USCIS Officer admits error yet I HAVE to be in the US for them to expedite?!?

[ZRomper 42]

Greetings everyone!

 

I'm completely puzzled by the USCIS response to my I-130 case for my wife (of 10 years) and my adopted daughter (over 7 years) and our common son of 8 (US citizen through CRBA).

I applied for an  I-130 on June 20th, 2021 for my wife & daughter. I applied for an expedite request on January 16th, 2022, because of humanitarian reasons as we were located in Belarus and I had issues with the local government because of the war in Ukraine and them harassing US citizens.

 

The expedite request was accepted and we received an official letter from DHS on March 13, 2022 stating that the expedite request cannot be reviewed because my wife's case has been recently approved and to await a confirmation on my online USCIS account and a confirmation letter through the mail.

I've waited for over 3 months, I kept calling USCIS and they said that they saw this letter in their system but it doesn't look like the case has been approved.

 

I finally called USCIS again about a month ago and requested to speak to a Tier 2 agent, I was scheduled a call which took 30 days to receive. The agent was courteous and after explaining my situation to him he genuinely seemed concerned for our wellbeing. He reviewed the DHS letter and said that this is a certain mistake on the part of USCIS as my case has not been approved and they didn't review my expedite request. Here's what boggles my mind, he said that if I was in the US, he would be able to schedule an appointment for me at the local office in Philadelphia and they would then approve my expedite solely based on the fact that USCIS has made an error during processing of my original request. However, because I'm not in the US at this time, they can't do anything and he said he can only send my case for a follow-up back to the Potomac office. He asked me to attach any proof for my expedite request to my online account, which I did. Two weeks later I received a response saying the expedite request has been denied because the Potomac director decided so.

 

What I would like to know is: Where's the law or document or court order stating that the USCIS can approve expedite requests based on their error ONLY if the applicant is located in the USA? Why is this not explained anywhere? Why do I have to travel to the US to have USCIS fix their error?

 

I will definitely be calling my congressman about this one as it's a clear error on USCIS's part for which I have paid with having to wait for over 6 months and having to move my entire family temporarily to Poland because of safety concerns for my life and my wife's life.

 

Does anyone have any experience with something like this? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Crazy Cat 39,680]

2 hours ago, ZRomper said:

Where's the law or document or court order stating that the USCIS can approve expedite requests based on their error ONLY if the applicant is located in the USA?

I don't think the agent said that.  I think the point was that if you were in the US, then, he/she could have scheduled you a face-to-face appointment at the local USCIS office.  But, since that cannot be done, the applicable service center (Potomac) has to approve the expedite.  That is how I interpret it.  Good luck.  Maybe you can get a fast response from Potomac. 

 

Edited July 2, 2022 by Crazy Cat

[ZRomper 42]

2 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

I don't think the agent said that.  I think the point was that if you were in the US, then, he/she could have scheduled you a face-to-face appointment at the local USCIS office.  But, since that cannot be done, the applicable service center (Potomac) has to approve the expedite.  That is how I interpret it.  Good luck.  Maybe you can get a fast response from Potomac. 

It seems logical, to me, that only a service center can approve an expedite. 

The agent said that if I was in the US and came for a fact-to-face appointment, they would grant the expedite request because there was an error on USCIS's side and this was admitted and documented. My question is why do I have to be in the US in order for USCIS to correct their error? Why is the burden on the innocent party?

 

They won't give a fast response unfortunately, Potomac is not fast. They made me wait for half a year and now I'm back to where I started. They denied my expedite request.

 

Potomac is the service center though, why can't they approve based on their own mistake?

 

But thanks for the response.

[pushbrk 12,245]

9 hours ago, ZRomper said:

The agent said that if I was in the US and came for a fact-to-face appointment, they would grant the expedite request because there was an error on USCIS's side and this was admitted and documented. My question is why do I have to be in the US in order for USCIS to correct their error? Why is the burden on the innocent party?

 

They won't give a fast response unfortunately, Potomac is not fast. They made me wait for half a year and now I'm back to where I started. They denied my expedite request.

 

Potomac is the service center though, why can't they approve based on their own mistake?

 

But thanks for the response.

