N400 denied doe to “not demonstrating that applicant was lawfully admitted for permanent residency” (merged threads)

[Lapo44 5]

Hi everyone!

So I recently got me N400 denial notice with a reason for denial stating “you did not demonstrate that you were lawfully admitted for permanent residency”

Here are the details. I married to my first husband back in 2009 and he applied for asylum in 2010 and listed me as a spouse in his application. We were granted asylum in immigration court in 2011. In 2012 we applied for adjustment of status (1 year after asylum granted). Our applications were still pending when we divorced in 2015. I remarried soon after, my current husband is a US citizen. Application was approved in 2017 (backdated 2016) and I received my green card.

After I divorced and got married again I Called USCIS service center to try to notify them about a change of my family status and to find out if it will affect my application for adjustment of status, they did not give me any info, so I scheduled an infopass appointment and was told I’m still eligible to adjust through asylum even though I’m already divorced, as for notifing USCIS about my divorce and new marriage I was told I do not have to do it but I could if I wanted to. So I figured I’d rather do it, and sent them a letter with my case number, dissolution of marriage papers and marriage certificate. Now after three years my N400 is denied because I was no longer eligible for green card at the time of adjustment, because I was no longer a spouse of a primary applicant for asylum. 

So here come the questions. 

Whats going to happen next? From the information I was able to find on USCIS website they can not rescind my green card if I was eligible to apply for it on other basis at the time of my i485 adjudication (which I was, my US citizen husband could of petition for me). Also if they will intent to rescind GC they will notify me. And then I probably will be able to apply through my marriage.

But what if that’s not going to happen  can I apply for naturalization again? 

Did anybody have similar experience? Please share! Would appreciate any information!

Thanks

[USS_Voyager 1,971]

33 minutes ago, Lapo44 said:

From the information I was able to find on USCIS website they can not rescind my green card if I was eligible to apply for it on other basis at the time of my i485 adjudication

I am not sure if that’s right. To me, it’s either or. Either you were not eligible and the green card was approved as an error, or you were eligible for the green card and they denied the N-400 in error. I am not 100% sure which one, but obviously they believe the first scenario which means they will next try to text your green card away. I would say this is lawyer time. At least buy an hour or two with a competent immigration lawyer to find out what the law is. I personally think they made an error in denying your N-400 but as I said, I do not know the law.

 

If you receive a notice to revoke your green card,  you need to immediately retain a lawyer I think.

[Lapo44 5]

9 minutes ago, USS_Voyager said:

I am not sure if that’s right. To me, it’s either or. Either you were not eligible and the green card was approved as an error, or you were eligible for the green card and they denied the N-400 in error. I am not 100% sure which one, but obviously they believe the first scenario which means they will next try to text your green card away. I would say this is lawyer time. At least buy an hour or two with a competent immigration lawyer to find out what the law is. I personally think they made an error in denying your N-400 but as I said, I do not know the law.

 

If you receive a notice to revoke your green card,  you need to immediately retain a lawyer I think.

Well, I’m pretty sure it is the GC that was approved in error. And I thought it might be an issue after I divorced, that’s why I went for infopass to find out. But the person at the infopass told me I’m still eligible. That denial notice explains that I was not qualifing for GC because I had already been divorced at the time of adjudication. 

USCIS has some manual on their website that is edited and available to public. There is a part for adjudicator about rescinding GC, it says before rescinding they have to make sure there were no other grounds to adjust status at the time of i485 approval. And if there were such they don’t rescind it. But than I don’t understand what happens next 🤷‍♀️ If they don’t take it away, there should be a possibility to naturalize.

If I will get notice I rescind I will definitely contact lawyer, but right now I’m just trying to learn from other people experiences in similar situations. It seems like it’s pretty rare issue so there was not much info I was able to obtain. I found one thread here from last year, the poster’s case seemed very similar to mine, I’ve contacted him but did not get any response unfortunately.

[Villanelle 4,121]

Well technically it says "The fact that an alien was not eligible for adjustment of status does not automatically mean that you must rescind the alien's lawful permanent resident status." It doesnt say they cant.

 

As you probably read there is a long process they go through with some thing like this. IF they decide to not pursue rescission eventually there will be a letter placed in your file stating such and they will not review the matter again unless new info is provided. So I am assuming once a letter stating the matter is closed is placed in your file you should be able to apply for naturalization again successfully.  

 

I do not know if they will drop this or not. You were given the card in error. Im sorry infopass gave you incorrect info. If you were the primary applicant for the asylum then your marital status would not have mattered but since you were the spouse on it you needed to still be the spouse. So USCIS would be fully justified in revoking your card, hopefully they dont pursue it since you would be eligible based on your new marriage.

