Trymester3

Update:

My ex-wife attended the Initial Interview at 26 Federal Plaza in New York City during the first week of December and it was successful.

She described the interviewer as "kind of like a robot". She didn't mean that he was cold blooded, but rather that he had papers in front of him and a computer screen, and he just checked everything very rapidly (like a robot or machine),. He may have asked her like less than 5 questions, and then informed her that she would be getting a 10 year "green card" in 7-10 business days. She was told that he was able to go through every thing so quickly, because she was so organized. That was mostly thanks to me, but on a larger scale, thanks to everyone on this forum who ever commented on any of the posts that I've ever made on these message boards. This was closure for me, and also allows her to move on, and better organize her life, so THANK YOU VERY MUCH!  

She informed me that she just received the "green card" yesterday. 

I appreciate your reply. I'll have to ask her to see whether or not hers has English in it (hopefully it does).

I'm helping to prepare my ex-wife for her initial interview for I-751(Removal of Conditions), and on the Notice of Action it states that she should take with her:

All travel documents used to enter the United States, including passports. In a different section of the Notice of Action it states that: All foreign language documents should be translated.

One member on these forums mentioned that she should probably get her Japanese passport translated into English, but a search of various threads on these forums states that one does not need to get their foreign passport translated into English. Those threads were all related to the K-1 process however, and not to the I-751 process, so that is where some confusion arises.

Anyone have an official USCIS source that addresses this topic? What do you think is the correct thing to do based off experiences you've had or read about on these message boards?

40 minutes ago, arken said:

Since you are still insisting, let's put this way:

You attending her interview and trying to answer their questions to clarify bunch of things will potentially create lots of doubt about if the whole marriage thing was setup just for GC in IOs mind that could potentially result in her denial. You want her to get 10 year GC, don't try to accompany her and interfere with IOs questions. 
 

Let's see from IOs perspective. A guy married and petitions for his wife, the wife gets 2 yr GC, they divorce and guy is now trying so hard so the ex gets 10 yr GC after initial rejection. A typical petition case for GC purpose only. 

Thanks for putting it in that perspective.

Just to clarify, she never had an "initial rejection" though. Her case was terminated because she never responded to the RFE in time because it went to a different address.

You are right however. Despite me knowing the full truth, that doesn't make much difference in the mind of an IO that may suspect ulterior motives based on their experiences with these sorts of cases. 

Thanks again.

@SteveInBostonI130

I understand fully what you are saying, but as she is going through this whole process, if things get out of hand, I'll probably be sought out to help her clean up her mess. I don't have any actual obligation to do so, but since it was an "uncontested/no-fault" divorce, I have no issues helping her out. 

As to why she doesn't create her own profile here and ask her own questions, I could provide a multi-layered answer, but it pretty much boils down to her not having the full capabilities to understand the answers that would be provided.

@African ZealotI agree with you. It does come off as "alarming" and I will get that in check, as far as "looking too eager to help her", but I think one of the reasons for my behavior is because I do have some guilt. I'm the one that asked for the divorce. If I could have held on for a few more months, she probably could have received the 10-year green card, and we could have got divorced after she already had it. I didn't want to be in the marriage any longer though, so that's what happened. Since I do know her for over 10 years however, that's why I don't just want to abandon the green card situation.

Thanks to the both of you for your replies though.

Thank you all for your replies.

Since I'm only in the position of "helper" and don't legally have any ties to this matter anymore, then I have to respect my ex-wife's wishes as to how she wants to go about this "initial interview". About a week ago, when I mentioned the possibility of a lawyer to her, she said that she doesn't think she'll be getting one for this interview.

Her POV is that "everything is going to be okay", and that before the USA would get rid of her, they'd have to get rid of everyone else who is currently in the USA illegally. Also, she figures that since she hasn't committed any crimes and comes from a first world country, that the USCIS will probably go easy on her.

Looking ahead a little bit, what are the possible outcomes that she can expect from the interview?

If it goes well, they'll either schedule a second or final interview, and then go about getting her a 10-year green card?