They could, but the agent is telling you what HE can do.  That's different from what could possibly be done.  He can't schedule an appointment for a face to face at the Potomac service center no matter where you live.  He's only telling you one thing he can't do.  What did he say about what he actually COULD do?

 

[Villanelle 4,121]

12 hours ago, ZRomper said:

Greetings everyone!

 

I'm completely puzzled by the USCIS response to my I-130 case for my wife (of 10 years) and my adopted daughter (over 7 years) and our common son of 8 (US citizen through CRBA).

I applied for an  I-130 on June 20th, 2021 for my wife & daughter. I applied for an expedite request on January 16th, 2022, because of humanitarian reasons as we were located in Belarus and I had issues with the local government because of the war in Ukraine and them harassing US citizens.

 

The expedite request was accepted and we received an official letter from DHS on March 13, 2022 stating that the expedite request cannot be reviewed because my wife's case has been recently approved and to await a confirmation on my online USCIS account and a confirmation letter through the mail.

I've waited for over 3 months, I kept calling USCIS and they said that they saw this letter in their system but it doesn't look like the case has been approved.

 

I finally called USCIS again about a month ago and requested to speak to a Tier 2 agent, I was scheduled a call which took 30 days to receive. The agent was courteous and after explaining my situation to him he genuinely seemed concerned for our wellbeing. He reviewed the DHS letter and said that this is a certain mistake on the part of USCIS as my case has not been approved and they didn't review my expedite request. Here's what boggles my mind, he said that if I was in the US, he would be able to schedule an appointment for me at the local office in Philadelphia and they would then approve my expedite solely based on the fact that USCIS has made an error during processing of my original request. However, because I'm not in the US at this time, they can't do anything and he said he can only send my case for a follow-up back to the Potomac office. He asked me to attach any proof for my expedite request to my online account, which I did. Two weeks later I received a response saying the expedite request has been denied because the Potomac director decided so.

 

What I would like to know is: Where's the law or document or court order stating that the USCIS can approve expedite requests based on their error ONLY if the applicant is located in the USA? Why is this not explained anywhere? Why do I have to travel to the US to have USCIS fix their error?

 

I will definitely be calling my congressman about this one as it's a clear error on USCIS's part for which I have paid with having to wait for over 6 months and having to move my entire family temporarily to Poland because of safety concerns for my life and my wife's life.

 

Does anyone have any experience with something like this? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

I think you are confusing agencies.

 

At the top of VJ are links to guides. As you can see they are specific to whether or not you are in the US. This is because while the immigration process is the same overall, its also different.

 

DHS is the big umbrella that covers immigration.  USCIS handles things in the US. DOS does things outside the US. 

 

When applying for an expedite for the CR/IR visa you need to apply for an expedite with USCIS for the 130 form.  Once the 130 is approved you can then file an expedite with DOS/local consulate for the next phase of the process if needed.

 

Sounds like you submitted an expedite. So can you clarify who/what/where of it. Because you said you got a response from DHS which I am assuming was specifically DOS right? Saying basically we can't move forward with expediting phase 2 until phase 1 was shown as completed so please wait for such right?

 

The question is what error do you think USCIS made. Keep in mind USCIS is not the same as DOS. Sounds like DOS made an error in telling you what they did. USCIS can't expedite based on DOS error. DOS can expedite their part. But again this is a two part process.  Does that all make sense? 

 

 

[ZRomper 42]

11 hours ago, Villanelle said:

I think you are confusing agencies.

 

At the top of VJ are links to guides. As you can see they are specific to whether or not you are in the US. This is because while the immigration process is the same overall, its also different.

 

DHS is the big umbrella that covers immigration.  USCIS handles things in the US. DOS does things outside the US. 

 

When applying for an expedite for the CR/IR visa you need to apply for an expedite with USCIS for the 130 form.  Once the 130 is approved you can then file an expedite with DOS/local consulate for the next phase of the process if needed.

 

Sounds like you submitted an expedite. So can you clarify who/what/where of it. Because you said you got a response from DHS which I am assuming was specifically DOS right? Saying basically we can't move forward with expediting phase 2 until phase 1 was shown as completed so please wait for such right?

