I-485 Denied for missing papers - I-290b option?

[DukeWin 0]

Hello, long time lurker here, and thanks to this forum my wife was able to get a visa and come to America. Bad news is, there's a little bump. Here's a breakdown.

Late 2019: Fiance, now Wife, filed I-129f, was approved. Came to American, got married within 90 days and filed form I-485. We received numerous RFE and sent in the requested documents.

Early 2021: The final RFE, they requested more tax information and another copy of our marriage certificate. I'm 100% sure I sent in my marriage certificate with the I-485, but not 100% sure I submitted a second copy of the marriage certificate.

June 24, 2021 - Received an appointment for biometrics.

June 30, 2021 - Notice of decision - Denied. Denial Reason: "After reviewing the evidence, USCIS has concluded that you are not eligible to adjust status because you failed to submit." - "A copy of the marriage certificate between the K-1 applicant and Form I-129F petitioner showing the date of marriage within 90 days of the K-1's admission to the United States."

I believe it's safe to assume that a second copy of my marriage certificate not being submitted is the reason and not because we didn't get married in time. I'm also scratching my head trying to figure out why they couldn't photo copy the marriage certificate I sent in with my I-485 (AOS form).

Now - I can't contact USCIS because the machine never sends me to a human.

Has anyone experience with this type of situation before?

From my point of view, my options are:

1. File form I-290B with the marriage certificate and pay the $675 filing fee.

2. File form I-485 from the beginning and pay the $1140 filing fee.

3. Do #1 first, then if that gets rejected go for #2 but this puts me out $1,815.

If there's a hidden option with a high success rate, please let me know.

I've tried contacting USCIS numerous times without any luck so if anyone knows the correct question to ask the machine to get a real human on the phone I'm all ears.

I've looked on the forums and there was another case where a birth certificate was missing and that specific couple were advised to just reapply.

Am I missing anything here or would simply submitting the form I-290B along with another copy of the marriage certificate be sufficient?

Thanks for reading.

[HRQX 4,145]

12 minutes ago, DukeWin said:

and pay the $1140 filing fee.

Assuming she is Age 14–78 then the fee is $1,225. https://www.uscis.gov/feecalculator

 

"The biometrics fee will not be refunded." "USCIS will run the same security checks and use your biometric data as in the past"

16 minutes ago, DukeWin said:

I've tried contacting USCIS numerous times without any luck so if anyone knows the correct question to ask the machine to get a real human on the phone I'm all ears.

Try the following:

Quote

*each of the two prompts.

Just say technical support then technical problem.

[Villanelle 4,121]

It was nice of @HRQX to show you how to reach a person but honestly don't even bother contacting them, they are not going to give you advice nor will they give you any insight on what the actual problem was beyond repeating to you the what the RFE said. 

 

A common problem people have with marriage certificates is not sending the correct document. It needs to be the certificate not the license. In some places you get one document that is both, in other places they are 2 separate documents. It must be certified copy, meaning it has to have a stamp or seal from the clerk showing where it was recorded in the record books. Please check what you sent to make sure it was correct.  

 

My instinct says you didn't send the correct document but IDK.  If you did send the correct one it could have been lost or misplaced but because you got multiple RFEs I really do think the problem lies with what you are submitting.  

 

You can either attempt to appeal or refile. Refiling is the safer option as they may reject your appeal and yes you will pay more overall doing the appeal if not successful + you lost a lot of time. Because you are a citizen visas are always available where if you were an LPR you might want to retain the earlier priority date by appealing some thing thats not a concern for you. 

 

 

[Chancy 6,233]

32 minutes ago, DukeWin said:

Denial Reason: "After reviewing the evidence, USCIS has concluded that you are not eligible to adjust status because you failed to submit." - "A copy of the marriage certificate between the K-1 applicant and Form I-129F petitioner showing the date of marriage within 90 days of the K-1's admission to the United States."

 

Did you submit a copy of your wife's I-94 record?

 

[powerpuff 6,083]

It’s a shame you didn’t carefully check if you sent everything they’re asking for when replying to the RFE. I don’t think the appeal will be in your favor. You already received multiple RFEs which point to you not submitting a complete and accurate application. I would reapply and pay $1225 if I were you.

[DukeWin 0]

@HRQX - Would they really make us pay the biometrics fee again when our biometrics appointment is in 2 weeks? If so that's a bit ridiculous & thanks for the method to talk to a person, I'll try if I decide to talk to someone since Villanelle said it's useless, which most likely will be the case.

 

@Villanelle - My marriage certificate says that it is both a license and a certificate. If they misplaced it, that's pretty careless. The multiple RFE were general requests that kept saying the same things, to submit missing forms that I already submitted. Each time, I simply guessed which forms they needed, even the Tier 2 agent I spoke with had no idea what they wanted. Eventually it worked, but only the final RFE required the marriage certificate.

 

@Chancy - I submitted the i-94 stamp she got when she arrived, there were no other records.

 

@powerpuff - Yes I know, I'm shooting myself in the foot right now making a $1225 mistake. Before they cashed my check, they sent RFE's, but soon as they cashed it, they just denied... No one's fault but mine, unless they lost my paper, but who's to say.

 

Right now I'm weighing the pros and cons, but will they truly deny an appeal with a missing marriage certificate if it stares them in the face?

