issuing visas especially non-immigrant visa is the sole responsibility of the US Embassy/Consulate. As a foreigner, you don't have any right to come to the US - so it's hard for me to see them "violate your right to supplement the case." Issuance of a non-immigrant visa is a privilege extended to non-US citizens, so you can't have a right if it is a privilege extended to non-US citizens. If foreigners had a right to supplement their case with whatever paperwork, the US embassies around the world would be drown in irrelevant paperwork. Apparently, the US Embassy has sufficient information. The US Embassy is not required to look at any additional paperwork you want to submit. The US government does not owe you anything, so you have no right to supplement your case. Issuance of an non-immigrant visa is at the US Embassy/Consulate sole discretion.

Asking for a non-immigrant visa is like asking to come into someone's home. The homeowner can refuse you entry for any reason. The homeowner does not have to accept additional information from you. The homeowner does not owe you an explanation. It's the homeowner's discretion to let you in or not.

Edited July 9, 2012 by aaron2020

[aaron2020 11,651]

He doesn't have a state senator. He's Russian. He's applying on his own. No petitioner. No sponsor.

Correction. This is a O-1 visa application. There is a petitioner, but it's not a family member. It is a person or organization that wants to bring an artist to the US. The person or organization is sponsoring to bring the person, but it's not like it is a family member. The petitioner is basically the employer who has a contract with the beneficiary.

[Boiler 43,506]

I doubt if many people on this board know what an O1 is.

It sounds like the Consulate do not believe that you qualify for an O1.

Whether that is a fair comment or not, I have no idea.

Presumably the sponsor does believe you have a case otherwise they would not have invested a lot of money in Lawyer fees etc in the application.

Have you consulted with your own Lawyer? You may be wasting your time.

Edited July 9, 2012 by Boiler

[Noah Lot 387]

I doubt if many people on this board know what an O1 is.

It sounds like the Consulate do not believe that you qualify for an O1.

Whether that is a fair comment or not, I have no idea.

Presumably the sponsor does believe you have a case otherwise they would not have invested a lot of money in Lawyer fees etc in the application.

Have you consulted with your own Lawyer? You may be wasting your time.

I happen to know a lot about O-1s, and it sounds like the VO figured out that the OP is not in the top 1-3% of the 'artist's' field in the world..which is the main requirement...recommendations are meaningless...what matters is the accomplishments by said applicant and how they rank IN REAL LIFE in this category, not based on what some $300 an hour immigration attorney believes...combined with the fact that the OP was in F2 status (and thus misled the VO when obtaining his B2 visa), sounds like the VOs have figured out that there are numerous holes in the story...and as for violating some right, that's not possible...and the OP does NOT have any US senator on his side, since the OP, being Russian, cannot (legally) vote in our country...

A person seeking O1 status truly needs to be 'Outstanding' (hence the 'O') in his or her field, based on actual work and actual recognition by recognized peers...what often happens with O1 petitions is that the immigration attorney creates a three inch thick file full of documents that are in no particular order, filled with hints and suggestions, but because all the alleged facts are disconnected, it is more difficult for the USCIS adjudicator (who is often a stay-at-home housewife who has these applications outsourced to her, and is paid three times as much for approving one compared to denying one!) to wade through the baloney...but a detailed oriented VO can sift through the fluff and get a much better idea of what is really going on...I imagine that when the OP applied for his B2 visa, he did not mention he was some world class artist, but rather some sort of 'businessman'...so right away there was a disconnect....followed by a COS to F2 rather than seeking the O1 right away...and after painting three 'paint by numbers' works, some ethically challenged immigration attorney (are there any other kind??) met with him and concocted a plan to try and buffalo the system to get an O1...real O1 applicants don't need much in the way of documention...their own careers in their field speaks for itself...the more some immigration attorney tries to convince, the less convincing the story becomes....

[Boiler 43,506]

Did you see how old this thread is?

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

I noted that his wife ( a USC ? ) got a call from the senator. which implies he was trying to go O instead of CR1 for reasons unknown.

[Ontarkie 13,918]

~~~~Closing thread as the OP has not been online since July~~~~