I-130 denied, now what?

[chicinchic 1]

My American husband and I filed for the I-130 and I-485 back in June. I received Advance Parole in October and we went abroad in January 2016. When we returned from abroad, we found a letter from USCIS addressed to me requesting proof of trip abroad. The forum here was harsh about our judgment, telling me that we were idiots for traveling, and I freaked out and made an InfoPass appointment, scheduled a few days after I had submitted our documentation. The appointment went well and the USCIS officer said something along the lines of no worries, you had AP, many people travel this time of year for the holidays and to see family, this is allowed, when we process your document you should get a new interview date--all standard procedure. I was extremely relieved, because of him, rescheduling the interview was not a big deal so long as you had AP and could provide evidence of your absence.

Unfortunately, my husband just got a letter saying that the I-130 had been denied for failure to provide enough proof of marriage without the purpose of immigration. The letter then stated that he missed his interview date and never followed up on provided documentation, even though USCIS received my letter and documents (according to USPS), which included a copy of his boarding pass.

I'll try to get another InfoPass appointment in the upcoming days, but we live in a high-service areas and 99% of the time no appointments are available.

What should we do? Can this be resolved without hiring a lawyer? And if so, how?

[chicinchic 1]

TL;DR: The I-130 was denied because USCIS said my husband didn't provide a letter/documentation for the missed interview, even though I had sent USCIS said letter/documentation 1.5 months ago.

[Georgia16 2,858]

My American husband and I filed for the I-130 and I-485 back in June. I received Advance Parole in October and we went abroad in January 2016. When we returned from abroad, we found a letter from USCIS addressed to me requesting proof of trip abroad. The forum here was harsh about our judgment, telling me that we were idiots for traveling, and I freaked out and made an InfoPass appointment, scheduled a few days after I had submitted our documentation. The appointment went well and the USCIS officer said something along the lines of no worries, you had AP, many people travel this time of year for the holidays and to see family, this is allowed, when we process your document you should get a new interview date--all standard procedure. I was extremely relieved, because of him, rescheduling the interview was not a big deal so long as you had AP and could provide evidence of your absence.

Unfortunately, my husband just got a letter saying that the I-130 had been denied for failure to provide enough proof of marriage without the purpose of immigration. The letter then stated that he missed his interview date and never followed up on provided documentation, even though USCIS received my letter and documents (according to USPS), which included a copy of his boarding pass.

I'll try to get another InfoPass appointment in the upcoming days, but we live in a high-service areas and 99% of the time no appointments are available.

What should we do? Can this be resolved without hiring a lawyer? And if so, how?

TL;DR: The I-130 was denied because USCIS said my husband didn't provide a letter/documentation for the missed interview, even though I had sent USCIS said letter/documentation 1.5 months ago.

You confuse me a bit. Why his boarding pass he is a USC so he has nothing to prove. You say they received your package that you sent in 1.5 months before? How can his boarding pass be in the letter then?

Did you married and AOS on a turist visa?

Did you get any kind of letter that they received the documents you sent?

Edited March 5, 2016 by Georgia16

[chicinchic 1]

I sent both of our boarding passes to show that we have been out of the count y together. Yes, he is a USC. I am confused as well.

No, I did not receive a confirmation of receipt of my letter.

[blest.but.strest 50]

I sent both of our boarding passes to show that we have been out of the count y together. Yes, he is a USC. I am confused as well.

No, I did not receive a confirmation of receipt of my letter.

If I understand well, you had an i-130 interview scheduled in January but you guys missed it because you were on a trip out of town? Correct? I am a little confused Edited March 5, 2016 by blest.but.strest

[Georgia16 2,858]

I sent both of our boarding passes to show that we have been out of the count y together. Yes, he is a USC. I am confused as well.

No, I did not receive a confirmation of receipt of my letter.

But you say you cancelled your interview 1.5 months ahead. Then when you got home he had received the letter of denial because you guys hadn't showed up to the interview. Then AFTER you got the letter you have sent in the boarding passes?