If it goes bad, then what's going to happen?

Even if their decision would be that she needs to leave the country, she would probably have a chance to appeal that decision, right?

I'm thinking that if it gets to the point where she would need to appeal a negative outcome after the initial interview, then that's when she would go about getting a lawyer.

@Duncan21 I wouldn't mind being there for her on standby in the waiting room and telling her to let the IO know that I am waiting outside just in case the IO needed any clarification on this particular case. From what I've read in this thread, it seems highly unlikely that I would be invited into the interview room, but even if it's a 1% chance, then I'd be okay with that.

29 minutes ago, arken said:

1. The IO wouldn't be interested in why she was working and filing taxed on an expired GC.

2. If her Japanaese passport is in japanese langauge, then yes.

3. why not bring wat is being asked rather than figuring out rationale behind it.

4. Initial i751 is already void with no response to RFE.

5. In uscis eyes, you at present are not a factor or noone to her i751 with divorce waiver, so why would they allow you in, for what reason.
 

If it's labelled as an initial interview, it could very likely to determine whether to keep this i751 active for processing or void it due to late filing. The fact that she is called is good. She should probably be prepared to answer the good reasons behind not responding to previous rfe and late filing of this one.

1.) Thanks

2.) Thanks

3.) The only reason I mentioned it is because since the situation is already cluttered enough as it is, I figured it might be best to limit paperwork unless absolutely necessary, so as to not further confuse or irritate the IO.

4.) That makes sense. Thanks.

5.) It's true that I'm a non-factor, but since I handled almost ALL of this from the beginning to the end, there is no one better suited than I am to help answer any questions that the IO may have. My ex-wife may also get confused due to her language comprehension level, that's why if there was any sliver of a possibility that I "could" be there, I would like to know.

*Here is where some of the confusion arises. It "is" an initial interview, and they were already informed as to the reason why she never responded to the RFE that was sent for the first i751.

In your answer to question #5, you mentioned twice "late filing", but technically neither the 1st or 2nd i751 were filed late. The first one was filed before the deadline, but the RFE they sent afterwards was never responded to. As for the second one, there was no official deadline. When we learned that it was possible to re-apply after being told that her status and rights were terminated, we hurridely re-applied within 7 days.

I am helping my ex-wife prepare for her Form I-751: Petitition to Remove Conditions on Residence (Initial Interview).

I am a US Citizen and she is a Japanese Citizen. We both live in New York at 2 different locations. **I typed the 5 questions underneath the dotted line**

This is a brief timeline of everything that's happened so far (October 2005-November 2021)

October 2005-April 2014- We met and enjoyed each other's company as a bf/gf couple

April 2014-Late 2016- We were married in New York City and lived together

Early 2017- After much damage to the relationship, our divorce was finalized, and she also filed her first I-751 with a Divorce Waiver

Mid-Late 2017- Her 2-year Conditional Green Card expired

June 2018- USCIS sent an RFE asking for the Divorce Decree (since it wasn't ready in time for the first time she filed), but she never received this RFE since it was sent to a different address.

November 2018- USCIS sent a letter stating that because she never replied to the RFE, that her Permanent Residence status is TERMINATED (This also went to the wrong address, so she never saw it)

January 2019- She checked USCIS for a Case Status Update, and learned for the first time of the June 2018 and November 2018 letters that she never received

February 2019- Thanks to unofficial suggestions from VisaJourney, she reapplied for the I-751

During this time she was also advised to get an I-551 stamp in her passport, but she was never able to get an appointment, so she never got one.

During this time, I may have accompanied her to get biometrics fingerprints done again, but I honestly can't remember

During this time: she worked (she has a Social Security Card and NY State ID), received unemployment during Covid-19 (PUA), and filed taxes all years that she was required to. Also, she was waiting to be scheduled for an interview.

November 2021- She received a "Notice of Action" mentioning an Initial Interview. She has been scheduled for December 2021

==================================================================================================================================================================================

QUESTIONS:

1.) Any advice from anyone that's been through a similar situation, (i.e. working and living with an expired Green Card, filing taxes despite not having an official residence status since November 2018, etc.)? I advise her to be completely honest with the interviewer, but what can she expect to be asked?