 

The question is what error do you think USCIS made. Keep in mind USCIS is not the same as DOS. Sounds like DOS made an error in telling you what they did. USCIS can't expedite based on DOS error. DOS can expedite their part. But again this is a two part process.  Does that all make sense? 

 

 

I'm not confusing agencies. The DOS you mention (I take it you mean Department of State) has nothing to do with my case.

 

I mention Department of Homeland Security. Here's the letter I received on March 11th.

As you can see USCIS is exactly who I applied for an expedite with, since I'm in the process of having my I130s approved. The letter addresses my expedite request with USCIS. As you can see they state that the case was approved. The Tier 2 agent denied this and said that he saw and read this letter in their system and this is an error on the part of USCIS office mentioned above. So it's not my opinion, it is a fact stated by the Tier 2 agent who, after our discussion, issued a follow-up referral ID detailing the issue and the error:

 

So the question still stands, as shown above, I'm dealing with USCIS under DHS and that is, why do I have to travel to a local Philadelphia, PA USCIS office to resolve a USCIS mistake in processing my original expedite request which was admitted and documented by the agent. Why do I have to be in the US to do this? Where's the law governing this?

 

I appreciate the comments above, however please keep in mind that USCIS is not perfect and they DO make mistakes more often then you might think.

Edited July 3, 2022 by ZRomper

[jan22 2,918]

Bottom line, their error has been resolved -- they have now processed your expedite request and denied it.  I think the real error is what the Tier 2 rep told you --  a) that your case would be automatically approved for an expedite because of a USCIS error in handling the expedite request, and b) that you needed to be in the US to attend an appointment to get that automatic approval.  There is no such guarantee for an expedite request, as far as I know.  

 

There is no indication that they would automatically approve an expedite based on not having processed the original request correctly -- that might apply to an error that caused a delay in the normal timeline for processing a case, but your case remained in the normal processing queue and, therefore, in the eyes of USCIS you suffered no harm by their error.  The end result likely would not have been different if you had you been in the US and able to attend an appointment.  An error in processing an expedite request that was subsequently denied has no negative effect on your case's over-all processing time -- it just keeps you in the normal processing stream.  Their error did not slow down the normal processing of your case -- which should be very close to adjudication based on the Potomac I-130 processing time estimates.   

 

I'm sure this response appears harsh and I don't mean it to -- just trying to be realistic about what has happened.  Hope you get good news really  soon!

 

 

 

 

Edited July 3, 2022 by jan22

[Villanelle 4,121]

@ZRomper Thank you for clarifying. Sadly though I do agree with jan22. But I don't think you should totally abandon your pursuit of the expedite IF your situation is still eligible based on itself and not simply 'their error'. 

I would use the congressman to submit another expedite keeping in mind the explanation jan provided you about how it appears the error was in the processing of the expedite and not the 130 itself. 

 

I would argue that their error in telling you it was approved and to wait did cause you delay because if you were told denied upon submission you would have submitted a follow up second request containing additional info etc etc, and here it is now. So they should 'expedite' your expedite now and approve it on its merits. 

 

[ZRomper 42]

Thank you @jan22 and @Villanelle! 

 

I agree with your comments. Yes, the expedite request was valid and is not based on their error. I will call my congressman. However, as @jan22 mentioned, I don't even think there's a point since the adjudication process is very close by anyway. 

 

It's just sad that we were misled. Thank God Poland is very generous and helpful with people in such situations and allowed me to stay with my family past 90 days.

 

Edited July 3, 2022 by ZRomper

[Alex&Nayden 91]

On 7/2/2022 at 1:28 PM, ZRomper said:

Greetings everyone!

 

I'm completely puzzled by the USCIS response to my I-130 case for my wife (of 10 years) and my adopted daughter (over 7 years) and our common son of 8 (US citizen through CRBA).

I applied for an  I-130 on June 20th, 2021 for my wife & daughter. I applied for an expedite request on January 16th, 2022, because of humanitarian reasons as we were located in Belarus and I had issues with the local government because of the war in Ukraine and them harassing US citizens.

 

The expedite request was accepted and we received an official letter from DHS on March 13, 2022 stating that the expedite request cannot be reviewed because my wife's case has been recently approved and to await a confirmation on my online USCIS account and a confirmation letter through the mail.

