Did not receive notice of interview, did not attend.

[Zosia 4]

Today we got a letter from USCIS in the mail denying our I485 on the grounds we did not attend an interview a week ago. The problem is we NEVER received notice of any interview scheduled. 

 

We sent our application in May and got the notice of receipt. In late October our AP and work permit were granted. We checked the USCIS website in early November to see how our green card application was and it indicated nothing had been scheduled yet, everything was pending. 

 

I talked to a tier 2 customer service agent tonight at USCIS who told me that in his system he sees that on October 15 the letter was sent out to our address (we confirmed it was the right address). We never got it, nor did we receive an email, text, or anything else like we did with our K1 visa when it was time to schedule an interview. No one called. Nothing. And well after 10/15 the USCIS website itself had no indication anything had been scheduled for us. 

 

I'm so upset and don't know what to do.

 

At the agent's recommendation we wrote a letter to the field office that handled our phantom interview explaining that we never got anything and asking them to give us a new interview date. He said hopefully they can just put us to the back of the line getting a new date and do it that way. He also said we could make an appointment on Infopass to go in person with the same letter and all our documentation to ask. The letter also said we have 30 days to file a motion to reopen our case, which he said we should do concurrently, in case the field office won't let us get a new date.  

 

I'm afraid since the case was actually denied that no amount of begging or pleading will get us a new interview date and we'll have to just file the motion 😕 What should we include in the motion? Do we need to just get a lawyer at this point? What kind of evidence can we sent to show that we didn't get any notice? We haven't left town for months, we've been in the same place where we live and receive mail, downtown in a big city, in a large building with a doorman who monitors the mail. 

[little immigrant 801]

Do you have informed delivery where you can see your daily mail coming in? I highly suggest to sign up for it so you don't miss any mail.

 

Hopefully they can reschedule you. Keep us updated.

[Zosia 4]

Finally, I can update on this for anyone else's reference and peace of mind (hopefully you don't need it, though!)

 

We ended up hiring a lawyer to help us handle this glitch, especially since they ask for evidence, and I had no evidence of... nothing. Though we did write an affidavit describing the events and dates, and including that we received no notice and had been checking the website, got no letter/text/phone call/email/etc and had it notarized at the bank. That may have been all the evidence the attorney submitted for us on this. 

 

We filed a Motion to Reconsider or Reopen in late December 2018. They received it pretty much right away and sent notice of that.

 

In May they reopened the case. 

 

Today we got notice of an interview in a couple of weeks. 

 

So, long story short, a lot of stress and our lives and any travel plans were a little bit derailed for about 10 months over some administrative error. We were actually just gearing up to apply for a renewal of his work permit, which is about to expire around the same time as the interview date. 

 

If you're in a similar situation, there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Lawyers help for peace of mind. Strangely enough, I called customer service just 2 weeks ago to ask how our case was going. They said there was no movement at the time. But with our K-1 there were also delays that mysteriously were resolved right after a phone call, so there is something to say for polite but persistent calling.