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8 minutes ago, designguy said:

Yeah unfortunately there will be no path forward for them to come as a family. The fact that they are special needs would actually hurt their case, as they may not overcome the issue of becoming a public charge. 

 

Your parents should apply for them once they become USC, but it seems a catch 22 in your situation as it seems the 2 children can't be separated the parents

Thanks for the quick reply. What if they use an investment visa? Can he bring them as dependents that way?

thanks

Hi, we are trying to sponsor my parents from Canada to USA however they have 2 special needs kids over 21...would I just do I-130's for all 4 (2 parents and 2 special needs kids) all at once and pay the $535 fee x 4?

Would this delay the application? Any insight would be helpful.  Do you think I can still get the application approved with the approximate timeline of 6 months? Thanks in advance.

Can I do married filing separately and not file a return for her since she has no US income and doesn't live in US yet?

Hi my wife landed in Dec of 2013 when we crossed the border to visit my parents. We haven't moved yet. Does she have to file taxes for 2013 in the USA? Should I do married filing jointly and write 0 income for her? Not sure if I have to include her for 2013 because she has paid Canadian taxes for 2013 and has worked only in Canada for 2013. Please advise. Thanks

Hello, we just got approved yesterday. The only issue they gave us trouble with was domicile. I had a letter from my employer stating that I would have work when I move (I transferred within the same company to work in Canada). Without this I don't think we would have been approved, so if you live abroad make sure you bring evidence of domicile!

Hi there,

My NOA2 was approved however I filed the I-864EZ and my income for last year showed up a few thousand below the poverty level. This is because I lived in Canada for the year and most of my income was excluded. I did included paystubs for last few months and my current job offer letter in Canada showing my salary as well as my US financial assets and they did not issue me a checklist. I wasn't sure if this was acceptable and thought that they might issue me a checklist and make me file the I-864 to include my financial assets since you cannot use the financial assets when using the EZ version.

My question is during my interview in Montreal is there a possibility they will not accept the I864EZ that we filed. I included 3 years of tax returns and the other 2 previous years were much above the poverty level. Should I fill out the regular I-864 and bring it with me with a copy of my stock account to show my assets? Or because I didn't receive a checklist they accepted what I provided?

Thanks

I don't believe these will suffice - some may think otherwise but you are much safer providing actual transcripts. The Turbo Tax pdf could be any number you want - although the W2s are objective evidence. Again, best to play it safe if possible to avoid slowing down the process later in the event they ask you to provide an actual transcript.

You can order these online - have you tried that vs. calling?

Yes I tried online and it gives me an error. It might be my zip code format. I tried my US address and it still gives and error. I'm going to try their international number maybe they will send me a copy here. Thanks

Hi, I know variants of this question have been asked but can I use turbotax pdfs for the NVC stage? I live abroad and tried calling the IRS but they will not allow this foreign number.

Also, people said they did use the turbotax version but included W2's. My problem is in Canada they provide T4s and the numbers will be off a little due to currency exchange. I don't want to include the T4 because it may confuse them. Can I use just the turbotax PDF files alone?

Thanks

did u file from abroad?

I am a February filer and my i-130 was approved today. Good luck to those still waiting.

Not sure what to make of that email they sent you. They seem very redundant and beating around the bush with their reply. But from what I can glean from it, it sounds like they are saying the have your case...but that no one has had the chance to start reviewing it yet.

When did you send them your email? It's been well over a month since I emailed USCIS and still have not gotten a response.

I sent it April 22. Hope you hear back from them and it is useful information

NBC replied to my email and wrote:

USCIS records show that your Form I-130 petition was received on February 25, 2013, and is currently pending at the National Benefits Center. We regret the time it is taking to process your Form I-130 petition. USCIS records show that the processing of this case has been delayed because the required USCIS review is still in process. Until the required review is completed, this agency cannot move forward on this case.

Please understand that the review is part of the process for adjudicating cases of a similar nature. While an exact date for completion of the review is not known at this time, USCIS will make every effort to make a decision on your case as soon as the review is completed. Additionally, USCIS will not grant a request to expedite while a case is under review.

We trust that this information is helpful.

Sincerely,

National Customer Service Center"

Did anyone get a similar message? What does required review mean? I am filing from abroad (Canada).

NBC replied to my email and wrote:

USCIS records show that your Form I-130 petition was received on February 25, 2013, and is currently pending at the National Benefits Center. We regret the time it is taking to process your Form I-130 petition. USCIS records show that the processing of this case has been delayed because the required USCIS review is still in process. Until the required review is completed, this agency cannot move forward on this case.