[Lapo44 5]

30 minutes ago, Villanelle said:

Well technically it says "The fact that an alien was not eligible for adjustment of status does not automatically mean that you must rescind the alien's lawful permanent resident status." It doesnt say they cant.

 

As you probably read there is a long process they go through with some thing like this. IF they decide to not pursue rescission eventually there will be a letter placed in your file stating such and they will not review the matter again unless new info is provided. So I am assuming once a letter stating the matter is closed is placed in your file you should be able to apply for naturalization again successfully.  

 

I do not know if they will drop this or not. You were given the card in error. Im sorry infopass gave you incorrect info. If you were the primary applicant for the asylum then your marital status would not have mattered but since you were the spouse on it you needed to still be the spouse. So USCIS would be fully justified in revoking your card, hopefully they dont pursue it since you would be eligible based on your new marriage.

Thank you for your response.

I understand they might rescind my LPR status. They have to send me a notice if they intent to do so. Do you have any idea how long it might take for them to resolve this? I’ve read somewhere they have 120 days to do it, but I’m not sure if the source was legit. Also would they notify me if they decide not to rescind my LPR status.

Its very frustrating!

[Lemonslice 4,556]

14 minutes ago, Lapo44 said:

Thank you for your response.

I understand they might rescind my LPR status. They have to send me a notice if they intent to do so. Do you have any idea how long it might take for them to resolve this? I’ve read somewhere they have 120 days to do it, but I’m not sure if the source was legit. Also would they notify me if they decide not to rescind my LPR status.

Its very frustrating!

You might want to look for a good lawyer, just in case you need it. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst they say...

[Villanelle 4,121]

From what I understand you will get a notice if they intend to do so, however if they decide not to- you will not get a notice. The decision to not revoke would be placed in your immigrant file. So when you apply for naturalization again in the future- the issue will come up again yes, but they will be able to move forward since its been addressed and decided they are not revoking.

 

How long it will take? I have no idea. USCIS can move very slowly. If they decide to move forward they have to go through many steps and gather a lot of info for the notice. The same applies to them deciding to not move forward-- they have to create documentation saying what all the facts are and that they are not going forward and get it all signed off and approved to place the letter in your file. I wouldnt expect anything quickly...

 

Unfortunately since I do not believe you would get a courtesy copy of the 'we are not pursing' letter the only way to find out if one is in your file is through FOIA (getting copies of your files). That in itself takes a lot of time and if its not in your file when your request comes through- you may have to request again hoping it will be there. You can also wait a while (maybe 6 months-1yr) and apply for n400 again? Since the n400 takes a while to process combined with waiting to file- enough time may have passed for it to be resolved. Down side is paying the n400 fee again with not knowing if it will be approved. 

 

 

[Lapo44 5]

Hey everyone!

I’m looking for advise and possible someone’s experience in similar cases as mine. USCIS issued me green card in error, I learned it in a hard way (after my naturalization application denial).

Long story short.

I was a derivative asylee and applied for adjustment of status based on asylum. While it was still pending (2 years later) I divorced from my husband, who was a lead applicant in the asylum case and married my current husband (US citizen). I consulted with the lawyer and had an infopass and was told I was still eligible to adjust through asylum, so I kept waiting for decision on i485. Was approved in 2017. 

Applied for naturalization and was denied since i485 was approved when I was no longer eligible (because of being divorced from primary applicant).

So right now I’m stuck in the situation where I do not know how to fix an issue. My lawyer says I might not get an NTA at all and they might just let me keep that green card but I won’t be able to naturalize through it most likely.

And in case they decide to revoke it I can just reapply through marriage. But I can not give it up myself. 

Im seeking the way to fix the issue, I’m not feeling well to be stuck with wrongfully approved green card. 

Has anyone been in similar situations? Would appreciate any input!

Thank you all!

[TBoneTX 43,060]

Thread is moved from General Polls to General Immigration Discussion.

[azblk 338]

On 10/22/2019 at 4:37 PM, Lapo44 said:

Hey everyone!

I’m looking for advise and possible someone’s experience in similar cases as mine. USCIS issued me green card in error, I learned it in a hard way (after my naturalization application denial).

Long story short.

I was a derivative asylee and applied for adjustment of status based on asylum. While it was still pending (2 years later) I divorced from my husband, who was a lead applicant in the asylum case and married my current husband (US citizen). I consulted with the lawyer and had an infopass and was told I was still eligible to adjust through asylum, so I kept waiting for decision on i485. Was approved in 2017. 

Applied for naturalization and was denied since i485 was approved when I was no longer eligible (because of being divorced from primary applicant).

So right now I’m stuck in the situation where I do not know how to fix an issue. My lawyer says I might not get an NTA at all and they might just let me keep that green card but I won’t be able to naturalize through it most likely.

And in case they decide to revoke it I can just reapply through marriage. But I can not give it up myself. 

