Assistance With Appeals
Should an immigration petition or application be denied or revoked by the USCIS (formerly the INS), in most cases an applicant may appeal that decision to a higher authority. The Administrative Appeals Unit ("AAU") has jurisdiction over 40 petitions and applications. If an applicant receives a denial notice, it will advise him or her of their right to appeal, the correct appellate jurisdiction (AAU or BIA), and provide the applicant with the appropriate appeal form and time limit. An immigration lawyer should be retained to provide assistance with the appeals process.
There are strict deadlines that must be met to properly file an appeal. The appeal must be filed with the correct fee at the office that made the original decision. An applicant may file a brief (explanation) in support of the appeal. After review, the appellate authority may agree and change the original decision, disagree and affirm the original decision, or send the matter back to the original office for further action.
In addition to the right to appeal (in which an applicant asks a higher authority to review a denial), in many cases a motion to reopen or a motion to reconsider may be filed with the office that made the unfavorable decision. By filing these motions, an applicant may ask the office to reexamine or reconsider its decision. A motion to reopen must state the new facts that are to be provided in the reopened proceeding and must be accompanied by affidavits or other documentary evidence. A motion to reconsider must establish that the decision was based on an incorrect application of law or INS policy, and further establish that the decision was incorrect based on the evidence in the file at the time the decision was made. Any motion to reopen or reconsider must be filed with the correct fee shortly after the decision. Although you are not required to have an attorney represent you, an immigration lawyer familiar with this process can be of valuable assistance.
There is no appellate review of denials of extension of stay or change of nonimmigrant status. Only one appeal may be filed for each denial or revocation; there is often no appellate review of an appellate decision.
Only the person that submitted the original application or petition may file the appeal. The petitioner alone has standing to appeal the denial of a visa petition. The beneficiary of a visa petition may not appeal the decision. For instance, if a United States employer petitioned for an immigrant visa for an employee living abroad, only the United States employer may appeal the denial. The employee living abroad may not appeal the denial.
The person appealing the decision may be represented by an attorney or representative. If the petitioner is represented, the appeal must be accompanied by the proper USCIS form. The form must be signed by both the attorney or representative and the person who filed the original petition or application.
If the Administrative Appeals Unit has jurisdiction over the decision, the notice of appeal must often be filed on Form I-290B (Notice of Appeal to the Administrative Appeal Unit). The appeal must be filed with the office that made the original decision. A brief (explanation) may be filed in support of your appeal. The fee must also be included. If a fee waiver is required, this may be available.
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The Law Firm of Antone, Casagrande & Adwers, P.C. helps individuals and businesses worldwide with all of their US immigration needs including employment visas, obtaining green cards for business and corporate employees and family members, visas for doctors, nurses, therapists, and other health care workers, together with waivers for physicians under J visa training program, labor certifications (PERM), national interest waivers, marriage-based adjustments and green cards, fiancee visas, family immigration preferences, students, naturalization and citizenship, including medical waivers, asylum, deportation, hardship waivers, voluntary departure and removal. We serve clients in southeast Michigan including the Detroit Metro area, Ann Arbor, and Lansing. With offices in Farmington Hills, MI, we are close to Southfield, Troy, West Bloomfield, Birmingham, Novi, Rochester and Auburn Hills in Oakland County; Canton, Plymouth, Dearborn, and Detroit in Wayne County; Warren, Sterling Heights, and Mount Clemens in Macomb County; Brighton and Howell in Livingston County; Lansing in Ingham County; City of Monroe in Monroe County, Ann Arbor in Washtenaw County; Grand Rapids in Kent County; Battle Creek in Calhoun County; Kalamazoo in Kalamazoo County; Benton Harbor in Berrien County; Holland in Ottawa County; Flint in Genesee County; Ludington in Mason County; Muskegon in Muskegon County; and Traverse City in Grand Traverse County, Michigan. Although many of our clients are located in the tri-county area of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb, we also serve clients in many cities and states in the U.S. including Cleveland, Toledo and Cincinnati, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois; Milwaukee and Green Bay, Wisconsin; Indianapolis, Indiana; Buffalo, New York; Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego, California; Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona; Dallas, Houston, El Paso and Galveston, Texas; Miami, Florida; Washington D.C.; Virginia, Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and many others. In addition to the United States, we also serve Canadian nationals from numerous provinces in Canada, including Toronto and Windsor in Ontario; Montreal in Quebec; Halifax in Nova Scotia; and Vancouver, British Columbia. We also serve cities and countries such as London, England; Scotland and other countries of the United Kingdom (U.K.); Mexico, Paris, France; Frankfurt and Berlin, Germany; Tokyo, Japan; India; Brazil; Rome, Italy; Shanghai and Beijing, China; Belgium; the Philippines, and many other countries in Europe, Asia and South America. |
