N-400 Denied, What's next?

[stranger_in_the_night]

Hi folks.
Mine and my wifes N-400 got denied.
Our green cards were employment-based. I had very difficult relations with employer during my H1-B and green card processing time. They would placed me on the bench constantly, would not provide with job and not pay. Sometimes I would submit billable invoices from the company i consulted for and they would delay my pay.
So here is the decision of our N-400:
"On November 12, 2008 you obtained your permanent resident status through your employer in immigrant classification E37 (Professional who holds a baccalaureate degree or who is a member of profession).
USCIS has received your Form N-400 on July 9 ,2015 and on November 9, 2015, you appeared for an interview to determine your eligibility for naturalization.

During your interview and review of your record, USCIS determined that you were not lawfully admitted for permanent residence, your record reflects there was a fraud in procurement of your LPR status.

Your I-140 petition for the purpose of obtaining LPR status was approved on May, 3 2008 was petitioned by company " YYYY " Inc. A review of your record shows that "Mrs J.J. Blah" was the attorney for " YYYY " Inc. Employment based petitions represented by attorney "Mrs J.J. Blah" including " YYYY " Inc. used fraudulent corporate tax documents. " YYYY " Inc submitted fraudulent corporate tax documents for your employment based petition. Review of USCIS records show that attorney "Mrs J.J. Blah" was found guilty of Visa Fraud in connection with " YYYY " Inc based petitions using fraudulent corporate tax documents. Your I-140 was obtained through fraudulent documentation , in addition your I-485 erroneously approved on November 12, 2008. Therefore, your spouse's and daughter's I-485 applications were also erroneously approved.
To qualify for naturalization under INA 316, you must demonstrate that you meet all requirements for naturalization including the requirement of having been lawfully admitted for permanent residence. You have not demonstrated that you have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence and, therefore, are ineligible for naturalization".

So this is a full decision.

Now i have 30 days to appeal with the form N-336.
Now the facts:
I did work for only 5 months for " YYYY " Inc in 2008 from June 19 to December 1, then they fired me and started working for the company i was consulting on behalf of " YYYY " Inc directly, so pretty much 18 days after I got my GC approved. I do have W-2 from saved for 20,000 from 2008 and my tax return, my LC salary was 54,000. I can get a letter from the principal of the company i was consulting for that i worked for them as consultant on behalf of " YYYY " Inc. Even though i can't access my 2007 W-2 or tax return, i can get a letter from company #3 i was consulting for on behalf of " YYYY " Inc. in 2007, I also have some invoices to company #3 from " YYYY " Inc. with the letterhead of " YYYY " Inc. I do not have any pay stabs saved.
Also that lawyer(company) was always condescending towards me and never gave me any documentation i would ask, so I do not have my LC or I-140 petition on hands, I might be able to get via FOIA.
Also as a note, I live in Circuit 3 of appeals so that means, USCIS cannot rescind my green card or initiate removal proceedings because of statue of limitations 5 years passed. But USCIS can keep me in limbo forever without being able to naturalize in the country i consider mine.
Regards to current status, I am happily employed and continue working in the same field almost (12 years experience) software/systems engineer and get 5 requests from linkedin on daily basis, i do have masters degree which is legit and finally I did not commit any fraud or intended to fraud a government in any way. I entered the country legally and changed my status legally.

How can I appeal and what arguments I can provide to USCIS to overturn this decision and what possible steps? I have only 24 days to appeal left, also I never dealt with lawyers, i do not know how to find a good one, or how to qualify one. I need help but I do not know where to start.
Thank you.
P.S. Until I received a decision i was not aware of that company and lawyer being investigated but lawyer got sentenced in 2014

[rayb]

Stranger,

If you are confident that your Green Card status is not threatened (or status of wife and children), my advice is to leave this alone for awhile. There seems to have been too much going on with you, your employers, and with the attorney involved with your petitions for you to get the Naturalization denial rescinded.

Your claim that you were unaware of the attorney being in legal trouble has nothing to do with the accusation that your attorney submitted fraudulent tax returns for you, as that is your problem not the attorney's problem. Your claims otherwise would be considered hearsay (in my opinion).

Your statement, "...USCIS cannot rescind my green card or initiate removal proceedings because of statute of limitations 5 years passed...." doesn't sound correct to me, as USCIS routinely orders deportation for visa fraud many years previous. There is no "statute of limitations" for visa fraud.

--Ray B

Hi folks.
Mine and my wifes N-400 got denied.
Our green cards were employment-based. I had very difficult relations with employer during my H1-B and green card processing time. They would placed me on the bench constantly, would not provide with job and not pay. Sometimes I would submit billable invoices from the company i consulted for and they would delay my pay.
So here is the decision of our N-400:
"On November 12, 2008 you obtained your permanent resident status through your employer in immigrant classification E37 (Professional who holds a baccalaureate degree or who is a member of profession).
USCIS has received your Form N-400 on July 9 ,2015 and on November 9, 2015, you appeared for an interview to determine your eligibility for naturalization.

