Wingnutfish

Finally got to talk today with someone at USCIS who can actually look up our case status (they won't forward you to them until it's been 30 days since you filed the I-751, won't talk to me without my wife's permission even though I'm the joint filer with my signature on it and everything, and can't forward you directly to the people but instead schedule a call-back for hours later and hope for the best).

However, all they could tell us is that they CAN'T FIND any record that we've filed the I-751. This is with my wife's conditional green card expiring on Friday, November 4. They suggested that it may be somewhere in fee waiver limbo, and gave us an email address to contact, from which we got an automatic reply telling us they'd get back to us within 15 days.

I think we're going to just send the whole thing all over again tomorrow, with payment this time. The fee is a significant hardship for us, but having to fight a deportation order sounds worse, even if we'd be almost certain to win.

Here to add my wife's petition to the list, but can't figure out how to properly copy it. (How do you remove the quote tags? When I switch into HTML mode, delete them, and switch back, it turns a bunch of the other formatting code into text and everything is messed up.)

We sent the petition in, with a fee waiver request, on September 27. USPS reports it was delivered September 30. So far no response of any kind from USCIS.

A little stressful, since her conditional green card expires November 4. I can only hope the advice I've been given is correct, that her status won't be revoked as long as we've started the process (even though the fee waiver could still be rejected, with us having to file again after the 2nd anniversary).

That could be one reason, yes.

Mainly because they won't process anything until confirming your identity and running required background and security checks (and that's what biometrics are for.) So, the later you get the bio appt, the longer the process will take. I am sure almost everybody wants to get over with anything USCIS as soon as possible, right?

Ah, got it. I guess for us, having waited over a year just to be able to move back to the US (I-130, etc.), it feels like no big deal to have a wait a year for formalities while we're already living where we want to. Faster would be better, of course, but it's no major hardship. I can imagine the inconvenience regarding long term travel plans though. Is it hard to reschedule a biometrics appointment?

Nice - thanks for the info! I don't think we'll be able to convince them of the financial hardship requirement, as we have a few thousand in the bank and no unavoidable sudden expenses. While I'm tempted to give it a try anyway, I'm starting to think it wouldn't be worth the stress (especially since we're now almost halfway through our 90-day window).

Could someone explain to me what's the big rush in terms of getting your biometrics appointment? Is it just about wanting to get it over with so it's easier to make other plans?

Wingnut I got my fee waiver approved today. I made a thread with more details about it. It took 21 days for my NOA to arrive and I was concerned with the result because my green card expired one week ago. I called the national uscis line, and they confirmed me that if you get the petition denied, you can submit the denial letter as proof of your original filing. So when you file with the fee, you won't be penalized from filing after the time frame.

Thanks so much! That's exactly what I wanted to know. I guess I didn't see your thread.

Though I'm now leaning towards not trying for the fee waiver, after totaling our year-to-date income, which is already close to the limit. Feeling like maybe I can't honestly claim that our "current income" is below 150% of poverty. :-/

Thanks everyone for the answers about the missing NOA dates!

If you are sending your I-751 application this month, you can join the "I-751 September 2016 Filers" group!

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/609134-i-751-september-2016-filers/

Thanks! I'll do that once I file, if I have time. :-)

Congratulations! Glad it worked out! :-)

Some things only experienced folks should lay a hand on. Filing i751 with a 'may become deportable' deadline is not something a layman should be doing.

All of us "laymen" are doing our own I-751s. We're no more qualified than this "agent", and may be more qualified than a filer who isn't confident in their mastery of English.

More importantly, does anyone know what Ravjinder should do at this point? Will the fact that she has a pending fee waiver prevent her from getting deported when the deadline passes? Or should she re-file now with payment just to be safe, even though she hasn't heard back yet about the fee waiver?

People, let's be nice. If I knew someone who seemed up for researching and helping file paperwork for me, I would consider paying them to do it too. Might even be better that paying a much bigger fee to a more formally-qualified agent who still might screw it up.

I'm going to be a September filer, but I could use a brief answer to a question I have after seeing this thread: Do we know why there are a few early August filers without NOA1 dates? Have they just not reported back to VisaJourney, or are a few people actually experiencing delays for some reason?

