tennisal

Well fellow VJ friends, I finally have some good news to report, but I am not sure what it means... In Sept. my case to remove conditions on residency was denied due to abondonment, which was not correct, as I never abondonded the case.... So, I had to file an I290B for, motion to re-open, and re-consider, along with all necessary supporting docs. I just received below positive news through the USCIS website, and am not sure weather it means that my petition to remove conditions on residency is approved, or just the I290B petition, and now the case has to back on someone elses desk again to remove the conditions on residency... I'm out of town for work till then end of the week, so I won't be able to read the USCIS letter till then, but am very excited and anxious in any event. Can anyone give me any insight as to what the below approval means. I have copied and pasted it directly from the USCIS website.

On January 29, 2010, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I290B NOTICE OF APPEAL TO THE COMMISSIONER. Please follow any instructions on the notice. If you move before you receive the notice, call customer service at 1-800-375-5283.

For approved applications/petitions, post-decision activity may include USCIS sending notification of the approved application/petition to the National Visa Center or the Department of State. For denied applications/petitions, post-decision activity may include the processing of an appeal and/or motions to reopen or reconsider and revocations

Thanks for your help!

The reason the denied the case was due to "Abondonment", they said that they gave me 84 days to respond to the RFE and I didn't respond... Which I did... The only reason I can gather for requesting the RFE in the first place, according to my attorney was that they had the case for 9 months, and most likely wanted some updated information, or that some USCIS officer had to make their quota, and din't feel like doing much, so they can send out an RFE...

I'll keep you posted on what happens... And I'm going to try and apply for my citizenship this month.

Tennisal

Hey there Ant! Thanks for advice, you and I are on the same page it seems. I had got in touch with my local Congressman a few weeks back and filled out the congressional inquiry paperwork that they required. I actually just got back from him local office, and met with the Constituent Services Director that is working on my case, and he did make a copies of some of my documents that I brought, and said that he sees this all the time. So I felt a bit better after finally leaving.

My RFE was one of the "generic" one's, it didn't ask for anything specific. My attorney says that she sees that all the time as well, and so id the rep at the congressman's office.... They had my case for 6 months at the Vermont S.C then moved it to California as their processing times were moving faster I was told.... In the initial I-751 package I sent back a bunch of pics together, 3 years of joint tax returns, about 2 years of bank statements, evidence of the home that we own together, 2 years of joint car insurance & homeowners insurance, and several bills that we each receive at our home (most of our bills are separate, so I sent several to show that they come to the same address). In the RFE, I was told to just update some of the info, so I sent in some more bills, updated auto and homeowners insurance info, and a bunch more separate bills that come to us. I took it to my attorney, and she was able to review it prior to me sending it off, and she said that it looked good, so I didn't worry....

Now I'm really worrying, as the case has already been denied, and I have had to file the I-290B (Motion to re-open and reconsider)....

Anymore good advice or thoughts?

Thanks Ant

I had to file the I-290B because my case had been denied due to "Abandonment". I never abandoned the case, to the contrary I have followed every step exactly as I should have. In may I received an RFE which I sent back with the necessary information, within the time frame alloted. In September, I filed a formal inquiry, because I was outside of normal processing times, and received a notification shortly afterwards stating that the CSC never received the additional information that was requested in the RFE. I had the USPS receipt and confirmation that the package was received, so I had no choice but to file the I-290B as my case was denied through no fault of my own. This seems to be a common problem with the USCIS, so I hope that this is just an administrative issue that can be resolved now.... It has been extremely frustrating for myself.... I had been LPR, I have had the one year extension, and am still waiting... It is getting ridiculous!!!

Thanks for your responses so far, I really appreciate the advice. I'm thinking about going to apply for the citizenship, as I have heard Ant's response from a few others as well. Thanks guys.

Does anyone know how long it can take for an I-290B to be reviewed/approved? I've gotten my local Congressman's office involved recently as well, so hopefully they can make some progress for me...

I'm not sure what I should do in my current situation, and hope tha some of you can give me some clarification. I am currently waiting for my removal of conditions for permanent residency to be approved. I t was denied in error back in September, so I sent in the I-290B Form, and proper filing fee, along with the proper documentation. I am now waiting for the to be approved at the CSC, but in the meantime, I have heard that I can apply for citizenship, since we have been married for 4 years now.

I have heard conflicting reports, that I absoloutly should file the citizenship application, but my immigration lawyer has advised me to wait till the removal of conditions has been approved, as it might cause some sort of conflict...

I really have no good idea right now what to do, so any of your advice or feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks

Tennisal

+1

Oh . . . and get rid of your attorney.

Thanks guys! I'm starting to think these attorney's are all useless.... I made the apointment, soonest I can get in, is this coming Monday morning, so I will be waiting bright and early. I did get someone helpful on the phone from the 800 #, and they were able to file some sort of inquiry in their system, but I am still going to go to the office to see someone in person.

