laloo

A final update for the benefit of those who may come across this later:
Our case was denied.
- Apparently the substitute sponsor request we sent to NVC either didn't make it to the USCIS when NVC sent everything back to NVC after the petition was revoked due to petitioner death OR perhaps it did get to them but they never bothered to process it.
- Apparently USCIS revoked the case in Apr 2010, about 60 days after receiving everything back from NVC. It doesn't seem like they even considered the humanitarian request. And even though NVC had out correct address, the one USCIS had was an old one so we never heard anything from them. Even though we called them again and again, not once did anyone tell us the status of it being denied. They just kept telling me to write another letter requesting them to process the reinstatement request.
- Months and months of more calling finally led us to the fact that the address was wrong. We updated it. Also wrote a letter after months to USCIS asking them to process the request.
- Finally in Feb 2011 got a short letter from USCIS telling us the case had been revoked. The letter included an envelope with a request for evidence (RFE) cover letter, so we took this opportunity to submit a much longer humanitarian reinstatement request with a lot of evidence.
- Received final rejection letter 2 months later. Not much left at this point.
Lessons learned:
- Humanitarian reinstatement is highly discretionary, very few people get approved.
- GET AN ATTORNEY, GET AN ATTORNEY, GET AN ATTORNEY - if you want any chance of it going through. Spend the money and get a good lawyer, I can not stress this enough. At the very very least, spend $100-$200 for an initial 30-60 min consultation with an attorney about your case. If you file it yourself, 99% chance it will be rejected since you will not make a good case. No going back after getting rejected.
- If you have multiple family members who can file I-130 for immigration, have them all do it. $400 is nothing if after 8-13 years the petition is wasted because petitioner passes away. No way to turn back the clock at that point.

I did get a letter from NVC a month after I mailed them everything. The letter said NVC had forwarded the case file to USCIS. I still have received no letter from USCIS even though they have had the file NVC sent for at least 6 weeks.
- I mailed everything to USCIS in Nov, they returned everything saying they didn't have the case there.
- I mailed everything to NVC in Dec.
- I got a letter from NVC one month later in Jan that they had forwarded the case to USCIS.
- I have still not heard from USCIS, it has been at least 6 weeks since they've had the case materials.
- I called USCIS a few days back and they have done nothing about reviewing the case. In fact, the CSR I talked to told me to write another letter to USCIS directly to prompt them to review the case. That's absurd that they didn't review it themselves and I need to direct them to do what is supposed to be their job anyways.

Here is an update to help those who may encounter the same situation in the future and are looking for info.
First off, the option of requesting for a substitute sponsor is ONLY available if the petition was approved by USCIS BEFORE the death of the petitioner. By APPROVAL, it means that you have received a "Notice of Action (NOA)" from USCIS telling you that the petition is approved (I believe it is usually called NOA2 on these forums). This NOA is usually received within 1-2 years if not earlier, so don't confuse this with other notices (that take many many years) that tell you that petition has been forwarded to NVC etc.
1. Where should the request for petition reinstatement be sent? In usual circumstances, they say send it to USCIS office, but in this case, we got delayed and the petition has already been forwarded by USCIS office to the NVC. Would it be better to send in the petition reinstatement request to NVC?
Since the petition had already been forwarded to NVC, the petition reinstatement request should be sent to NVC (otherwise if the petition was still at USCIS, then one should send this to USCIS). I wasted a month by sending it to USCIS instead of NVC in our case and they sent it back to me saying they had forwarded the case to NVC. Here is the address I had to use in Dec 2009:
National Visa Center
Attn: WC
31 Rochester Ave. Suite 200
Portsmouth, NH 03801-2915
This address was found here: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3177.html
Here are the documents that needed to be sent to them: A letter from the beneficiary pleading for humanitarian reinstatement of petition using a substitute sponsor, copy of petitioner's death certificate, copy of Petition approval notice, the affidavit of support form from substitute sponsor (I-864) and any supporting documents (e.g. copies of tax returns etc.), the birth certificate of substitute sponsor (to show the relation to beneficiary). NVC also asked me to have a cover sheet with NVC case #, name of petitioner, DOB of petitioner, name of beneficiary, DOB of beneficiary (I also wrote USCIS ISL # on the cover sheet as well).
The I-864 is available here: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-864.pdf
Once the NVC receives the above, they will forward everything back to USCIS and send you a letter back saying that the petition has been withdrawn due to petitioner's death. Now the USCIS will be deciding whether or not to accept the substitute sponsor. I don't know how long they will take to make this decision.
2. Since the brother will be the substitute financial sponsor, will the petition now be consider L4 and delayed or will the petition be reinstated as the original L1?
Probably, the petition will remain an L1 as orignally filed, but I'm not 100% sure.
3. For the affidavit of support I-864, on line 9, it states "I am sponsoring the following family members immigrating at the same time or within six months of the principal immigrant named in Part 2 above." Am I required to list her husband and children here so they can get derivative visas with her? Is listing them here needed for the derivative visas to be processed?
Yes, need to list husband and children there.
4. The letter from NVC also asked for $70 for processing the affidavit of support that the father orignally filed. Now, when I file the substitute affidavit of support, do I need to wait for them to ask me for the processing fee? Or do I just pay the $70 and it will be applied to the petition?
No, do not pay any fees since the NVC sent this form and request for fee without knowledge of the petitioner's death. If one were to try to play tricks with them and not inform them about the death and pay fees, it will come out later and the penalties for such immigration fraud are very stiff including long term immigration bans. Follow the proper process to request substitute sponsor, any thing received from NVC without them knowing about the petitioner's death is invalid.
5. The letter also has a DS-3032. Should we fill it out and send it back? Or will they be sending us all these forms etc. again once they accept the substitue sponsor and petition reinstatement? Basically, just want to make sure time is not lost in waiting for them to ask for things again if something can be done now.
I did not send the DS-3032. They are using my address for correspondence since it was listed on the envelope and all other items including affidavit of support.
Other references:
Memo allowing substitute sponsor: http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/PL107_150Pub.pdf
Factors for humanitarian reinstatement (need to use when writing letter requesting reinstatement based on humanitarian reasons, basically it is your job to convince the USCIS to accept the substitute sponse and reinstate the petition): http://www.asianjournal.com/immigration/at...-petitions.html

Not yet, I'll have to give them a call.