Thanks!

So, I did find this upon re-reading the instructions for the fee waiver form:

USCIS will notify you of the decision in writing. If USCIS denies your fee waiver request, the notice will include

information on resubmitting your application or petition. For certain immigration benefits, you may have only a limited

period of time in which to resubmit your application or petition with the proper filing fee. Please review the Instructions

for the application or petition for which you want USCIS to consider a fee waiver to determine when to refile.

This supports the story that we would have to file the whole thing over again, but seems a little unclear about what happens if the deadline is approaching (or if it passes while we're waiting to hear back?). Does the "limited period of time" refer to the remainder of the time until the original deadline, or is there a new time limit set in the notice letter?

They saidthey had to refile, check out June thread, they mention it in there.

Thanks! But that thread is 41 pages long...do you remember if USCIS said anything about whether it considered the I-751 to be received on the date that it was first received with the fee waiver, or can a fee waiver rejection potentially delay you into the danger zone?

KieranHby, the way the waiver works is that the form asks for your last year's income, then invites you to explain anything that's changed. While it's officially the current income that counts, you can see why in practice the past year's income seems like the main thing (especially since no one actually knows their current-year "annual" income for sure, owing to the fact that the year isn't over yet).

We have to file all the documents all over again, or just send in the fee?

Thanks for the advice! Does anyone have the answer to my main question, about what happens if the fee waiver is rejected?

Hi everyone!

My wife and I are getting ready to file her I-751 to remove conditions on permanent residency, with the 2-year deadline coming up on November 4.

As you know, the combined filing fee and biometric fee are now almost $600, which is a lot of money for us, so we're considering filing for the fee waiver. Our household income last year was about $19,000 (150% of poverty for a household of two is now defined as $24,030), and we might make a little more this year but it's impossible to predict because my wife's hours vary and I'm self-employed. We have about $3,500 in the bank, but were hoping to save that for other important things (for example, I owe over $30,000 in student loans).

So, advice is welcome about whether we're likely to be granted the fee waiver, but my main question is: What happens if you file the fee waiver with the I-751 and then the fee waiver is rejected. Do we have to file the I-751 over again? What if the two-year deadline to file the I-751 has passed by then? I couldn't find this information anywhere in the USCIS instructions.

Thanks so much!

-Evan

I read a thread from about a year ago, but it didn't completely resolve the issue I'm concerned about. I was wondering if any new information has come out since then, or if a consensus has otherwise emerged.

No one?

Hi all,

My wife is now a new LPR (green card holder), and I've been researching for hours on how to get healthcare.

I understand the LPRs are considered eligible for tax subsidies via the Marketplace, but that doesn't completely erase my doubts about sponsor obligations under the I-864 Affidavit of Support. Does someone have ACTUAL CONFIRMATION that sponsors and co-sponsors cannot be asked to pay back ACA premium tax subsidies or cost-sharing benefits given to the immigrant? Could even reporting her income as below the poverty level be used as evidence of a violation of the sponsors' I-864 agreement to sustain her?

Any help would be great. Even if you don't have proof, I'd be interested in hearing what the current consensus is on this issue here on the forums.

My wife and I just arrived at my parents' place outside Monmouth, OR, but probably still too far away. We don't have our own car, and haven't been making it out of town much so far. But if you'd still like to have a contact in the wider area, feel free to message me and we can connect on Facebook or something. I like hiking (and especially birdwatching), my mom does gardening, and my wife (from Taiwan) is just generally an amazingly bright and cheerful person.

Embassy-specific info from the NVC only mentions the IV fee, which I still don't understand how someone could not have paid, since there's no DCF here...

Regional forum is pretty dead, and some of the info on our embassy from elsewhere on the site doesn't jive with my own research. But I've heard that they send the passport back to you here, so it would make sense if there was some kind of fee for that.

Okay, thanks everyone! I'm going to try and call the embassy to confirm the appointment anyway (we never heard directly from them, just got an interview date from the NVC), so I can verify then whether there's anything like a passport return fee.

Okay. So that part is just for DCF people or something?