Administrative Appeals Unit

[Flag1976]

Hi everyone.

Does anyone have the phone number for the Administrative Appeals Unit in Washington? I called the USCIS 800 number and they actually told me that no telephone number exists!!! I know it does, because I called them before.

[Pinkpig]

Is this the number you are looking for?

Blueblue posted it here:

http://immigrate2us.net/forum/showthread.php?p=16315#post16315

I am assuming you still have not heard anything on the appeal. If it was filed end of 2005, that was 20 months ago now. The AAO says their 601 appeals are running at about 18 months. I would contact them at 202-272-1212, give them your A# and they can tell you a status of the case and they can also tell you if they got the additional evidence you sent in May. You should have heard something on the appeal by now.

[Flag1976]

Wow, I am surprised you remembered that original post. I forgot that the phone number was there. Thanks. Actually, I just received notice that the appeal was denied, but they did not consider any of the new evidence that I submitted. Now I am trying to get in touch with them to see what happened to all of that evidence that i sent. I just got so frustrated with USCIS when they told me that there was no telephone number for the AAU and that I should send them a letter; ridiculous. Anyway, I will let you know how it turns out.

[Pinkpig]

Wow, I am surprised you remembered that original post. I forgot that the phone number was there. Thanks. Actually, I just received notice that the appeal was denied, but they did not consider any of the new evidence that I submitted. Now I am trying to get in touch with them to see what happened to all of that evidence that i sent. I just got so frustrated with USCIS when they told me that there was no telephone number for the AAU and that I should send them a letter; ridiculous. Anyway, I will let you know how it turns out.

LOL. I did not remember it...LOL I just did a search on all of your posts because I was wondering how the PM that I sent you last night tied into an appeal. So I just went back and read all of your posts and walla....there was the number.....LOL

Did you ever check with Lima/Rio and see if you could submit a new waiver based upon your old approved I-130 or are you going to wait on the new I-130 to be approved. Also as we stated earlier if you just filed the new I-130 and it is not yet approved, you can file the I-129f, no charges, to get a quicker interview in Rio.

Personally I don't think you have a chance with an appeal because you were denied for not proving hardship and you now know that you did not prove hardship either with Lima or the appeal. So I am thinking if you call Rio/Lima they will grant you a new interview. It certainly has been enough time.

If they will not then I guess you have to wait for them to schedule you an interview based on the new I-130/I-129f (if you choose to file it).

[Flag1976]

I was able to get in touch with the AAU and they told me that the new evidence must have been received after the decision was ready. The lady I spoke to (they actually answer their phones) said that the new evidence that I sumbitted would have been sent back to the original office, but she was unsure if that would be Lima or Rio. Any guesses?

I emailed Rio to ask them if they have the packet of new evidence, so hopefully they will reply quickly. Do you think that Lima or Rio will grant us a new interview without going through the whole process again? My lawyer told me that I would have to wait for the new I-130 to be approved, etc. I was going to do the I-129f, but according to the USCIC website, it has a 6 month processing time just like the I-130 so figured that it wouldn't be worth it.

[Pinkpig]

I was able to get in touch with the AAU and they told me that the new evidence must have been received after the decision was ready. The lady I spoke to (they actually answer their phones) said that the new evidence that I sumbitted would have been sent back to the original office, but she was unsure if that would be Lima or Rio. Any guesses? I am guessing Lima as Rio does not process waivers. So they sent your appeal back to Lima and he denied it again and then sent it back to Washington and they sent you the denial notice. Of course Lima would deny it again as you failed to prove hardship. Anything that has to do with the waiver approval has to go to Lima eventually. Rio would not accept all of our waiver package so we had to send it to Lima ourselves.

I emailed Rio to ask them if they have the packet of new evidence, so hopefully they will reply quickly. Do you think that Lima or Rio will grant us a new interview without going through the whole process again? I am not sure of this but I sure would try to contact them and ask. I know that some consulates will and some won't. But really Rio has already approved you and sent you on to Lima...Lima is the one that has denied your waiver. I would think you need to ask Rio what you have to do to submit a new waiver package to Lima. Do you need to come back to Rio or can you submit it to Lima directly. lawyer told me that I would have to wait for the new I-130 to be approved, etc. I was going to do the I-129f, but according to the USCIC website, it has a 6 month processing time just like the I-130 so figured that it wouldn't be worth it. The thing about those approval timelines is that they can turn on a dime. I have seen them go back and forth and some folks wait forever for one or the other. I don't know why you even need a new I-130. I don't think that they expire. Have you tried contacting the National Visa Center with your RDJ number and find out what they have as the status of your case? Also I don't know what your financial situation is but you can do a consult with Laurel Scott at visacentral.net for around $100. She could tell you what you should do. She really knows her stuff. Or tomorrow morning at 9am Pacific time she has a free chat on her website and you could ask her some questions there.

I don't remember which of these phone numbers that I used. I think it was the 202 number. I only called one time and they gave me incorrect information but at least they might be able to tell you the status of your I-130. It may be worth a try.

nvcinquiry@state.gov or perhaps another phone number 603-334-0700

Also the number they called is 202-663-1541. Press 0 when you hear the recording, so you can talk to an operator. You'll need your casenumber.

What happens when you put your I-130 number into the online check status place? Have you tried that?

Have you tried contacting your elected officials? They should be able to find out the status of your case...if you find one that does constituent services.