Being late on the appeal.

[breitling]

I'm assisting a friend who's working on bringing his daughter here to US.

The reason for denial, was, failure to provide original copy of marriage certificate. (not exact quote, I don't have the document at hand). He has this document, and it was his intention to send it, originally, however since he's lacking English, this was done through the translator at local international institute, who failed to mail the original copy, he only sent the translated version.

He received the denial letter, more than a month ago, however he wasn't in the states at the time, and only came back with couple days left on the appeal (he has 30 days). When he seen the translator again, he told him to come back the following week, (making it late), he assured him it was fine, probably just to get him off his back, afternoon on a Friday.

He came back following week, and then the translator told him it was too late and he should apply for i-130 again. (the last one took 3 years).

The way I see it, he has to get an attorney, in order to get his daughter here any time soon, however what's the chances of the attorney being effective in situation like this? Could appeal still be done, even though he's late, or does he in fact have to go through all of it again?

 

[namecheckvictim]

Although he can document his absence and do it himself but since he is not very efficient with english a Attorney is strongly recommended.

 

[Jackolantern]

What was denied, the I-130 or the I-485? Is his daughter inside or outside the US? Under or over 21? Is he a US citizen?

The answers to those questions affect the available options.

 

[breitling]

What was denied, the I-130 or the I-485? Is his daughter inside or outside the US? Under or over 21? Is he a US citizen?

The answers to those questions affect the available options.

Definitely I-130, she's outside of US, never been here, over 21, (she also has husband/kids), and yes he's a US citizen.

 

[Jackolantern]

He should file a Motion to Reopen, providing copies of both the original and translation. MTR is faster and simpler than an appeal, and they often still accept the MTR if it's just a few days late. He should find an attorney to file it ASAP.

 

[breitling]

So I went to see his rep today. Wow, meanest lady ever! Kept yelling at me, as if I did something to her (just met her), and wouldn't let me say a word, soon as I told her what I came for, she kept telling me that it was his fault, and that he must make another appointment with her and refile. When I questioned why proper instructions weren't followed, she said that they've requested the info and he didn't respond and that's that. Obviously trying to steer away from the fact that the whole thing was her mistake, originally, and wouldn't even come to this point. (seriously, when's the last time I-130 requirements changed).

Just hard being an immigrant in this country. Haha, kidding, I'm not complaining at all.

I tried to talk to him about getting an attorney straight away, while I'm sure the money isn't an issue for him, he insisted we try to do it ourselves. I'm obviously not very confident about it, but, can someone tell me what are my chances vs getting an attorney, and what are chances of failing either way. And what kind of money are we talking bout as far as hiring an attorney for the job. (stupid question I know, since it's so vague I'd have to call around myself).

Tomorrow I'll take him to the local USCIS office, I know I'm probably wasting time and ruining my probability by waiting yet another day, but I want to get their opinion before following through with it.

ODD thing, I checked his case # online and it says "Initial Review" stil.

 

[breitling]

Went to the USCIS office, they told me he should start over.

I refuse to believe this, seriously, 3 years wasted cause of 5 days?

I think I'm going to apply for 290B anyway, even though the officer there told me it's probably going to be waste of money. I called and checked online and the case is still in "pending" state.

 

[Jackolantern]

For something as simple as this an attorney should be willing to do it for less than $1000. Maybe less than $500. This doesn't involve arguing any legal point or researching any legal precedent; it's just a matter of a one-page letter to say here is the missing document, please reopen the case. Nothing complicated. Using the attorney is just to give it more OOMPH so they'll take it more seriously when they know an attorney is on his side (similarly, sometimes my businessman friend has a client who won't pay ... when he sends a letter from the attorney demanding payment, they pay up fast even though the content of the letter is really no different that what he already sent by himself).