We want to share a successful case of our firm with you today. Our client previously filed a marriage-based green card application herself, and it was denied because USCIS believed that she had concealed her previous record of visa refusal in her earlier ESTA visa waiver application. We helped her submit a second application, and she was finally approved.

Let's first take a look at the reasons provided in the USCIS's denial notice. The client was refused a student visa back in the 1990s, then later obtained a B1/B2 visa in 2005. Sometime afterwards, the client applied for an ESTA Visa Waiver. In the visa waiver application, the client claimed that she had never been denied a visa. After that, the client applied for the ESTA visa waiver two more times and stated that she had no record of refusal in both applications. The USCIS pointed out that because the client provided false information in her ESTA visa waiver applications, her actions were considered as immigration fraud under the INA 212(a)(6)(c)(i), and her green card application was denied for this reason. USCIS then informed the client that she had no rights to remain in the U.S. and requested she leave the country within 33 days.

Before USCIS denied the client's first adjustment of status application, the client had an opportunity to respond to the Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) letter, but USCIS did not accept her response. So, if the client refiles her I-485 and merely repeats her answer from her previous response, it would not change USCIS's decision. Not only that, but after the client's first I-485 application denial, she started to accrue unlawful presence in the U.S., which could have subjected her to a 3-year or 10-year bar after she departs the U.S.

That's why we resubmitted her adjustment of status application with additional evidence and legal arguments. This time, with both our office's and our client's efforts, her case was successfully approved.