aliceresidentevil

On 1/17/2019 at 5:56 PM, Damara said:

Let me start by saying immigration matters are very complex. You have to keep in mind that often there is more then one path to the same outcome. So attnys might take different paths- neither is right or wrong because you end at the same place. One can be more costly or time consuming - but they are both valid paths to the end. 

 

Heres my opinion on whats happened and where you stand now:

The MOST important thing is to know exactly how you entered. If you are paroled into the US you have not been admitted. Your status is kind of like standing in the doorway to the US waiting for a decision. If you were admitted in as an LPR but sent to court then you werent paroled in. So if you dont know exactly how you were let in (or somehow used the wrong terms with the lawyer OR also how there was no court stuff found when the attny looked ) then it could explain why certain paths were taken to cover all bases.

 

Anyway, it seems according to USCIS they believe you are still an LPR and accepted your 2nd late 751 filing and n400 filings. (as an LPR the 485 is trash and not needed nor can be used for anything). So you now have to wait for both USCIS to adjudicate your 2nd 751 and for the court to 'release' you from its clutches. Im not an attny and am certainly not an expert on court proceedings- so I think you should ask the attny which needs to be first- the court or the 751 approval. Or if they even depend on each other or are 2 separate matters.

 

I know for people placed in removal because the 751 was denied they have to see the judge AND get another 751 approved by USCIS because Judges cant adjudicate the 751. But Im not sure how CBP involvement will impact your situation unless you can say what reason it was CBP sent you to court. 

When I was paroled in,  Homeland Security considered me as 1) on the form they issued. 

1)You are an arriving alien; 2) You are an alien present in the US who has not been admitted or paroled; 3) You have been admitted to the US, but are removable for the reasons stated below. 

On the same form, it acknowledged that I arrived at LAX, and applied for admission as a returning LPR. 

Were  I paroled in or not in this case? 

For the second time green card applying, my lawyer explained because I married him for 3 years when I tried to re-apply the green card, so I can skip the conditional green card phase and apply for i-751 (he did apply for i-485 with a cover letter first, but somehow they treated the case as i-751). Does it make sense to you?  

Thank you!

On 1/17/2019 at 5:15 PM, EM_Vandaveer said:

Yeah, sounds like that first I-751 was improperly filed. The only way those can be filed prior to the 90-day window immediately preceding the 2-year GC's expiration date is if one's divorce is final & one's filing a divorce waiver which obviously doesn't apply to your situation.

so I talked to my lawyer. He explained because I married him for 3 years when I tried to re-apply the green card, so I can skip the conditional green card phase and apply for i-751 (he did apply for i-485 with a cover letter first, but somehow they treated the case as i-751). Does it make sense to you? 

Thanks!

10 hours ago, dwheels76 said:

Sweet Lord your lawyer has no business in immigration work. Filing for adjustment of status when you have a green card. OMG WOW that is some bad work there. 

 

Hope you get it all sorted out. What a mess.

My lawyer explained because I married him for 3 years when I tried to re-apply the green card, so I can skip the conditional green card phase and apply for i-751 (he did apply for i-485 with a cover letter first, but somehow they treated the case as i-751). Do it make sense to you?  

Thanks!

1 hour ago, EM_Vandaveer said:

I'm pretty sure there's no such a thing as "USCIS treating the I-485 as I-751"...

Let me rephrase it. My lawyer applied i-485 for me on 2016 and then i-751 in the following year. He said because I was married to a USC over 4 years and I had my first CR card so that I could apply i-751 way before the 2-year expiry date. He included a cover letter explaining why we are applying way earlier than it should. 

Now I'm worried.  

21 hours ago, little immigrant said:

Why did the lawyer file I-485? Because you were paroled in? Have you thought of starting completely from scratch with a spousal visa? 

Yes, because I was paroled in. The part I don't understand is my lawyer filed i-485 for me and then USCIS treated it as i-751. Could USCIS be so nice that let me skip the conditional green card part to i-751 directly? My lawyer said it's because he included a cover letter in the application.  

