Help My case Expired

[santiagoymoca 0]

i petitioned for my wife on june 2010. i got arrested november 2010 and had an appointment on may 2011 but i could not attend (this is in dominican republic) because i was in pretrial services and my passport had been confiscated. i did 14 months in prison. they gave me one year from the date of the appointment to show up but it was impossible because i had to go to prison. so im out now and am dying to have my wife here with me. she has been supportive of the whole thing since day one. what can i do to re open my case.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

You could certainly file a request to re-open the closed I-130 but, in all honesty, it would cost money, take a long time to be processed and would probably end up in a denial with immigration stating that they appreciate that there were extenuating circumstances but that is your problem and not theirs. It would be much easier and faster for you to re-file rather than to try and get the old file re-opened. Be sure to include a statement explaining why the previous I-130 expired due to inactivity. Good luck!

[santiagoymoca 0]

You could certainly file a request to re-open the closed I-130 but, in all honesty, it would cost money, take a long time to be processed and would probably end up in a denial with immigration stating that they appreciate that there were extenuating circumstances but that is your problem and not theirs. It would be much easier and faster for you to re-file rather than to try and get the old file re-opened. Be sure to include a statement explaining why the previous I-130 expired due to inactivity. Good luck!

the i30 got approved. the case had been sent to dominican republic already. they sent the appointment there because my spouse lives there and i had to fly out but didnt get permission cause of my pending case and encarceration.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Hmm, ok, so it wasn't that the petition expired due to lack of activity, rather it was denied because of your upcoming incarceration. Unfortunately, once a decision has been made on a petition, that decision stands unless you apply for a reconsideration before that petition expires. Since the petition has now expired, you cannot apply to have it re-opened. You will have to go through the immigration process all over again from the beginning. So, file for another I-130. Since you were able to get the first one to the interview level without a problem and it was your circumstances that prevented the process from completing, it shouldn't cause you any difficulties in getting the second one approved unless the crime for which you served time was one that made you ineligible to sponsor for an immigrant family member.

Let go of thinking that you can re-validate the now expired I-130. It was denied and has now expired. There are no grounds available under which you can apply to have it re-opened. It would just be a waste of your time and your money. Start over. That is really the only option available.

Edited January 1, 2013 by Kathryn41

[bigdog 376]

You could certainly file a request to re-open the closed I-130 but, in all honesty, it would cost money, take a long time to be processed and would probably end up in a denial with immigration stating that they appreciate that there were extenuating circumstances but that is your problem and not theirs. It would be much easier and faster for you to re-file rather than to try and get the old file re-opened. Be sure to include a statement explaining why the previous I-130 expired due to inactivity. Good luck!

a do over.

[santiagoymoca 0]

a do over.

thank you.

[neoflasher 3]

You cannot file to have case reopened. Unfortunately your only option is to start the process all over. Best of luck.