F-1 Visa Reinstatement After Two Motions To Reopen
Full Video Transcript
The F1 reinstatement was denied. We filed the motion to reopen. It was successful, and then the request for evidence came and then it was denied. We filed the second motion to reopen. Successful again, and the request for evidence was issued. And then we succeeded, and the kid was back in school after three years. This is the craziest story, and I’m happy to share this with you now.
Hi everyone, my name is Joseph. I’m the managing partner here at Tsang & Associates, where we solve legal problems with creative solutions. So, the legal problem was this international student on an F1 Visa was here in the U.S. The visa already expired, so they couldn’t go back home to their home country and get a new visa to come back into the U.S. What makes things a little bit more complicated was that their status expired in 2020, and they didn’t file the reinstatement until March of 2021. They went to a school, the school hired an attorney. They filed it, and then in 2022, let me see when, in June 2022, almost after a whole year of reviewing the reinstatement, USCIS issues a request for evidence. And then the student was like, “I can’t do this,” and went to the attorney.
The attorney said, “I can’t do it,” and so they’ve been searching and found us. We prepared the first request for evidence answer, and it was like one, two, three, four full pages with 12 exhibits because the request for evidence, right here, they challenged everything. All the key issues, and they just couldn’t do it. So we went in-depth, prepared everything. We, filed it and then the case was denied. When we got the denial notice. It was very interesting because it was just about the 901 fee; everything else met the sufficient requirements of USCIS. And the only reason we didn’t pay it when we filed it is because the school said we didn’t need it because it was previously paid on their end. So it’s like, okay, who’s telling the truth, the school or USCIS, but it’s definitely not the student’s fault.
So we were very sympathetic to the student and said, “You know what, on this issue, we’ll file a motion to reopen for you; we’ll give you a huge discount.” So we prepared another three-page attorney brief, prepared the statements, we filed the motion to reopen. Now, know this, if we didn’t file the motion to reopen, if the case ended with the denial in August of 2022, they would have overstayed for a year and a half. That means they will have a 10-year bar. They could leave the US, and they’ll never be able to come back to the U.S until after all that time or unless they get married and file a waiver, etc. So we had to win this motion to reopen. In order for the case to be reopened and for us to provide this 901 fee. We argued, we persuaded, and USCIS says, “Okay, we’ll reopen for you; make the payment,” and we’re like, “Yes.” All we have to do is make a payment, and the case will be done.
We made the payment. We responded to the request for evidence. We prepared another filing package, and we sent it out. And, guess what? The payment was accepted, but the school didn’t open up the portal, and so we got another denial. Now their explanation, we didn’t forget, we couldn’t, there was a glitch, but whatever the reason, the school’s inability to help the student out, the DSO messing up caused this case to be denied again. So I went, we talked to the school, and the school says, “You know we’ll try again, but we need the case to be reopened again.” Very well, so we filed another motion to reopen.
This is our like, I don’t know, this is our fifth filing with USCIS. This time it’s a lot longer. We gave all sorts of excuses for the school because the school wouldn’t even provide a letter saying they messed up. So we had to explain for the client and for the school. USCIS miraculously opened up the case. The school was able to do the right thing and open up the portal. And then now USCIS sends this approval notice valid in January 2023 to duration of status.
This has been like a two and a half year ordeal. The client couldn’t sleep for two and a half years, but each time there was a mess up, we went, we cleaned it up, and we helped this kid finally be able to reinstate her status so that now she can finally finish her schooling and then get her OPT and then H-1B and, eventually, move on with her life.
This is definitely the craziest reinstatement motion to reopen combo that we’ve ever done, but I’m glad to say that this case had a happy ending.
If you have any questions about reinstatement, about motion to reopen, or if your visa was denied and you need to get a new F1 visa. There’s so many things that we deal with on a daily basis. We’ve represented so many international students. I know how they feel. I was an international student once as well a long, long time ago, and I can understand the frustration. Thank you, take care, bye-bye.