2.) The Notice of Action says that she needs to bring with her "All travel documents used to enter the United States" and that she should "take a certified English Translation for each foreign language document". Does this mean that she needs to get her Japanese Passport translated?

3.) The Notice of Action also states that she should bring an "I-94" and "I-512" if they exist, but even if she did still have those, I don't see what the point of them would be since they'd be older and possibly outdated documents from before she ever got her Green Card in the first place, no?

4.) Since this "initial interview" corresponds to the 2nd I-751 that she filed, does that mean that everything that happened before (things that were related to the filing of the first I-751) are null and void?

5.) I'd be more than willing to accompany her on her interview, but I don't fall into any category of "Only the following people may come with you to your interview" The interview will be at 26 Federal Plaza in New York. Anyone have any experience with this location and think that the USCIS would allow me into the place anyway, despite me not "qualifying". I know that rules are rules, but sometimes rules are broken.

P.S.- I know that it may be a little crazy that I'm trying to help her so much, but I am the one responsible for bringng her over to this country and getting her into this mess in the first place. I'm not trying to get back with her, but I know that she and I both would love the closure of getting this long journey settled (at least for 10 years)

*No attorneys were used during any part of this whole process

Any help or input either in this thread or via private message is appreciated. Thank You.

Thanks for your replies. She already has a NY State ID (un-expired to my knowledge) and a Social Security card, but I guess in the super random chance that her workplace gets raided by immigration (because as she's not traveling anywhere currently I can't think of any other situation where her legal status would be questioned), I can see how having an InfoPass stamp in her passport would be helpful.

Thanks for your input. I guess my question was referring to: Would setting an infopass appointment and going in to get a stamp in her passport possibly hurt her case in any way since she had already received that letter from USCIS before saying that she should mail in her expired green card since her case had been "denied due to abandonment.?

I didn't know that now you can call to get an appointment. I'm going to tell her to call and hopefully she can get an appointment.

Are there any negatives to getting an appointment as opposed to just being patient and waiting for them to contact about the next steps?

To everyone saying that she should get an infoPass stamp as soon as possible, is there a trick or shortcut to get one? We live in New York City. There are (to my knowledge) no walk-ins, and there are NEVER any appointments when you try to book one online. Would she be able to get such a stamp if she gets called in to do her biometrics again, or is that a completely different an unrelated thing?

She doesn't have money for a lawyer and I do not have any money to let her borrow for a lawyer.

As advised in a previous thread,  we called one of the numbers were you don't have to talk, but just punch in the A- number to see if they had a case on file for her in immigration courts. No record was found. I believe this means that they didn't have any case pending for her.

I don't know what's the difference between conditional residence and permanent residence status, but sometime in 2018 they sent her a letter (that she never received) saying that her case has been abandoned and therefore her conditional resident status has been terminated.

Once again, thank you all for your help thus far.

Thanks for your re-assurance.

I'm not one of those "I hate America, and my country is full of fools" kind of people, but since I know that government officials are just regular humans, I know that they are capable of mistakes (like I feel they already made the first time), so I guess that just has me on edge. Thanks for the re-assurance though.

Also, this is something that I expected not to be dealing with anymore since she is my ex-wife, but I'm being responsible, and I do highly, truly appreciate this forum's help.

Thanks to all of you. About half an hour ago my ex-wife just sent in a new I-751 application (Certified Priority Mail).

I told her that I don't know if it will work since her case is already considered "abandoned", but I hope that at the very least it will "buy her more time".

One concern that I did have was that, even though she did receive a letter from the USCIS to her correct address on January 24, 2019, I'm not sure if they have "officially" updated her address correctly.

I'm thinking that maybe a week after delivery confirmation confirms that the packet arrived in Dallas, I can get her to call the USCIS and confirm her address, or to fill out an AR-11 and send that in. Does that make sense or am I overthinking it?

Checking on USCIS.gov it states that people living in New York should mail their I-751 application to Dallas, Texas. Is this where she should mail her application? 

