You may have made the slightest error in your initial family immigration application. For example, you may have accidentally paid less than the required filing fee or forgotten to have attached a required document. Unfortunately, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) practices minimal leniency with such mistakes, thereby making it likely that it will deny your petition. Rest assured, you may get a second chance. Continue reading to learn your chance to appeal a denied application and how an experienced family immigration lawyer in Milwaukee, WI, at Sesini Law Group, S.C., can fight for your legal entry into the United States.
Is it possible to appeal a denied family immigration application?
The short answer is, yes, you may have the opportunity to appeal your denied family immigration application by filing Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion. More specifically, this form may be used to file an appeal to the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) or file a motion to reconsider or reopen your case with the USCIS.
By requesting an appeal, you are essentially requesting that a different authority review the decision that was made for your initial family immigration application. On the other hand, requesting a motion to reconsider means that you are requesting a review of the decision but now with a new legal argument in mind. Then, a motion to reopen means that you are requesting a review of the decision but now with new evidence at play.
This is all to say that filing an appeal, a motion to reconsider, and a motion to reopen are not the same thing. So upon submitting Form I-290B, you must specify which action you wish to pursue. You do not want to make an error once again.
Lastly, it is worth mentioning that you may only have 30 calendar days from the date you received this adverse decision to take such action.
Under what circumstances should I not use Form I-290B?
You must understand that Form I-290B is not the universal solution for all denied family immigration applications. That is, the AAO or USCIS may not take this form as an acceptable petition if any of the below circumstances apply to you:
- The family immigration application you initially submitted was Form I-700, Application for Temporary Resident Status as a Special Agricultural Worker.
- The family immigration application you initially submitted was denied by a Department of State overseas consular officer.
- The family immigration application you initially submitted was denied by an immigration judge.
- The family immigration application you initially submitted was as a beneficiary of a petitioner.
You must not stand idly by if the USCIS wrongly denies your initial application. Rather, you must take immediate action and retain the services of a skilled Milwaukee, WI family immigration lawyer. Contact Sesini Law Group, S.C. today.