I've waited for over 3 months, I kept calling USCIS and they said that they saw this letter in their system but it doesn't look like the case has been approved.

 

I finally called USCIS again about a month ago and requested to speak to a Tier 2 agent, I was scheduled a call which took 30 days to receive. The agent was courteous and after explaining my situation to him he genuinely seemed concerned for our wellbeing. He reviewed the DHS letter and said that this is a certain mistake on the part of USCIS as my case has not been approved and they didn't review my expedite request. Here's what boggles my mind, he said that if I was in the US, he would be able to schedule an appointment for me at the local office in Philadelphia and they would then approve my expedite solely based on the fact that USCIS has made an error during processing of my original request. However, because I'm not in the US at this time, they can't do anything and he said he can only send my case for a follow-up back to the Potomac office. He asked me to attach any proof for my expedite request to my online account, which I did. Two weeks later I received a response saying the expedite request has been denied because the Potomac director decided so.

 

What I would like to know is: Where's the law or document or court order stating that the USCIS can approve expedite requests based on their error ONLY if the applicant is located in the USA? Why is this not explained anywhere? Why do I have to travel to the US to have USCIS fix their error?

 

I will definitely be calling my congressman about this one as it's a clear error on USCIS's part for which I have paid with having to wait for over 6 months and having to move my entire family temporarily to Poland because of safety concerns for my life and my wife's life.

 

Does anyone have any experience with something like this? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

I tried to expedite my case but they told me that because both my husband and I are abroad and did not use a US address on our I130, we cannot expedite.

 

Honestly, I don’t think there is much you can do. 

[ZRomper 42]

12 hours ago, Alex&Nayden said:

I tried to expedite my case but they told me that because both my husband and I are abroad and did not use a US address on our I130, we cannot expedite.

 

Honestly, I don’t think there is much you can do. 

Thanks for the response. It's not a requirement for USCIS to issue expedites only to people in the US. However, it's become very difficult in recent time because of the backlog. The Tier 2 agent told me there's now a line of people who were granted expedite requests.

[Alex&Nayden 91]

51 minutes ago, ZRomper said:

Thanks for the response. It's not a requirement for USCIS to issue expedites only to people in the US. However, it's become very difficult in recent time because of the backlog. The Tier 2 agent told me there's now a line of people who were granted expedite requests.

Yeah, it kind of sucks. I also think many people are trying to expedite even though it's not a life or death situation. Some couples are using "emotional distress" or financial hardship and getting approved. In reality — aren't most couples super stressed (emotionally and financially) and sad that they are not with their family? But that's just my personal opinion. 

[ZRomper 42]

10 minutes ago, Alex&Nayden said:

Yeah, it kind of sucks. I also think many people are trying to expedite even though it's not a life or death situation. Some couples are using "emotional distress" or financial hardship and getting approved. In reality — aren't most couples super stressed (emotionally and financially) and sad that they are not with their family? But that's just my personal opinion. 

I agree 100%. Me and my wife have been married for 9 years. We have a son who's 8 and is a US citizen through CRBA. I adopted my daughter when she was 5, she's 14 now. I work for a US company remotely and pay a ton of taxes.

We had to flee Belarus because we both got called in to the KGB for a "chat". Talk about stress. I had to quickly move my family to Poland. 

 

Yet, I see people get expedites approved who are from Russia, just on the fact they have a conflict with Ukraine. 

There's also a ton of people traveling to Mexico for a "vacation" and then crossing the border illegally, yet it's all fine and good. They go to court, the courts are overbooked and they get documented very quickly. While law abiding US citizens wait for years. 

Edited July 5, 2022 by ZRomper

[Crazy Cat 39,680]

4 hours ago, ZRomper said:

Thanks for the response. It's not a requirement for USCIS to issue expedites only to people in the US. However, it's become very difficult in recent time because of the backlog. The Tier 2 agent told me there's now a line of people who were granted expedite requests.

These days, EVERYONE seems to be requesting an expedite......In immigration terms, "expedite" means faster....but not fast.  After all, there are always more than a million I-130s pending in the system.....and that has been true since early 2016.