With a visa that expired in 2020 and a request for evidence following the initial motion to reopen in 2021, this international student was looking for help submitting the requested information to reinstate her F-1 visa. Looking past the gap in the visa expiration, this should be a fairly straightforward case; however, what should have been a single motion to reopen and approval turned into two motions to reopen to finally get this student’s F-1 visa reinstated.
TIME FRAME
In 2020 the original F-1 visa expired. The student, working with the school, filed an application to extend in March 2021. After a full year, this student received a request for evidence and came to Tsang & Associates legal team for help with this request for evidence to get their visa reinstated. We filed the paperwork, there were several more outside factors that delayed the case; however, finally in January 2023 this case was successfully resolved after nearly 3 years and 2 motions to reopen.
BACKGROUND
This case came to us after this student had already filed her application to extend her F-1 visa. Her F-1 visa initially expired in 2020 and she hadn’t filed her reinstatement until March 2021 after her visa had already expired. More than a year later she finally heard back with a request for evidence. When she received this initial request for evidence in June 2022, this client wasn’t sure how to proceed. The original attorney was unable to help and that’s how we were first introduced to this case. Our aim was to file the necessary documents to respond to the request for evidence. What happened next was a denial, but only because the 901 fee had not been paid.
Our team had been told this had already been paid, but, it turns out USCIS didn’t see that so the fee needed to be paid. We got the fee paid, the case reopened and then, received another denial.
This time because the school had not opened the portal for this student. We talked with the school. They said there had been a glitch. It was unintentional so they’d fix it, but they needed this case to be reopened. So, we filed a second motion to reopen this F-1 visa reinstatement case.
Finally, after all the motions and requests for evidence and talking with the school. This client’s case was approved. The F-1 visa was reinstated after two and a half years.
CHALLENGES IN THIS F-1 VISA REINSTATEMENT
The challenges in this case were relatively minor items that ended up delaying the case. After the response to the first request for evidence, the 901 fee payment was the only thing holding back a successful resolution. After payment and the second motion to reopen, the school did not open the portal for the student so the case was not resolved successfully. Not until the second motion to reopen did the case finally come to a resolution.
This all played into another challenge with this case – the time frame. It took years from the time this student’s visa expired until their visa was finally reinstated in 2023 after two motions to reopen the case had been filed.
KEYS TO SUCCESS FOR THIS F-1 VISA REINSTATEMENT
Persistence
In this case, persistence was one of the main keys to success. Because we had to deal with so many small issues that kept turning into larger issues for this student, the team had to be persistent.
We helped this student through each step and each detail as we went through this crazy case. Each time there was a denial, we had to dig into the details again to find out why and to get the resolution required.
After two motions to reopen, the F-1 visa was finally reinstated due to the team’s persistence and diligence after each setback.
Cooperation
For this case to be successful, we also had to have cooperation from the school that originally started the reinstatement process for the student. We also needed to be able to work with the school to resolve the problems that arose. At first this was just making sure the 901 fee had been paid, when it had been paid, confirming this to make sure the motion to reopen would be successful. After the second denial, we had to work with the school again to ensure they would open the portal for this student to ensure a successful result.
F-1 VISA REINSTATEMENT CASE RESULT
FINALLY, after 2 motions to reopen and almost 3 years, this case was successfully resolved. After submitting the second motion to reopen, the student’s F-1 visa was reinstated. She was finally able to return to her studies without anxiety about her case. It was a tremendous relief and we are so happy to have been able to assist with this result.
F-1 VISA REINSTATEMENT LAWYER COMMENTS ON THE CASE
F-1 visa cases are nothing new for the team at Tsang & Associates. We have been helping students to attain their F-1 visas for years; however, this case was unique in that we had to submit an unusual number of motions to reopen. However, understanding the reasons for any case being denied are essential for a positive result and we were able to achieve that here.
If you need assistance with an F-1 visa reinstatement, you can learn more about our F-1 visa legal services or contact us with any questions. You also can learn more about the student visa program.
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