7 hours ago, EM_Vandaveer said:

I'm confused by that, too. While file BOTH I-751 & I-485. (Not to mention you can't just file I-485 on its own, it'd have to have an I-130 with it at this point.)

File one or the other & let it run its course first.

Yes, because I was paroled in. The part I don't understand is my lawyer filed i-485 for me and then USCIS treated it as i-751. Could USCIS be so nice that let me skip the conditional green card part to i-751 directly? My lawyer said it's fine. He included a cover letter in the application.

7 hours ago, HonoraryCitizen said:

You didn't complete your filing to remove conditions on your conditional status, and then traveled, got put into removal proceedings upon returning, then you filed a 485 and 751, and then for good measure filed an N400 to force USCIS hand to adjudicate the removal of conditions which you failed to satisfactorily address. You want to make sure you shadow such a lawyer carefully and back check his every move.

 

Where is your spouse in all this? Is she/he standing by you? Was the 751 filed jointly, both the first and the second one? Was there any word like sham marriage or bona  fides of marriage thrown out there by USCIS?

 

I wish you well on your journey.

He is with me all the time. Both i-751 were filed jointly. 

5 hours ago, dwheels76 said:

I'm confused on this fact. You filed for removal of conditions 1 year later? Are you sure of the dates you got green card and date you filed. If these dates are right you weren't even qualified to file.
Be interesting to see what the RFE was. Oh well Good luck.

first i-751 was filed on Apr 2015, not 2014. it was my typo. 

the RFE was the tax return record on year 2012. there's one year that we didn't file tax together,

6 hours ago, mindthegap said:

You are permitted to file an I-751 - or multiple I-751s - at any time, right up until a final order of removal and termination of status by an immigration judge.

ALL outstanding I-751s must be adjudicated by USCIS before a hearing and if you file one once proceedings have commenced, they will be stayed (adjourned) until after adjudication of the I-751s. 

The I-751s will be adjudicated on their merits.

 

 

You were ill-advised to leave the US after denial and without filing a fresh one before leaving, emergency or not - and that is why you have been paroled in and not admitted as a LPR with a still-pending I-751.

Ignoring/losing/not addressing the RFE in the the first place - in the full knowledge that it was sent and not responded to - was foolish, and the trigger for the mess you are in now.

You are right. I was foolish and ignorant to miss the deadline of responding RFE. I live in regret everyday ever since. 

Do you have an idea of how long it will take until the decision by USCIS? It's been 22 months since the application - longer than normal processing time, longer than anyone I know. Do you think it's because of the history of my case? 

Thanks!

6 hours ago, mindthegap said:

 

 

 

 

He didn't, and that isn't possible now. Way past that point.

 

Clearly

6 minutes ago, EM_Vandaveer said:

Re-filing I-751 is fine.

Really? even after receiving a notice to appear? Have you heard any successful stories from others?  

I'm getting really anxious now. Thanks!

I have been married on Dec 2012 till today; got conditional green card on Jun 2013; filed i-751 on Apr 2014. USCIS sent an RFE letter on Jul 2014, but I lost it. I requested USCIS to send the RFE letter again for me to reply with, but they said no RFE was found. Anyway, they denied my application on Jan 2016 due to abandonment and my conditional green card was terminated because I failed to reply an RFE within 84 days. I then travelled outside of US shortly after due to family emergency. When I returned back at LAX, the homeland security stopped me. That incident end up with me left on parole and a notice to appear in front of the immigration court.

I hired a lawyer immediately. We went to the immigration court asking for the date to appear, but was told no case was found.  My lawyer helped me file i-485 and then i-751 again on Mar 2017 with a cover letter explaining why we are filing. It's been 22 months since then, we heard nothing. The lawyer filed N-400 on Dec 2018 to expedite the i-751 and on Jan 2019, the i-751 got transferred to NBC. USCIS also sent a letter saying my i-751 and N-400 will be decided at the same time.

My lawyer is confident about the practice. As time passes, I get anxious and started to asking around. To my horror, some lawyers say the practice is completely wrong. We shall never re-file i-751. The jurisdiction shall be with the immigration court. Some ppl say re-file is fine as long as you never received a NTA (in my case, I did). Sounds like my lawyer screwed it. 

