Articles Posted in NOIR

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You have just learned that your work visa petition has been approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Now you are ready to attend your Consular visa interview bringing you one step closer to achieving your dream of working in the United States.

Unfortunately, receiving a USCIS approval notice does not guarantee the successful issuance of a visa by the U.S. Consulate. In fact, for some unlucky few that fail to pass their visa interview, the U.S. government can still revoke or cancel a petition that was previously approved by USCIS.

What can you do in this situation? Is this the end of the road? Learn everything you need to know about this important subject in this video.

Overview

Can the State Department revoke a work visa petition that was previously approved by USCIS?

Unfortunately, yes. After receiving an approval notice from USCIS, work visa applicants must still attend an in-person Consular interview to demonstrate their eligibility for the visa classification they are seeking. A Consular officer will question the applicant further to ensure they qualify for the visa and may request further evidence.

When a Consular visa interview goes south, not only can the visa application be denied, but the Consulate can also direct USCIS to revoke the underlying petition that was previously approved by the agency.

The petition revocation process begins when the State Department returns the application to USCIS along with the results of any investigation they have conducted.

Once USCIS has received the returned petition and the results of the investigation, they will issue a Notice of Intent to Revoke (NOIR) to the petitioner of the previously approved petition. The NOIR will include details about USCIS’ plans to revoke the underlying petition, as well as the discovery of new, derogatory information leading to the visa denial. A statement of facts underlying the revocation will be provided along with any evidence supporting the revocation.

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In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses an interesting situation that can occur when the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issues a green card by mistake.

Learn what can happen in this situation and the steps you need to take to inform USCIS of the mistake, so that it does not cause complications for you down the road.

Overview

You might be wondering, how is it possible for a green card to be issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) by mistake? Although this is not a common occurrence, there are situations where an administrative or clerical error, can lead USCIS to issue a green card before an applicant is eligible to receive one, or before a green card is available.

It is important for you to understand that receiving a green card in error can have serious immigration consequences. Those who fail to take action to correct or remedy the mistake within a reasonable time can lose their ability to apply for U.S. Citizenship or even jeopardize their green card status.

How Does This Occur?

Green Card Issued Before a Priority Date is Current

Under U.S. immigration law, except for immediate relatives of U.S. Citizens, there are annual numerical limits on the number of green cards that can be issued to green card applicants. This applies to both employment-based and family-sponsored applicants. Due to these numerical limitations, the majority of green card applicants must wait their place in line until a green card is available to them. Only once an applicant has reached the front of the line (their priority date becomes current for final action on the Visa Bulletin), can they be eligible to receive a green card.

To know when a priority date is current for final action, applicants must regularly review the Department of State’s Visa Bulletin. A green card applicant’s priority date can be located on the I-130 or I-140 Form I-797 Notice of Action. The priority date generally falls on the date when the I-130 or I-140 immigrant petition was filed with USCIS. This date will determine your place in line in the green card queue.

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