She originally mailed it to Vermont, and the most recent mail that she received from the USCIS also came from Vermont on Jan. 24, 2019. According to them however her case has been denied due to abandonment (so it's not really an on-going case). Should this re-applying I-751 just be mailed to Dallas, Texas?

Since we are filling out and sending in a new I-751, how bad will it look when on Page 1 Item # 14 it says: 

"Conditional Residence Expires on: 2/19/2017"

?

Thank you for your input. Other than the issue of the surname on her future 10 year GC appearing in her married name rather than her maiden name, is there any other reason why it would be bad for her to fill in and sign the I-751 with her married name?

I know it's an annoying question, but I ask because every other piece of evidence in the I-751 packet (phone bill, medical bill, evidence letters, etc.) are all using her married name.

From a personal standpoint, she doesn't have anything against using her married name on all documents. It's not like she wants nothing to do with that name and she's trying to get rid of it. She now goes by her maiden name, but none of her documents have her maiden name on them. Will it confuse the USCIS to use her maiden name? Should we just keep it as it is with her married name to simplify things?

Also, does anyone remember if it's okay to use a photo copy of the marriage certificate instead of an official copy?

In the new I-751, should she present herself with her married name which is what is shown on her green card, State ID card and Social Security card, or should she use her new name which she goes by now? She was granted permission by the Divorce Decree to use any surname that she'd like.

7 minutes ago, H-M said:

 

Firstly, I would strongly recommend seeking professional advice from multiple experienced attorneys to decide the best course of action for your ex-wife's case. Based on the information you have provided, it seems that her I-751 has been denied due to abandonment. As per latest USCIS policy, they are required to issue Notice to Appear (NTA) and begin removal proceedings. Here is the link to the policy memorandum (see page 3):

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/2018/2018-06-28-PM-602-0050.1-Guidance-for-Referral-of-Cases-and-Issuance-of-NTA.pdf

 

However, your ex-wife has a legitimate case, since the notices where sent to incomplete addresses. I am assuming that any address she provided to USCIS at the time of filing I-751 and updating address via AR-11/Online Change of Address was accurate and complete. She has a few options (please also discuss these with experienced attorneys):

 

1. File a new I-751 

2. You can also have USCIS re-consider their denial decision, by filing a I-290B: Motion to Re-open & Reconsider. The fees for this is almost the same as the I-751 filing fees.

3. Sometimes USCIS can also administratively reopen cases, when it is clearly their mistake. Try making an Infopass appointment for this.

4. Please check if any NTA has been issued by USCIS. She may not have received it again if the address on file is incorrect, but it must be responded too. If NTA has been issued, then she can appear in front of the immigration judge, explain the errors made by USCIS, and the judge can reopen the I-751. Not responding/appearing for the NTA may result in a removal order in absentia. Fortunately, the recent government shutdown may have been helpful in her case since no NTA could be issued due to DOJ being closed.

 

Good luck!

Any way to find out whether an NTA was issued or not?  It is not listed on her latest case status update that USCIS sent on January 24, 2019.

Unfortunately, no one is getting an Infopass appointment anytime soon, because even before the government shutdown they made it almost impossible to get an infopass appointment even if you were willing to go to the next town over.

1 minute ago, EM_Vandaveer said:

This. Just like you were told on reddit. Re-apply ASAP.

Thank you.

Thank you all for your info. What would you guys say she should do about her job? Should she just keep working? She is legally employed.

In the same way that we found all this out by asking for a case status update on the USCIS website, would you guys suggest that we use the same website to get in contact with USCIS via email and explain the situation, and explain that we are going to re-apply for the I-751, or... just reapply for the I-751 ASAP and in the application packet include a letter stating what happened?

Can any of you explain what this means?

In the November 2018 letter titled Decision, it states: "Your Petition is considered abandoned and is denied under 8 CFR 103.2 (b)(13) This denial is without prejudice to the filing of a new form I-751." Does this mean that she's not even allowed to file a new application?

 What does the "without prejudice" part mean?