Please understand that the review is part of the process for adjudicating cases of a similar nature. While an exact date for completion of the review is not known at this time, USCIS will make every effort to make a decision on your case as soon as the review is completed. Additionally, USCIS will not grant a request to expedite while a case is under review.

We trust that this information is helpful.

Sincerely,

National Customer Service Center"

Did anyone get a similar message? What does required review mean? I am filing from abroad (Canada).

Then don't worry too much :-)

Lol, sometimes I do worry too much. Just wondering why they wouldn't send a paper noa1. Last time I applied they sent one. I guess they are unpredictable

NOA1 is not super important but it does contain the case number, unless its in your email you got you may want to call USCIS and try to get your case number.

The e-mail has my case number and I am able to view it online.

Hi there,

I reapplied for my wife's I-130 because the first one was rejected because I did not include a proper marriage certificate.

I sent the package Feb 21, 2013 from my Canadian address (I live abroad with my wife).

On Feb 27 I got an email saying:

Your case has been accepted and routed to the USCIS National Benefits Center for processing. Within 7-10 days by standard mail you will receive your official Receipt Notice (Form I-797) with your Receipt Number

They had also cashed my check. However, I never got a paper I-797 receipt. Should I be worried about not getting the paper receipt?

Hi I filed the I-130 and it got denied because I sent a record of solemnation which I thought was the marriage certificate. Anyways, I'm getting my application ready again and it says

"Have you ever before filed a petition for this or any other alien? If yes give name place and date of filing and result".

For place of filing do I write national benefits center or the chicago lock box which is where I originally sent it? Also for date of filing do I write the date I sent it or my priority date?

My second question is on question 21 it says "IF filing for your spouse give last address where you lived together". We still live together and in the "To" Box it will not let me write "Present". We are still living together should I just write today's date? On the earlier version of the application when I sent it last time it let me type in the word "Present". Now it will only let me type in a date.

Thanks

Bingo. Appealing the correct decision is a loser. File again. USCIS was correct. They asked you for something and gave you a deadline to correctly respond. You did not correctly respond within the allowed time, so they correctly denied the petition accordingly. You can't win.

This is straight from the USCIS website:

Q. What happens when I file an appeal?

A. When an applicant or petitioner appeals a decision to the AAO, the officer who made the original decision will first review the record. A review of the record will determine whether the evidence or argument submitted in the appeal warrants reopening or reconsidering the decision. If the adjudicating officer determines that reopening or reconsidering the decision is not warranted, the officer will forward the case for further review to the AAO or the BIA.

Note: Filing an appeal does not suspend the execution of any decision made in your case or extend a previously set departure date.

This suggests that I can include evidence to reconsider the decision which is what I did in my appeal. They also told me which form to use and where to get the proper marriage certificate so I am guessing they want me to file the appeal. They stated that although the record of solemnation shows that I got married it is not a legal document.

Sounds to me like you need to refile and read the guidelines prior to sending it.

Good luck.

I re read the guidelines. It does not say to include a birth certificate for either of us. I never did and they never asked for it. The only mistake I made was I sent a non-legal marriage certificate although it was stamped officially etc. In their denial that is all they wrote to correct.

Bingo. Appealing the correct decision is a loser. File again. USCIS was correct. They asked you for something and gave you a deadline to correctly respond. You did not correctly respond within the allowed time, so they correctly denied the petition accordingly. You can't win.

I never included a birth certificate for either me or my wife. Do I need to include it? I hear of people including it but it doesn't say anything anywhere about needing to include it.

Well wait a minute before you go refiling tonight something is bothering me about this. Exactly what did you file for and where? Your timeline is weird. Are you doing DCF? Did you file the 130 based on marriage to a USC? Are you doing the CR1?

Most importantly - Why do you have a priority date? is this based on marriage to an LPR?

If so then you should note that re-filing an I-130 means that the priority date in the first petition would be lost.

So in your case horse 2 (the refile) if you sent it this week, it would take about 10 days to get NOA1, So your new priority date would be Feb 26. If the appeal gets approved horse 1 wins but your new date is now Feb 26 and no longer Nov 5.

