i485 pending and received a RFE letter (request i601)

[HHH 0]

Hi everyone, i received a letter from USCIS after my greencard interview,it requested me to either submit a i601 OR provide the evidence that i failed to depart the US for the reasons that's beyond my control. (the letter said it appears that i am inadmissible to the US under INA212(a)(6)(c)(i) for fraud or misrepresentation.)

 

background:

got married on Sep 2017 (we were in a relationship for more than an year)

entered the US on Dec 2017 with ESTA

 

i was planning on staying just a month, but my father in law got badly injured 10 days before i arrived, and my husband's grandma passed away 3 days after my arrival.

my husband was the only person that makes money after his dad was injured, and he was upset and under stress so i decided to stay here for him and his family.

 

my question is

 

1. Do i submit a 601 or provide the evidence that i failed to depart for the reasons that's beyond my control?

2.i have an infopass appointment next week, what can i ask to help with the situation?

3.if i chose to provide the evidence and my 485 gets denied, do i need to leave the US straight away? 

4.if i apply for CR1 when i return to my country, does the previous denial record affect my future application?

 

any suggestion is welcomed, thank you.

 

[geowrian 22,335]

What was the fraud or misrepresentation that you committed? Overstay is not grounds for this, so it has to be something else.

When dealing with an inadmissibility for misrepresentation, it's time to bring an immigration lawyer in.

 

Please keep the thread updated.

[HHH 0]

4 minutes ago, geowrian said:

What was the fraud or misrepresentation that you committed? Overstay is not grounds for this, so it has to be something else.

When dealing with an inadmissibility for misrepresentation, it's time to bring an immigration lawyer in.

 

Please keep the thread updated.

Hi thank you for the reply, according to the letter 

"On Sep 2017 you married US citizen and on Dec 2017 you entered the US as a nonimmigrant visitor under the visa waver program,

for a period of time not to exceed 90 days. You immediately assumed residency with your US citizen spouce and filed your I-485 within the 90 days period. USCIS takes the position that you entered the US for the purpose of seeking adjustment of status to that of a permanent resident."

 

i am looking into lawyer now if anyone knows the good one in Boston area feel free to recommend.

any comment is appreciated too

[vpalermo85 62]

5 minutes ago, HHH said:

Hi thank you for the reply, according to the letter 

"On Sep 2017 you married US citizen and on Dec 2017 you entered the US as a nonimmigrant visitor under the visa waver program,

for a period of time not to exceed 90 days. You immediately assumed residency with your US citizen spouce and filed your I-485 within the 90 days period. USCIS takes the position that you entered the US for the purpose of seeking adjustment of status to that of a permanent resident."

 

i am looking into lawyer now if anyone knows the good one in Boston area feel free to recommend.

any comment is appreciated too

I'd recommend the lawyer as well, my office has many immigration clients.

 

Waivers can be tricky only because you want to present your case in the best light.  There's the way USCIS sees the facts on paper and what actually happened from your prospective.

 

I wouldn't lose hope though, we've dealt with some really difficult cases in our office and they were granted waivers and the situations were more convoluted then this so stay positive   

[geowrian 22,335]

10 minutes ago, HHH said:

Hi thank you for the reply, according to the letter 

"On Sep 2017 you married US citizen and on Dec 2017 you entered the US as a nonimmigrant visitor under the visa waver program,

for a period of time not to exceed 90 days. You immediately assumed residency with your US citizen spouce and filed your I-485 within the 90 days period. USCIS takes the position that you entered the US for the purpose of seeking adjustment of status to that of a permanent resident." 

Well that's new...existing BIA cases prohibit this being an inadmissibility as the immediate relative of a USC. Definitely seek some legal counsel.

And please please keep this thread updated as this is quite unusual.

 

@Boiler Thoughts?

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

28 minutes ago, HHH said:

Hi thank you for the reply, according to the letter 

"On Sep 2017 you married US citizen and on Dec 2017 you entered the US as a nonimmigrant visitor under the visa waver program,

for a period of time not to exceed 90 days. You immediately assumed residency with your US citizen spouce and filed your I-485 within the 90 days period. USCIS takes the position that you entered the US for the purpose of seeking adjustment of status to that of a permanent resident."

 

i am looking into lawyer now if anyone knows the good one in Boston area feel free to recommend.

any comment is appreciated too

That’s interesting, because although this is the rule (90 days), the assumption here on VJ is that they never enforce this for spouses of USCs.  Looks like you are the first wave of more stringent enforcement.

 

separately, from what you’ve said above, I don’t see how you can argue that circumstances were beyond your control. Sad as the circumstances were for your husband's family, there wasn’t anything in there that physically prevented you leaving. I agree you probably need a lawyer - my inexpert opinion is that you will require a waiver.

[HHH 0]

Hi everyone,

 

thank you for commenting and providing suggestions here!

I have talked to a few lawyers but the appointments would be in next week, and i got given different opinions on this case...

i would keep you guys updated and i hope everything goes well...

[HHH 0]

Hi everyone,

 

Thank you all for giving suggestions before!

I promise i will share more info once i have the update, i just got my i-485 approval last week!

My attorney suggested us to provide more evidence to USCIS instead of filling i-601, so here's our timeline

 

Oct-2018 hired attorney

Jan-2019 sent RFE response to USCIS

Fab-2019 i-485 approved

 

According to my lawyer, if USCIS gave you two options, then you should prepare all the documents you have to prove yourself, if failed then you can consider i-601 afterwards, don't just file i-601 because it shows you admitted that you are at fault. (at least in our case, may not apply to everyone.)

Also do NOT try to file i-601 yourself, if you ever got requested to file i-601, talk to attorneys.

We consulted multiple attorneys and then decided, it cost more but having someone whom you can trust is really important. (One attorney we met recommended our attorney to us, and i am glad we had him!)

 

If anyone has any question or need my attorney's info feel free to message me (Boston/Great Boston/MA)

Thank you so much again for the help!