dude1

Hi

I have been in AP since June 2011 from the embassy in London, I would normally email the embassy to ask about my case and they would reply by saying "it is in AP and this is a necessary process which cannot be expiated". In May 2013 and March 2014 I emailed them again, they gave the same response on both occasions, "the case in under AP and the process cannot be expedited".

But today I got a letter from the US Embassy in London saying they sent me a letter in June 2013, and within the contents of that letter it was informing me of the steps to prepare for my immigrant visa interview (I have had an interview in June 2011 when they put me on AP). They also say because I have not responded back within 1 year to the letter dated June 2013, thus my application and any petition has now been cancelled. Furthermore, they also do say the application can be reinstated and any petition revalidated if I can establish that failure to pursue my immigration visa application was due to circumstances beyond my control, and I need to respond in writing.

1. The letter they say they sent me in June 2013 I didn't receive it.
2. They say because I did not respond to that letter within 1 year thus my application has been cancelled, but I did contact the us embassy in March 2014 via email, and they said my case was under AP (I still have the email to prove this).

So I would like to ask for some advise on this please, how do I go about getting the application reinstated and any petition revalidated? should I get a solicitor involved?

Thanks

ian-mstm

Alas, US immigration is not responsible for mail you didn't receive. If they sent it, then the assumption is that you recieved it... whether you actually did nor not.


It doesn't matter that you emailed someone in March; you did not respond to the letter - and that is what you needed to do.


It's easy - you respond in writing and ask them to reinstate the application and revalidate the petition. However, will you be able to demonstrate that your failure to respond was due to circumstances beyond your control? I'm not sure.


That's entirely up to you... but if you feel an attorney will help, then by all means hire one.

Ian

S Folinsky

Legal assistance might very well be in order.

dude1

So the department that responds back to my emails is that not the same department that sent me the letter, if not it seems like they don’t share the same system, because if they did they could have told me when they emailed me back in March 2014 that a letter was sent out and I need to follow what it says on there, could have helped.


About the circumstances, could I say I or the petitioner didn’t receive the notice that the visa was to be cancelled within a year if a response was not received from me, also refer to the emails I have sent them and attach them to the letter


Thanks

ian-mstm

Probably not, no. The person who responded to your email is likely not even a US immigration employee but rather a 3rd-party contractor paid to respond to emails on behalf of US immigration.


Yes - you can say that. It might help, it might not.

At this point in time, it doesn't matter why you didn't get the letter, and it doesn't matter that you sent emails. All that matters now is that you respond appropriately. So, rather than try to explain things to them, why not simply respond in writing and ask them to reinstate the application and revalidate the petition?

Ian

dude1

At the bottom of their email it did say consular infomration unit

ian-mstm

So what? Do you think anyone is going to care?

Why are you wasting time trying to prove not only that this isn't your fault, but that they need to give you special consideration as a result? It's not going to happen.

They sent the letter, you didn't get it. Accept things as they are and get on with life.

Ian

retzie

I expect the reason is that he has been explicitly instructed to do so:

I understand that bleating about not thinking the process is fair is not helpful, in general, but this appears to be a case where an explanation is required to even set things in motion.

To the OP: sorry, I have no experience of what you are facing, so have no real advice. However, it seems like it may be worth getting an immigration attorney involved, since it would be a very costly and time-consuming process to have to start again from scratch.

ian-mstm

He can certainly explain - and I said as much a few posts back. However, I think he'll have difficulty demonstrating that circumstances were beyond his control, because he can't prove that the letter wasn't received. Still, at this point in time, he has nothing to lose by trying.

Regardless, he needs to ask them to reinstate the application and revalidate the petition.

Ian

superkruz

If this is how they treat you then why don't you do the exact same thing to them - respond by saying that you did in fact respond to their letter and it isn't your fault that they didn't receive it, and request that they should reinstate on that basis.

Trixie_b

THIS.

ian-mstm

That's actually quite brilliant. I don't think they'll go for it, but it's quite brilliant nevertheless.

Ian