Does it make a difference? ?I dont really think so. Theyre both valid dates and your visa will be issued. (just a general FYI)

I am a US citizen living in Canada on a work permit. I have been married to my Canadian wife for over 2 years. I am sponsoring my Canadian wife using the I-130 application. If we could have done DCF we would have but for Canada that isn't an option. However, I believe because they saw my foreign address they expedited my file. I applied in late October and my priority date was November 5th. By December I got a RFE and by January I got the denial because I did not send a marriage certificate I sent the record of solemnation. They stated in the denial that that is not a legal document. I filed an appeal using the form they told me to use and included a copy of the proper marriage certificate. I wrote in the appeal that I did not send the proper marriage certificate and now I have enclosed the proper legal one. I also included the $110 fee in my appeal. My original application was filed at the chicago lock box that they listed on the I-130 instructions, they then sent it to the national benefits center in Missouri.

They typically try to resolve appeals with in 6 months of receipt. You may not win the appeal because they sent you an RFE and you didnt respond it to properly.

If the underlying application or petition was denied due to abandonment or failure to respond timely to a request for evidence or a notice of intent to deny a motion to reopen may be filed if it can be shown that:

The requested evidence was not material,

The required initial evidence was submitted with the application or petition,

The request for appearance or additional evidence was complied with during the allotted period, or

The request for evidence or appearance was not sent to the address of record.

You dont really fall into any of the underlined. You didnt send the marriage certificate, and you responded to the RFE in the allotted period, but you did so incorrectly. The only way you could get the appeal granted is to insist you sent the marriage certificate in the initial packet. That would be fraud and you should not under any means say you sent it unless you really did. You didnt say in your initial post if you did or not and if the RFE was for it again because they seemed to have misplaced it? I really dont know. Your initial post seems like you already filed the appeal so depending on what you wrote on it you can evaluate for yourself what you think your chances for approval are. The above are just my opinions on it.

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I understand you have a priority date, most people facing the decision to refile or appeal tend to do both. Its costly but it has advantages if you can afford it. Its like having 2 horses in the race. If horse 1 (the appeal) wins, horse 2 (the refile) bows out. You dont get your money back, they just shoot him in the leg and take him out of the race. If the appeal is denied, then horse 2 is already half way down the track running.

Thanks for clarifying. I think I will refile as well. I just did not know if the pending appeal would screw up the refile.

Thanks again for clarifying.

I know of someone who had a successful appeal to a denied I-130 petition.

He received an RFE for his divorce paper because it didn't have the judge's signature ( the divorce copy he had that his lawyer gave him). He responded to the RFE by sending only one page of his divorce papers with the judge signature. USCIS denied the petition. He was given a chance to appeal for i think 30 days. He scheduled an Infopass to asked for assistance in how to fill up the appeal form since he didn't know how to do it. His appeal was approved.

How long did the appeal take him? I also got the letter saying I have 30 days to appeal and it told me to use the form EOIR 29

As Nola stated, you are appealing their decision.

Their decision was that you sent the wrong certificate.

You DID include the wrong certificate so their denial was correct.

Most likely the appeal will be denied and you will need to refile.

Can I refile while the appeal is in process?

IMO, you should have just filed a new I-130 with the proper documentation. It is my understanding that unless USCIS did something wrong then the appeal won't be won. They asked you for a proper marriage certificate and you didn't give it to them. You might want to think about just refiling, although I'm sure someone more knowledgable can clarify.

Does anyone know if this is accurate? Will I lose the appeal automatically? In the letter of denial they wrote that I sent a letter of solemnation and not the marriage certificate and instructions on filing an appeal etc. I thought I could appeal and include an explanation and the proper evidence.

Hi there my I-130 was denied because when they sent the RFE for marriage certificate I sent the letter of solemnation which I thought was the marriage certificate. I filed an appeal including the proper marriage certificate. My file was expedited at the National Benefits Center. I had a priority date of November 5th. Will a simple appeal like this take months or years or will it be fairly quick. If it will take a long time it would be quicker for me to reapply since I had mailed the application in late Oct and I was already getting RFE in Dec then denial in Jan. Please advise me. I wish I had sent the proper marriage certificate and I wouldnt be in this mess

i say it's a special USCIS thing, sent out only for folks here at VJ that refuse to enter an official timeline.

However, since you sent off the RFE stuff on 5 January 2013 (per yer timeline),

I'll take a SWAG at it and tell you that perhaps this is the notice that the RFE material was reviewed and added to the casefile.

I got an email when they got the RFE stuff that I sent them. It took them only a couple days to process it. I am living abroad so I'm hoping they auto expedited my file and hopefully approved the I-130. I just wish the update said approved not decision made.