We submitted a FOIA request to USCIS to find out whether my wife (a U.S.-born U.S. citizen) ever filed an I-130 about 10 years ago with her ex-husband. She does not remember signing anything or submitting documents, and she never received a receipt or decision notice. She only vaguely remembers a possible phone call about an interview, but we are not sure whether that was from a lawyer or USCIS.
We just received a response to the FOIA request, and USCIS closed it stating that records regarding a U.S.-born citizen are not generally under their purview and therefore not covered under FOIA. So they did not confirm whether any I-130 was ever filed.
The ex-husband is completely no contact, so we cannot verify anything through him.
Now we are preparing to file a new I-130 and I-485 for me. My STEM OPT is expiring soon, so timing is very important. The I-130 asks whether the petitioner has ever previously filed a petition for anyone.
Given that:
We genuinely do not know if anything was ever filed,
FOIA did not provide an answer,
There is no receipt number or documentation,
And there is no way to confirm with the ex,
Should we answer “Yes” or “No” to the prior filing question?
We want to be fully honest and avoid any risk of misrepresentation, but we truly do not know whether anything was ever filed.
Any guidance on the safest and most accurate way to answer would be greatly appreciated.
We submitted a FOIA request to USCIS to find out whether my wife (a U.S.-born U.S. citizen) ever filed an I-130 about 10 years ago with her ex-husband. She does not remember signing anything or submitting documents, and she never received a receipt or decision notice. She only vaguely remembers a possible phone call about an interview, but we are not sure whether that was from a lawyer or USCIS. We just received a response to the FOIA request, and USCIS closed it stating that records regarding a U.S.-born citizen are not generally under their purview and therefore not covered under FOIA. So they did not confirm whether any I-130 was ever filed. The ex-husband is completely no contact, so we cannot verify anything through him. Now we are preparing to file a new I-130 and I-485 for me. My STEM OPT is expiring soon, so timing is very important. The I-130 asks whether the petitioner has ever previously filed a petition for anyone. Given that: We genuinely do not know if anything was ever filed, FOIA did not provide an answer, There is no receipt number or documentation, And there is no way to confirm with the ex, Should we answer “Yes” or “No” to the prior filing question? We want to be fully honest and avoid any risk of misrepresentation, but we truly do not know whether anything was ever filed. Any guidance on the safest and most accurate way to answer would be greatly appreciated.