During your interview and review of your record, USCIS determined that you were not lawfully admitted for permanent residence, your record reflects there was a fraud in procurement of your LPR status.

Your I-140 petition for the purpose of obtaining LPR status was approved on May, 3 2008 was petitioned by company " YYYY " Inc. A review of your record shows that "Mrs J.J. Blah" was the attorney for " YYYY " Inc. Employment based petitions represented by attorney "Mrs J.J. Blah" including " YYYY " Inc. used fraudulent corporate tax documents. " YYYY " Inc submitted fraudulent corporate tax documents for your employment based petition. Review of USCIS records show that attorney "Mrs J.J. Blah" was found guilty of Visa Fraud in connection with " YYYY " Inc based petitions using fraudulent corporate tax documents. Your I-140 was obtained through fraudulent documentation , in addition your I-485 erroneously approved on November 12, 2008. Therefore, your spouse's and daughter's I-485 applications were also erroneously approved.
To qualify for naturalization under INA 316, you must demonstrate that you meet all requirements for naturalization including the requirement of having been lawfully admitted for permanent residence. You have not demonstrated that you have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence and, therefore, are ineligible for naturalization".

So this is a full decision.

Now i have 30 days to appeal with the form N-336.
Now the facts:
I did work for only 5 months for " YYYY " Inc in 2008 from June 19 to December 1, then they fired me and started working for the company i was consulting on behalf of " YYYY " Inc directly, so pretty much 18 days after I got my GC approved. I do have W-2 from saved for 20,000 from 2008 and my tax return, my LC salary was 54,000. I can get a letter from the principal of the company i was consulting for that i worked for them as consultant on behalf of " YYYY " Inc. Even though i can't access my 2007 W-2 or tax return, i can get a letter from company #3 i was consulting for on behalf of " YYYY " Inc. in 2007, I also have some invoices to company #3 from " YYYY " Inc. with the letterhead of " YYYY " Inc. I do not have any pay stabs saved.
Also that lawyer(company) was always condescending towards me and never gave me any documentation i would ask, so I do not have my LC or I-140 petition on hands, I might be able to get via FOIA.
Also as a note, I live in Circuit 3 of appeals so that means, USCIS cannot rescind my green card or initiate removal proceedings because of statue of limitations 5 years passed. But USCIS can keep me in limbo forever without being able to naturalize in the country i consider mine.
Regards to current status, I am happily employed and continue working in the same field almost (12 years experience) software/systems engineer and get 5 requests from linkedin on daily basis, i do have masters degree which is legit and finally I did not commit any fraud or intended to fraud a government in any way. I entered the country legally and changed my status legally.

How can I appeal and what arguments I can provide to USCIS to overturn this decision and what possible steps? I have only 24 days to appeal left, also I never dealt with lawyers, i do not know how to find a good one, or how to qualify one. I need help but I do not know where to start.
Thank you.
P.S. Until I received a decision i was not aware of that company and lawyer being investigated but lawyer got sentenced in 2014

[stranger_in_the_night]

Stranger,

If you are confident that your Green Card status is not threatened (or status of wife and children), my advice is to leave this alone for awhile. There seems to have been too much going on with you, your employers, and with the attorney involved with your petitions for you to get the Naturalization denial rescinded.

Your claim that you were unaware of the attorney being in legal trouble has nothing to do with the accusation that your attorney submitted fraudulent tax returns for you, as that is your problem not the attorney's problem. Your claims otherwise would be considered hearsay (in my opinion).

Your statement, "...USCIS cannot rescind my green card or initiate removal proceedings because of statute of limitations 5 years passed...." doesn't sound correct to me, as USCIS routinely orders deportation for visa fraud many years previous. There is no "statute of limitations" for visa fraud.

--Ray B

Well, I live in the jurisdiction of Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. That Court has precedent of Garsia case http://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/072164p.pdf
It states that staute of limitations applies not only to rescision of green cars but also of initiation of removal proceedings when Gc was recevied by fraud or in error.

Now, what will time change in my case? For example if i let it go for now, what will change their decision 10 years after?

Thank you.

[rayb]

Stranger,

You posted earlier that you believed your Green Card status was safe because of a 5-year Statute of Limitations from a deportation order for immigration fraud. My response to you was that there is no Statute of Limitations for immigration fraud. I'm not sure what you mean by "10 years after," as I believe earlier suspected immigration fraud adverse adjudication can occur any time in the futur

This is only my opinion and should not be construed as professional immigration advice.

--Ray B

Well, I live in the jurisdiction of Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. That Court has precedent of Garsia case http://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/072164p.pdf
It states that staute of limitations applies not only to rescision of green cars but also of initiation of removal proceedings when Gc was recevied by fraud or in error.

Now, what will time change in my case? For example if i let it go for now, what will change their decision 10 years after?

Thank you.