If you have heard any similar cases or went through anything similar, please help me! 

Thank you!

On 11/25/2018 at 5:34 PM, tcksloth said:

I've been following these threads on and off over the past few months and I recall at least two N-400 filers (with pending I-751's) who got interviews at the Los Angeles Field Office and were told they don't/can't do combo interviews.

 

It's a little hard to search this specific situation because it seems like most other offices across the country have continued to do the combo interviews.

 

Could anyone else who had N-400 interviews (with a pending I-751) at the LA office please post whether your interview was a combo?

 

Just wondering if it's still the new practice to NOT do combos in LA.

 

How long ago did you file for i-751 and N-400?  

My i-751 has been pending for 22 months as of today and I filed for N-400 on Nov 2018. My i-751 got transferred to a local office and then shortly after I filed for N-400, it's transferred to NBC. I was told in my case, I will expect a combo interview at the local office (I'm in LA).

6 hours ago, Bill & Katya said:

We did have a joint interview for the I751, but we never received any notice that it was going to happen.  My wife had her N400 interview scheduled, so I went with her and the IO asked me to come back with my wife at first, we had a five minute I751 interview, then I left and my wife continued with the N400 interview.  We actually received the NBC transfer NOA about a week later.  Lately though, I have been reading a lot of stories where the IO did not ask the spouse to be there for the I751 review, so I guess it depends on the IOs.

 

Good Luck!

Got you. Have you heard any cases that were approved without interviews throughout the process and was transferred to NBC for jurisdiction? I guess my question is does transferring to NBC necessarily mean an interview will happen at the local office if not before?

Thank you so much!

On 5/12/2017 at 3:26 PM, Suss&Camm said:

The NBC is the National Benefits Center, formally known as the Missouri Service Center. It's one of the many of the USCIS's centers around the country. They handle many of the AOS applications. Some are approved there and some are sent on to field offices for approval and interviews. They also adjudicate EAD's and AP's.

Are there i-751 cases got approved without interview scheduled at the local office after the case being transferred to NBC? Note: My first application i-751 was denied due to abandonment. 

I applied i-751 on Mar 2017, received by local office on Feb 2018 and transferred to NBC on Dec 2018. It's out of normal processing time already, I'm wondering if they will drag me to an interview for approval. 

Thank you!

On 5/13/2018 at 5:38 AM, Bill & Katya said:

We were in the same boat.  We received the approval NOA about a month later.

 

Good Luck!

Hi Bill & Katya, 

Did you ever have an interview for i-751? If so, was it before or after your case got transferred to NBC? 

Thanks!

3 hours ago, Lemon23 said:

Your case is already out of processing time, you can submit an inquiry. did you file n-400 while your i-751 is pending?

Yes, I did file for N-400. 

As of last week, my case got transferred to National Benefit Center (NBC) in order to speed up the process, does that mean I will expect an interview with my spouse at the local office? If so, what's the average waiting time until the interview? 

Thank you!

On 12/22/2018 at 6:32 AM, mymercy said:

You use the first date you originally submitted the form which is March 2nd when your case was received to calculate the processing time.

 

The other case number you got was after the fingerprint and that’s the one that has your case was moved to local office ... that’s the one you keep an eye on as it’s the one that would keep changing till you get your approval. 

The first case number for CRI-89 remain static till the end of the process but the second one is the one with accurate status of your case as it proceeds.

 

goodluck 

Thank you! 

Update - my case got transferred to National Benefit Center (NBC) in order to speed up the process, does that mean I will expect an interview with my spouse at the local office? If so, what's the average waiting time until the interview? 

Thanks!

Hi everyone, 

I received two dates on which they received my CRI-89 case and local office received my i-751 case. My first apply was denied due to abandonment. 

My question is when I apply the average processing time, which date shall I apply to? If based on the CRI-89 date(03/02/2017), the processing time is out of the normal processing time. If it's based on the I-751 date (2/25/2018), I will prepare myself for another year to get approved.

Thank you so much!