I-485 Stuck in Limbo, need advice!

[485help402]

Hello, there is a lot of backstory to this case, but I will just say what is relevant currently as the backstory isn't whats keeping this case in limbo. Basically my wife and I left the US in the middle of the adjustment of status process and rightfully waited for it to get denied so that we could reapply from her home country for consular processing. However, after finally getting a denial letter, 1 day later we get a letter saying that the case has been reopened much to our dismay. I couldn't figure out why that may be but we just decided to wait and see what would happen. 8 months later still no response, so we called uscis and got to a tier 2 rep, he said that the case for some reason has been sent to the national records center which he said is where completed cases go and are not worked on, but our case is still showing as pending in his system. Because of this he said he will make an inquiry to see what is going on, and that we should get a response claiming that the case is actually still being worked on or that is was wrongfully opened and then receive a denial so we could go ahead and start a new application. Today we just got a response to our inquiry from 2 months ago and literally the response to the inquiry was that the case is taking longer than the processing time because it is still pending. Basically a non answer, normally I would just say ok screw this, and would just send a withdrawal for the application, the problem is, the application is nowhere that I can actually get a withdrawal sent to, It is supposed to be at the NBC if its being worked on, but its not, so sending a withdrawal there is pointless, and sending a withdrawal to the record center is also pointless. And if I try to just reapply anyway, the first person who looks us up will think that the case is actually still pending when it really isn't, its just that every inquiry we make gets stone walled because the person looking it up isn't actually getting the case file and is just sending a generic response. What can we possibly do? It has been in limbo for over a year and we keep making inquiries but they keep making the exact same non-answer response that leads to nowhere but circles, if I try to withdraw it wont reach the application destination, if I do another app it will be denied since one is still pending. I am sorry about the frustration in my wall of text but I just don't know what I can do to get this taken care of as every attempt just falls on deaf ears. Please give me some advice if you have any knowledge on this type of situation, thanks so much in advance!

[pharmaguy123]

Hello, there is a lot of backstory to this case, but I will just say what is relevant currently as the backstory isn't whats keeping this case in limbo. Basically my wife and I left the US in the middle of the adjustment of status process and rightfully waited for it to get denied so that we could reapply from her home country for consular processing. However, after finally getting a denial letter, 1 day later we get a letter saying that the case has been reopened much to our dismay. I couldn't figure out why that may be but we just decided to wait and see what would happen. 8 months later still no response, so we called uscis and got to a tier 2 rep, he said that the case for some reason has been sent to the national records center which he said is where completed cases go and are not worked on, but our case is still showing as pending in his system. Because of this he said he will make an inquiry to see what is going on, and that we should get a response claiming that the case is actually still being worked on or that is was wrongfully opened and then receive a denial so we could go ahead and start a new application. Today we just got a response to our inquiry from 2 months ago and literally the response to the inquiry was that the case is taking longer than the processing time because it is still pending. Basically a non answer, normally I would just say ok screw this, and would just send a withdrawal for the application, the problem is, the application is nowhere that I can actually get a withdrawal sent to, It is supposed to be at the NBC if its being worked on, but its not, so sending a withdrawal there is pointless, and sending a withdrawal to the record center is also pointless. And if I try to just reapply anyway, the first person who looks us up will think that the case is actually still pending when it really isn't, its just that every inquiry we make gets stone walled because the person looking it up isn't actually getting the case file and is just sending a generic response. What can we possibly do? It has been in limbo for over a year and we keep making inquiries but they keep making the exact same non-answer response that leads to nowhere but circles, if I try to withdraw it wont reach the application destination, if I do another app it will be denied since one is still pending. I am sorry about the frustration in my wall of text but I just don't know what I can do to get this taken care of as every attempt just falls on deaf ears. Please give me some advice if you have any knowledge on this type of situation, thanks so much in advance!

Why don't you just start a consular process?

[485help402]

Why don't you just start a consular process?

I can't until they officially deny or approve my I485 or I130, which they are just not doing.

[pharmaguy123]

I can't until they officially deny or approve my I485 or I130, which they are just not doing.

why not? did you ask?

[Nyc_2018]

From what I was recently told by a lawyer, NVC and USCIS are not seamless

So consular processing may just be your best option

[485help402]

why not? did you ask?

Everytime we inquiry about it, they just give a generic reply saying it is pending, but when we ask the tier 2 rep, he says that it is still sitting in the national records center, so they aren't even pulling the case file up to look at it but just constantly replying to the inquiry by saying it is pending yet nobody is actually working on the case since it is not in the hands of the benefits center or any other place that is able to approve or deny it.

[485help402]

From what I was recently told by a lawyer, NVC and USCIS are not seamless

So consular processing may just be your best option

I literally cannot successfully apply for consular processing until my pending application is approved or denied, If i do another I-130, while the first one is pending, they will just deny it on the ground that another application is still pending, this is what the tier 2 rep told me, and I cannot do an I-864(may be a different number, whichever one moves it from Adjustment of Status to Consular Processing) unless my I-130 is approved, which it is not being approved, just being held hostage since nobody that is supposed to look at the case is actually pulling it from the national records center, they just keep sending replies stating that it is pending because it is pending.

[485help402]

I am starting to think that the only way to get this case out of this limbo is to sue uscis so that I can actually receive an answer to the application, but i just feel like that is a waste of money and that it could be avoided entirely if I could somehow get one of these case workers to actually pull the file and spend more than 5 minutes looking at my case without just answering the inquiry with a generic non-answer. The case was started in September, 2018 and has been in limbo since December, 2019. It has been over 2 years since we opened the case and still no answer.

[485help402]

bump.....

[485help402]

Just got a letter that my case has been reopened, the circus continues... My case has already been opened and was never closed in the first place, maybe this means they finally pulled it out of the records center and I can quickly send in a withdrawal before it gets thrown into limbo again, will call uscis on Monday to see if it is in fact not in the records center now and will probably send in a withdrawal to end this nightmare.