Then you actually don't have any proof that they received your letter that you wanted to cancel the date for the interview? And are you even sure they would except that, they normally say you can only cancel if it's an important thing and a travel really isn't?

Hope someone can help you better soon. I'm just trying to understand because its really confusing

[chicinchic 1]

We called USCIS the day we received our notice of appointment and asked whether it could be rescheduled because he had planned to be out of the country. The USCIS said yes and that we would receive a follow-up in the mail. The follow-up came while we were abroad and asking for documentation proving our absence. I mailed a letter to USCIS, explained our absence and included travel documentation. Four days after mailing this letter, I was able to meet with a USCIS officer in person. He told me, contrary to what I was told here, that missing an interview and rescheduling was not a problem, as long as I had AP and could prove that I was out of the country. I even showed him my travel documents and told him that I had mailed the required explanation and that it had arrived two days earlier at the center, according to USPS tracking.

The problem is that, from the I-130 rejection my husband received, it seems like they never processed my letter/documents. I never received a notice stating that they had received it. And even though the notice of appointment had been addressed to me, the notice of rejection was addressed to my husband.

[kris&me 572]

the reason for denial is "not sending enough evidence of marriage"

this is what you have to overcome

and people here aren't trying to be harsh / they are giving you the facts to help

get another info pass taking evidence of marriage to ask if it is enough for USCIS

and work this out to schedule another appointmentawy

lawyer is your decision / you can make a consultation and remember they all say they can help

[blest.but.strest 50]

We called USCIS the day we received our notice of appointment and asked whether it could be rescheduled because he had planned to be out of the country. The USCIS said yes and that we would receive a follow-up in the mail. The follow-up came while we were abroad and asking for documentation proving our absence. I mailed a letter to USCIS, explained our absence and included travel documentation......

Ok I understand your situation, if you sent the information requested by USCIS back in the right time frame, this shouldn't have happened. Is the denial latter dated after your infopass appointment?

Can you please provide an accurate timeline of your filling and of the documents you received from USCIS ?

[chicinchic 1]

Thanks. We submitted a copy of our marriage certificate in June, though. I'm still going to try and get an InfoPass appointment and will bring the certificate along.

[blest.but.strest 50]

Very confusing without knowing your timeline. Get an infopass in order to try to sort it out with an officer and if that doesn't work, get a lawyer.

[Georgia16 2,858]

Thanks. We submitted a copy of our marriage certificate in June, though. I'm still going to try and get an InfoPass appointment and will bring the certificate along.

Did you add any other proof of marriage?

[belinda63 2,990]

So the I-130 was denied, the i-485 is a separate thing. For the I-130 you have to prove it is a real marriage and not for the purpose of immigration. Sounds like this is what was not met. Did you send proof of the marriage such as co-mingled finances, pictures, joint lease, and such. As to the missed interview if you can't prove you sent the request to re-schedule then he missed the interview.

[chicinchic 1]

Proof of marriage was a certificate and photos taken of the course of several years. We didn't have a joint lease/accounts because we were living in separate cities, due to our being in different schools.

Following the USCIS phone request to reschedule our interview, we received a follow-up letter noting the date of our call, our request to reschedule and documentation. That letter arrived while we were abroad, and we included a copy of that letter when we sent in proof of our travel.

Note that the I-130 and I-485 were submitted in June and we were never asked to provide additional proof of the marriage.

[Georgia16 2,858]

Proof of marriage was a certificate and photos taken of the course of several years. We didn't have a joint lease/accounts because we were living in separate cities, due to our being in different schools.

Following the USCIS phone request to reschedule our interview, we received a follow-up letter noting the date of our call, our request to reschedule and documentation. That letter arrived while we were abroad, and we included a copy of that letter when we sent in proof of our travel.

Note that the I-130 and I-485 were submitted in June and we were never asked to provide additional proof of the marriage.

Well thats a big problem and the reason for their denial guess they didn't believe you married for love.