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I am posting on behalf of my girlfriend who had her Adjustment of Status Interview on April 24th 2007 in the Manhattan Federal Building (we live in Brooklyn).
Her lawyer initially notified her of the interview and told her that she would only need to bring her passport.
This is an employment visa so I wasn't allowed into the interview. During the interview, the agent asked her for her birth certificate and she explained what the lawyer had told her, but she explained that I was in the waiting room and I could pop over the bridge (the Federal Building is literally next to the Brooklyn Bridge) and be back with it in 20 minutes or so. He said that wouldn't be necessary. They continued with the rest of the interview as normal and the agent even came out at the end, shook hands with me, and said to keep an eye out for the letter that would be coming in the next few weeks. I almost got the impression he was indicating that the process (which at this point has now been over 7 years of "by-the-book" compliance with all of the rules) was almost at an end.
Today, May 8th 2007, we received a response from USCIS stating that her application was denied because she did not bring her birth certificate to the interview. I've read every word of the relevant sections of the different laws they cited in the denial and nowhere is there any explicit reference to a birth certificate.
They cite three 'relevant' sections of the law. First, "the Act" Section 245(a). Fair enough. Nothing in there about a birth certificate, and she meets all of the criteria that are stated there. Next, 103.2(b)(8) of Title 8 which basically says if there is evidence of ineligibility, further proof can be required. This is not relevant since we are aware of no such evidence of ineligibility. Then in the same section (13) it says that you must provide all of the required evidence on the date required. Well this sounds like it might apply, since it wasn't physically in her hand. However, we were completely capable and offered to provide the requested paperwork. Her interview was over at 10:00am. I could have had everything that was needed by 10:20am without her even needing to leave the interview room. In my opinion, this meets the requirement of providing the evidence on the day stated.
I just faxed the letter to her attorney and I am now waiting to hear back.
I apologize for the extremely long post, but I wanted to be clear about the situation. I've got a few questions if anyone here can help.
1) Is there anything the immigration lawyer can do to sort this out in a reasonable time period?
2) Should we even being dealing with this lawyer since she clearly isn't capable of giving accurate instructions? (This isn't her first mistake)
3) There are two options presented at the end of the letter: Motion to Reconsider and Motion to Reopen. What's the difference and would either be available to us in a case like this?
4) At the interview, the agent she interviewed with put all of his information into her passport with a status of "pending". Would any good come from contacting him directly?
5) After this all gets sorted out, is there any way to reprimand this lawyer for her continued incompetence? The Bar Association maybe, or is there specifically an immigrants rights organization who deals with these situations?
Thank you in advance for any responses.
--Matt
Her lawyer initially notified her of the interview and told her that she would only need to bring her passport.
This is an employment visa so I wasn't allowed into the interview. During the interview, the agent asked her for her birth certificate and she explained what the lawyer had told her, but she explained that I was in the waiting room and I could pop over the bridge (the Federal Building is literally next to the Brooklyn Bridge) and be back with it in 20 minutes or so. He said that wouldn't be necessary. They continued with the rest of the interview as normal and the agent even came out at the end, shook hands with me, and said to keep an eye out for the letter that would be coming in the next few weeks. I almost got the impression he was indicating that the process (which at this point has now been over 7 years of "by-the-book" compliance with all of the rules) was almost at an end.
Today, May 8th 2007, we received a response from USCIS stating that her application was denied because she did not bring her birth certificate to the interview. I've read every word of the relevant sections of the different laws they cited in the denial and nowhere is there any explicit reference to a birth certificate.
They cite three 'relevant' sections of the law. First, "the Act" Section 245(a). Fair enough. Nothing in there about a birth certificate, and she meets all of the criteria that are stated there. Next, 103.2(b)(8) of Title 8 which basically says if there is evidence of ineligibility, further proof can be required. This is not relevant since we are aware of no such evidence of ineligibility. Then in the same section (13) it says that you must provide all of the required evidence on the date required. Well this sounds like it might apply, since it wasn't physically in her hand. However, we were completely capable and offered to provide the requested paperwork. Her interview was over at 10:00am. I could have had everything that was needed by 10:20am without her even needing to leave the interview room. In my opinion, this meets the requirement of providing the evidence on the day stated.
I just faxed the letter to her attorney and I am now waiting to hear back.
I apologize for the extremely long post, but I wanted to be clear about the situation. I've got a few questions if anyone here can help.
1) Is there anything the immigration lawyer can do to sort this out in a reasonable time period?
2) Should we even being dealing with this lawyer since she clearly isn't capable of giving accurate instructions? (This isn't her first mistake)
3) There are two options presented at the end of the letter: Motion to Reconsider and Motion to Reopen. What's the difference and would either be available to us in a case like this?
4) At the interview, the agent she interviewed with put all of his information into her passport with a status of "pending". Would any good come from contacting him directly?
5) After this all gets sorted out, is there any way to reprimand this lawyer for her continued incompetence? The Bar Association maybe, or is there specifically an immigrants rights organization who deals with these situations?
Thank you in advance for any responses.
--Matt