I'll keep you posted

Tennisal

Yesterday afternoon, I finally received communication from the USCIS dept notifying me that my case had been declined due to abondonment. In May I was asked to send in additional evidence, which I complied with in the required amount of time, and made sure to get a package tracked through the USPS, and have copies of that. It appears that the USCIS California Svc Center must have lost the info, or misplaced it. I spoke to my attorney, and they say that I have to pay another $585 to re-open the case, and I just can't believe that I am going to be penalized for something that I not at fault for. I called the 1-800 # on the USCIS home page, and spoke with a couple of officers that suggested I file a written appeal, and that I shouldn't have to pay the fee if I have proof that the USCIS office did receive our information. Tommorow I am going to go to the local USCIS office in Orlando and speak witrh someone face to face to hopefully get this resolved, or at least find out how we need to proceed, hopefully this can be done without getting my attorney involved and incurring the expense of that. Yesterday my attorney did tell me that this was "par for the course" and that it happens all the time.

Has anyone else heard of this, or had similar experiences? If so, how and what did you do to resolve this?

I appreciate all of your feedback greatly

Tennisal

The attorney is being quite accurate. Iran applicants go through Administrative Processing after the interview in pretty much all cases.

I would be prepared for the long haul, and if you get it sooner, then be very happy. I've been waiting 12 months to have my conditions removed based on marriage, I have submitted all the necessary documents, complied with all the requirments, and today I got a letter in the mail that says my case was denied because they did not recieve the additional information they requested, and I have in my hand the receipt from the USPS confirming the delivery and the name of the person that signed for it.... I have no idea what I will do now... Apparantly I now need to send them another $600 to re-open my case....

I wanted to cry this afternoon...

I sent back my I-751 RFE over a month ago, how long does it usually take to rceive a response from the USCIS? I've heard different time frames, can anyone help?

The USCIS has had my case now for almost 1 year (will be one year in October), and I'm not sure if I need to file some additional paperwork to make sure that my work authorization doesn't lapse. I appreciate everyone's input on the forum.

Did you do biometrics yet?

I did already do the Biometrics, about January of last year.

I sent back my I-751 RFE over a month ago, how long does it usually take to rceive a response from the USCIS? I've heard different time frames, can anyone help?

The USCIS has had my case now for almost 1 year (will be one year in October), and I'm not sure if I need to file some additional paperwork to make sure that my work authorization doesn't lapse. I appreciate everyone's input on the forum.

I recently sent back my I-797RFE a little over a week ago. I'm told that it was a bit wierd that there was no specifi evidence asked for, I guess that they just wanted to see additional evidence, so I sent in updated auto & homeowners insurance, a bunch of bills that were seperate in name, but showed our joint home address, and a bunch of property information to evidence the fact that we own a home, and have owned a home for the past 3 years.

My question is, what can we expect now? How long will it take to receive a response, and what can we expect? I guess, I will either get a green card, but if not, then what? Will they deny me, or bring us back for another interview (we had one 3 years ago)? I'm afraid of losing my work authorization, as we are currently struggling financially due to the economy. Our package is at the California Service center, if that helps.

I appreciate your feedback

Thanks

Don't listen to that lawyer - it is considered an RFE and it is request for more evidence. It isn't them 'trying to buy more time. California is the fastest of the two service centers and has never been 'behind'. The RFE basically means that you didn't send in enough information originally for them to make a decision. Did you send in documents that cover the full time of your marriage? The list of what you sent back in response to the RFE sounds good. If they find that it is sufficient you will get your 10 year green card. If it isn't sufficient then you may get a request for another interview. I doubt that they will deny it. If you get an interview do bring in information about the delinquent credit cards as it shows you have a mutual debt and that is compelling evidence of a honest relationship (they aren't going to judge you for your financial situation - they just want to ensure that you are in an honest marriage).

Good luck. I hope you receive a positive response soon.

Thanks for your response. I didn't want to include the financial information, I guess b/c they may think I would not be a positive addition to the country... I guess I didn't want to put anything negative in there... If you come up with any idea's, let me know. Thanks again for your input.

What exactly does the letter say? Normally they do not send a request for evidence w/out telling you exactly what is needed.

I've never heard of the service centers sending out letters to buy themselves more time. They're in a position to take as long as they want, I'm afraid!

It was specific in it's request for eveidence, it was the general letter. My attorney said the same thing, that they normally are wanting some type of specific evidence... I hope that I'm alright...

I had received an I-797E notice of action, asking for additional information, but it was not specific in what it was asking for. My immigration attorney told me that it was most likely just the California service center buying more time, as they are running behind with approving the applications, or that since they have had my application to remove conditions since last October, they maybe wanting information to just validate that the marriage is still together. Like everyone else on these forum's, I'm very worried, and am looking for anyone's feedback if you've had similar experiences, or what I might be able to expect, and how soon now that I would get a result??

I already sent back the information showing updated property information, as we own a home together, property tax info, automobile insurance info, homeowners info, letters from both of our familes (I wasn't sure if I included those in the initial application), several copies of credit card bills in our seperate names to show that we both reside at the same residence. Aside from those documents, we don't have alot of other joint accounts. We have a couple of credit cards together, but I did not send those, as they are in delinquncy as we have bee having recent financial difficulty.

If anyone else out there can give me an idea of what to expect, it might help calm some of the nerves I am experiencing. We alread had our face to face interview locally coming up on 3 years ago now, and that went fine.

Your feedback is much appreciated

Tennisal