Edited August 5, 2021 by DukeWin
Early Submit

[K1visaHopeful 2,702]

If your denial was sent after your Biometrics there is no use going to biometrics.

Your application has been denied. No use for biometrics.

Edited August 5, 2021 by K1visaHopeful

[HRQX 4,145]

3 hours ago, DukeWin said:

@HRQX - Would they really make us pay the biometrics fee again when our biometrics appointment is in 2 weeks?

Yes, the full $1225 would be required when refiling Form I-485.

[Chancy 6,233]

4 hours ago, DukeWin said:

@Chancy - I submitted the i-94 stamp she got when she arrived, there were no other records.

 

The next time you file, please make sure to submit a copy of the record from CBP's I-94 website -- https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/recent-search

 

To determine if you married within 90 days of entry, USCIS compares the date on the marriage certificate with the entry date on the I-94 record.  They might want a copy of the official record of entry, not just a photo of the entry stamp in the passport.

 

Edited August 5, 2021 by Chancy
clarification

[Villanelle 4,121]

 If you also sent the 131 765 AP EAD you need to send multiple copies of certain documents. So if you sent only one copy in the original package they would RFEd you for another copy. IF you failed to submit it as part of the RFE response this would be the reason for denial. I understand your logic of I sent you one copy why dont you just make your own copy of it but thats not how it works. Your package is received and then divided up and sent to various Officers for processing. The EAD/AP is processed both separately and concurrently with the 485. So the Officer working on your EAD/AP will need specific documents as does the Officer processing the 485. They dont share! They are probably not even in the same building lol. Its your responsibility to make sure each has what they need by sending multiple copies. Seems like perhaps the sole marriage certificate you included in your original submission made its way to the EAD//AP file hence why biometrics was scheduled. The RFE for the marriage certificate most likely came from the Officer with your 485 file. They didnt have your marriage certificate and RFEd you for it and you failed to submit it in response. They had no choice but to deny your petition.

 

Because your case was denied your biometrics appt has most likely been canceled. If you are able you can still attempt to attend the appt and have biometrics taken but you may get there and be told they can not take your biometrics at this time due to the case being denied. If the biometrics location is close to you and you are able to go easily I suppose theres nothing wrong with trying. Best case scenario they do the biometrics and then when you refile they will use the biometrics from it (or once the appeal is approved they will use the biometrics moving forward). Worst case scenario you go and are turned away. Im not sure how quickly the system will be updated so as I said if the office is close and its not a hardship its worth a try. 

 

I am also going to suggest to you to use the guides on VJ to help assemble your package. Make sure to make a copy of the entire package for your records as well as any RFE responses you may send back but if you prepare the package correctly you wont get any RFEs.  Also make sure to include the current years tax info and documents as 2020 is now the current tax year and I believe when you filed it was 2019. 

 

Its ultimately up to you if you want to do the appeal or refile. There are pros and cons to each. Repeating what was already said- For the appeal, its cheaper but no guarantee on approval. You seemed to fail to respond the RFE with what was asked (not including another copy of the marriage certificate) and technically they were correct to deny you. In practice USCIS is not unsympathetic to these scenarios and will often approve appeals in which you submit what they asked for with the appeal but technically they dont have to approve it. They didnt make an error you did. So its a gamble. They could decide to deny your appeal and they would be correct to do so. The appeal process in itself can take 60 days to 6 months. So if it is ultimately denied you will be out the 600$apx fee for it as well as a big chunk of time. It can also be very slow for your file to start going again once its been denied - appealed- reopened. The main reason people do appeals is to retain their priority date but as I said that is not a concern for you as a citizen. The appeal form is also a bit confusing so if you are going to submit it make sure you fill it out properly.

 

Refiling is the easier option. It does cost more but it will be a clean start and you can make sure you submit a complete package with no errors that should process smoothly. You will need to pay the fees again. 

[avi865 2]

16 hours ago, DukeWin said:

Now - I can't contact USCIS because the machine never sends me to a human.

Technical support is not working now, ' Infopass ' still works !

[SalishSea 16,989]

19 hours ago, powerpuff said:

It’s a shame you didn’t carefully check if you sent everything they’re asking for when replying to the RFE. I don’t think the appeal will be in your favor. You already received multiple RFEs which point to you not submitting a complete and accurate application. I would reapply and pay $1225 if I were you.

I agree.   And maybe in this case a lawyer would actually be helpful, if there is an issue with understanding the forms.

[Rocio0010 5,577]

Consider yourself lucky that they sent you different RFEs. For most of us it’s just one, and if you don’t send them what they want right there and then, bye Felicia, nice seeing you, Pum！ Denial. They sent you a RFE for the marriage certificate and you didn’t reply? 
Honestly, an appeal sounds like a waste of time, energy, and money . Usually appeals are successful when USCIS has made a mistake on their judgment, but in this case you failed to provide them with the documents that they requested in several RFEs. You’d be out of $600 and appeals take like 6 months, then if it is denied you’d have to start all over. If I were you, I’d be using aaaaaalll that energy into reading the guide here in VJ for AOS.

[DukeWin 0]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I'm weighing my options and will update when I decide.

 

@Villanelle  I appreciate your very detailed response.

 

Currently awaiting consultation with a lawyer on best steps to proceed, will update later if anyone is interested.