Requesting Mother after adjustment via different visa was denied

[Angel012110 19]

Hello, 

My mother had a U-Visa and applied for adjustment of status about 3 years ago. My brother, who at the time was 16, was on the application with her. 

She had a pro-bono immigration lawyer helping her and waived all her fees since she was under poverty guidelines when she applied. She missed an RFE on her case due to her lawyer not communicating in time and her case was denied recently. However, my brother who was also on the application was approved and he has his green card now. It's been over 10 months of sending letters to USCIS for appeal, sending RFE requested docs and requesting reopening the case to no avail. They do not respond at all. The lawyer told her to reapply but she will now have to pay all fees including lawyer fees since she has a better job now. (earning 25k a year 😞). I did all my own paperwork for my adjustment of status and citizenship and never needed a lawyer. Since she had a special visa, she had to do it with a lawyer. However, my question is, since her case was denied, can't I just file paperwork to adjust her as a parent of a U.S Citizen over the age of 21? Would the denial of adjustment due to a missed RFE impact her applying though a family member instead? By the way, the RFE was something trivial like a copy of her passport page, I say trivial because she sent it in the initial application so maybe they just lost it. I could save all the lawyer fees, do the paperwork myself and just pay the filing fees. The lawyer is quoting her about $5,000.

 

Thank you in advance. 

[Family 3,469]

I take it the Attorney is not accepting fault for failure to call your mom or mail her a copy of the RFE..

and it sounds like the “appeal” was done through letters to USCIS ( ignored by them as you mentioned) instead of through a timely filed I-290B ( also required filling fee) BUT which does not get ignored. 

 

It is a bit more complicated than just refilling her I-485 because she has to be in U status to qualify to refile the I-485 and I don’t think the Attorney filed an I-539 requesting nunc pro tunc reinstatement of U status …

 

I surely hope he didn’t say start all over and file for the U Visa again…without first trying to get the I-539  . Starting all over will take years. 
 

So first start by doing a FOIA for mom to get a copy of her entire file, that way if you ever have to start from scratch and file a U Visa , you can use the same documentation the Attorney used. 
 

ASAP, file an I -539 asking for nunc pro tunc ( from the date of expired U status). Letter requesting discretion due to circumstances beyond control..( get copy of reasons attorney wrote in his “ appeals” , if possible. Good luck 

 

[Family 3,469]

But if your mom entered with a visitor visa, then OF COURSE you get to file a simple I-130 and I-485 and her  denied U Visa  Adj will not affect her at all ..plus you get to skip all the previous steps I wrote . Lol

And she will have to pay the fees , no fee waiver available as parent of USC