Brat1

So, onwards from my last thread, we finally got word from the USCIS as to why our adjustments of status have been rejected, so here goes...

The reason for the denial, is that they are saying we don't have a valid I-140. They state that my OH's employer applied in July 2008' and it was denied in March 2009?????? We have an APPROVAL notice dated January 2009???? What is going on.....I now have to wait until Monday to speak to the Attorney to find out what the problem is. If we need to raise a motion to re-open, this is going to cost many more dollars. I am so tired, confused and stressed right now, anyone ever heard of an i140 being approved, then denied 2 months later??? Without telling us??? Any help would be good right now, my mind's in a whirl k

JAJ

Never heard of an I-140 being approved, then denied. In fact, it would not be clear if such action would be lawful.

Speak with lawyer first, but if USCIS do not immediately reopen the case, I would suggest contacting the office of your congressman or one of your senators. Even if you're not a U.S. citizen, they may be willing to deal with an obvious case of maladministration.

crg

Is the receipt number for the employer's denial and your approval the same? It's possible that the petition was revoked...

sir_eccles

Sounds like two case files have become muddled.

zerlesen

They can certainly re-examine the I-140, and if they decide they've approved something in error then they can go back and deny it. But if they'd done that four and a half years ago, they would have had to at least notify the employer. So something has obviously gone strange - hopefully this just means they got their wires crossed and the underlying I-140 is actually still fine.

customsquestion

Maybe the employer was notified in 2009 and simply chose to ignore it for some reason? If the petition was revoked as crg has suggested then it could only have been revoked by the employer correct? Meaning the employer didn't want the guy anymore yes? If the petition was denied in March 09 there is no way the employer would not have been notified so they would have been required to fire that person correct? So does that mean OP's OH has been working illegally?

This employer sounds dodgy as hell to me but then again some of them are dodgy aren't they?

zerlesen

I don't think that's the only possibility. Also it doesn't seem to make sense if it's the same employer, although sometimes an employer will revoke the I-140 if the employee leaves.

An I-140 denial wouldn't necessarily have any impact on the H (IIRC) visa the OP's OH was on. They're separate things.

Seconding this, which would probably be the best case.

customsquestion

I will third that it's probably the most likely explanation. But some of these employers are shady though aren't they? Maybe he wanted to keep him for whatever reason and wouldn't take no for an answer but didn't want to send good money after bad by applying again and he will claim ignorance of the whole situation. My mate when he first moved to nyc 10 years ago was living with english guy for the first few months who got the gc for being bar manager in new york how the hell did he get the labour certification unless the employer was being shady in that procedure.

Nutmegger

You are making ridiculous guesses -- what on earth sounds "dodgy" about the employer? The employee and employer have been working together quite happily for all these years -- if there is a mix-up, they were both oblivious to it. This is one for the company's attorneys to answer to.

Good luck, Brat1 -- I'm sure Monday can't come soon enough for you so you can get the ball rolling on sorting this out.

Brat1

Okay, let me try and clarify a few things, to the best of my knowledge......

When my OH's employer first offered him the job, they had never dealt with the immigration process before, and hired an immigration attorney to guide them through the process. The opted for the GC route, but once it was approved, and they found out how long the wait was going to be, they decided to get him over on an H1-B.

The I-140 approval is dated January 2009. We got that from the Attorney and we have a copy of the notice. We got approved for the H1-b/H4 and our visa's were dated September 2009, and good through 2012. Last year, we did the extension for that, and we're given that with no issues. My OH has only worked with this one company, has not changed jobs or anything.

When our priority date became current, we applied for our AOS and myself and my oldest daughter got our EAD's within 4 weeks. Texas Servive Centre is who was dealing with it. After nearly 7 months of waiting, I contacted the customer service as they state a wait time of 4 months. I was told they would pass on my enquiry to Texas and I would hear......long story short is the denial notices came in the mail yesterday, stating this....

"A review of your file indicates that an Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (form I-140) was filed by (name of company) on July 18, 2008. Form I-140 was subsequently denied on March 12,2009. A review of USCIS records fails to demonstrate that you are the beneficiary of an approved immigrant visa petition."

I have the approval notice in my hand dated January 26 2009' priority date January 9, 2007. If I go online and check our receipt number, it still states we are approved, I know you can't go by that, but there is no mention in the letters we got yesterday that it was approved/revoked etc. my understanding is that an approved notice can only be revoked by the Employer, or subsequently denied by the USCIS, only if the sponsoring company are found to be fraudulent. If that was the case, why did they approve the H1-B????

This is it for me. I'm done with energy at this point, after waiting this length of time, not being able to work, being then able to work, getting a job, my oldest turning 20 so time being of the essence..... I have nothing left in the energy tank.

Tomorrow, my OH is going straight to his boss, and is not leaving his office until they have got in touch with the attorney, and can give an explanation of what's going on. This is what I can only describe as a nightmare. Sorry for the long post, but I just wanted to give the facts as I know them at this point. Thank you for taking the time to read it

robin1234

Yes, good luck Brat!
It's stressful waiting through a weekend. I'm sure the attorney can shed some light and/or will have positive strategies to move forward and resolve this!

SarahG

I'm also thinking there's been a muddle somewhere. I think it's a error on their part sending out the denial notice. Still keeping all my extremities crossed for you and hoping that all this is sorted quickly.

Brat1

Thanks Nutmegger, this is my biggest nightmare, and outcomes have so many implications for us and the kids....thanks for all your help and support

Lbjen

I completely understand how you're feeling right now, you must have a million scenarios running through your head. Fingers crossed that it all gets sorted out quickly with a very simple explanation.

CAdreaming

Good luck with all of this Brat...sorry you are going through thi