Im seeking the way to fix the issue, I’m not feeling well to be stuck with wrongfully approved green card. 

Has anyone been in similar situations? Would appreciate any input!

Thank you all!

When a green card is issued in error legally it means that you were never a permanent resident. What this means is you still have your asylum status but you can not adjust status as derivative asylee.

You can still adjust another way in this case as the wife of a US citizen. You need to fire that lawyer because USCIS cant/wont let you keep a GC issued in error. At this point it is like you were never issued  GC and you should file AOS as the spouse of a USC.

[Lapo44 5]

12 hours ago, azblk said:

When a green card is issued in error legally it means that you were never a permanent resident. What this means is you still have your asylum status but you can not adjust status as derivative asylee.

You can still adjust another way in this case as the wife of a US citizen. You need to fire that lawyer because USCIS cant/wont let you keep a GC issued in error. At this point it is like you were never issued  GC and you should file AOS as the spouse of a USC.

Well, I do realize that. Although, there is an “adjudicator’s manual” published on USCIS website, that explains how adjudicator has to proceed making decisions about rescinding LPR status, and it says that in cases similar to mine they MIGHT decide not to rescind. 

I have consulted with two lawyers already. Got completely different advices from them. 

I wish I could reapply through marriage but I would only be able to do so IF and WHEN USCIS revokes my current status. Which I have no idea how long it might take (same as both of the lawyers I have contacted). Basically, there is nothing I can do before USCIS takes action towards rescinding my status.

[azblk 338]

2 hours ago, Lapo44 said:

Well, I do realize that. Although, there is an “adjudicator’s manual” published on USCIS website, that explains how adjudicator has to proceed making decisions about rescinding LPR status, and it says that in cases similar to mine they MIGHT decide not to rescind. 

I have consulted with two lawyers already. Got completely different advices from them. 

I wish I could reapply through marriage but I would only be able to do so IF and WHEN USCIS revokes my current status. Which I have no idea how long it might take (same as both of the lawyers I have contacted). Basically, there is nothing I can do before USCIS takes action towards rescinding my status.

I have read that manual too and it is contradictory in a case like yours. Case law however says if a benefit was issued in error or fraudulently then it is as if that benefit was NEVER issued at all. That being said it does you no good if the USCIS does not rescind your PR status but at the same time will not let you naturalize based on the same status the decide not to rescind. my thoughts to you would be to be proactive - complete and mail a i-407 to the USCIS abandoning your PR status and then reapply for PR through your marriage to your spouse.

[Lapo44 5]

8 hours ago, azblk said:

I have read that manual too and it is contradictory in a case like yours. Case law however says if a benefit was issued in error or fraudulently then it is as if that benefit was NEVER issued at all. That being said it does you no good if the USCIS does not rescind your PR status but at the same time will not let you naturalize based on the same status the decide not to rescind. my thoughts to you would be to be proactive - complete and mail a i-407 to the USCIS abandoning your PR status and then reapply for PR through your marriage to your spouse.

That was my thought too. But then an attorney said I can only do it from outside of United States and I am not going to leave the country in order to abandon my PR status. 

[Lapo44 5]

Hi guys!

It has been 4 months since I received denial notice for my application for naturalization. From this notice I learned I was wrongfully issued green card.

I was granted asylum in 2011 (my spouse was a primary asylum applicant)

2012 Applied to adjust status to permanent resident

2015 divorced and married to my current spouse
2017 application to adjust status approved and I received my green card

2019 denied naturalization due to being no longer eligible to adjust as an asylee (turned out as a spouse of an asylee) as we were no longer married. 

I have been consulting with four different lawyers over the past few months. Was told that most likely USCIS will not be rescinding my status. Two lawyers said that CIS would notify me in that denial notice if any procedures were planned in order to review my status, revoke it etc. anyway it been four months and did not not hear from CIS. A tried to contact them multiple times and was not able to obtain any information. Lawyers thinks it is a limbo situation, like it’s very unlikely that they will rescind my green card but at the same time won’t let me naturalize because of it being issued erroneously. One of the attorneys offered to send CIS directors letters asking them to send me an NTA so I can go to immigration court have my green card revoked and reapply (my current spouse is a US citizen).but I have already sent them letters asking for help in fixing this issue and got no response whatsoever.  I’ve been trying to gather as many info as possible and found out that it might really be the case when CIS may decide not to rescind status. But then I can’t see why I can not be naturalized. It was not my mistake. All lawyers agree they should have call me in for an interview since my application to adjust status was pending to so many years. I actually even had an infopass after I divorced and was advised not to withdraw application as officer said I was still eligible to adjust as an asylee.
Anyone has any experience with similar situations? Any advise would appreciated!

[Boiler 43,446]

Perhaps I will be proven wrong but I doubt there are many in your situation.

 

Staying a LPR would seem the obvious safest option.