[stranger_in_the_night]

Stranger,

You posted earlier that you believed your Green Card status was safe because of a 5-year Statute of Limitations from a deportation order for immigration fraud. My response to you was that there is no Statute of Limitations for immigration fraud. I'm not sure what you mean by "10 years after," as I believe earlier suspected immigration fraud adverse adjudication can occur any time in the futur

This is only my opinion and should not be construed as professional immigration advice.

--Ray B

Right, there is no statue of limitations for immigration fraud, in that case USCIS should initiate removal proceedings, but they can't because removal proceedings in 3d Circuit do fall under 5 years limitations. So administratively USCIS can't do anything about. Maybe i wasn't clear about 10 years. But you said that let it go for now, but what will change in 10 years if i let it go now? The fact will still be there. If i reapply after 10 years they will still issue a new denial. I did not commit any fraud, lawyer of the company had. Can i have any arguments in the court against USCIS which will either adjust my status properly or will grant me naturalization?
Thank you.

[rayb]

If you apply for Naturalization again, anytime in the future, the same denial for the same reason is likely to come up again, only USCIS might decide to initiate deportation or a removal order.

I have to take issue with your claim that you did not commit any fraud. If you signed off on submittal of a false income tax return, which you say USCIS claimed in the denial notice, you have to take responsibility for signing off, and not blame the attorney.

I'm sure spending enough money and using the most qualified attorney might get this fixed, but but attorney appearance at an adjudication hearing in Immigration Court has no guarantees and will be expensive.

--Ray B

Right, there is no statue of limitations for immigration fraud, in that case USCIS should initiate removal proceedings, but they can't because removal proceedings in 3d Circuit do fall under 5 years limitations. So administratively USCIS can't do anything about. Maybe i wasn't clear about 10 years. But you said that let it go for now, but what will change in 10 years if i let it go now? The fact will still be there. If i reapply after 10 years they will still issue a new denial. I did not commit any fraud, lawyer of the company had. Can i have any arguments in the court against USCIS which will either adjust my status properly or will grant me naturalization?
Thank you.

[PryncissQueen]

Rayb,

What he is saying is that the lawyer who worked for the company who assisted with him getting his GC commited fraud. He is not able to sign off on tax forms for the company. The company he worked for committed tax fraud. The lawyer knowingly assisted. So since the company was committing fraud at the time they were sponsoring his and his family's GC, their GCs were approved in error because they were gained by fraudulent means... Him and his family did not commit the fraud. They are actually the victims... and there really is no telling how many other GC holders who were sponsored by this company are going through the same thing...

Stranger,

I think you should definitely contact a lawyer and not try to handle this yourself. You really need to find out how to get your pay stubs from them. See if you have any emails you may have sent to them. Most people do not think of clearing their "sent" folder in the email. Just try to get as much documentation as you can to show a lawyer.

[stranger_in_the_night]

Rayb,

What he is saying is that the lawyer who worked for the company who assisted with him getting his GC commited fraud. He is not able to sign off on tax forms for the company. The company he worked for committed tax fraud. The lawyer knowingly assisted. So since the company was committing fraud at the time they were sponsoring his and his family's GC, their GCs were approved in error because they were gained by fraudulent means... Him and his family did not commit the fraud. They are actually the victims... and there really is no telling how many other GC holders who were sponsored by this company are going through the same thing...

Stranger,

I think you should definitely contact a lawyer and not try to handle this yourself. You really need to find out how to get your pay stubs from them. See if you have any emails you may have sent to them. Most people do not think of clearing their "sent" folder in the email. Just try to get as much documentation as you can to show a lawyer.

Thank you,
I have W-2 from them and some invoices, I might try to pull some bank information, as I was depositing checks to the bank account, but that account has been closed since 2011.

[rayb]

Prynciss,

Thx for the clarification. I would agree that "Stranger" should hold off trying to fix this on his own, but to enlist assistance of a qualified immigration attorney.

--Ray B

Rayb,

What he is saying is that the lawyer who worked for the company who assisted with him getting his GC commited fraud. He is not able to sign off on tax forms for the company. The company he worked for committed tax fraud. The lawyer knowingly assisted. So since the company was committing fraud at the time they were sponsoring his and his family's GC, their GCs were approved in error because they were gained by fraudulent means... Him and his family did not commit the fraud. They are actually the victims... and there really is no telling how many other GC holders who were sponsored by this company are going through the same thing...

Stranger,

I think you should definitely contact a lawyer and not try to handle this yourself. You really need to find out how to get your pay stubs from them. See if you have any emails you may have sent to them. Most people do not think of clearing their "sent" folder in the email. Just try to get as much documentation as you can to show a lawyer.

[PryncissQueen]

Thank you,
I have W-2 from them and some invoices, I might try to pull some bank information, as I was depositing checks to the bank account, but that account has been closed since 2011.

Make sure your W-2s are accurate. they could have incorrect info on them as well if they were committing fraud