Getting served with any sort of government notice when you’re an immigrant living within the U.S. can be frustrating and scary, especially when you’re unsure of what you did wrong. While it’s easy to automatically assume the worse, don’t panic! In many cases, just knowing how to respond to a specific notice is all you need to ease your worries.
What Type of Notice May I Receive?
There are many types of government notices that you may receive from U.S. Customs and Immigrations Services (USCIS), some of which include:
- Requests for Evidence (RFE): As the name suggests, this notice is typically sent after you complete your marriage green card application and the USCIS officer reviewing your case wants more documentation proving the authenticity of your marriage.
- NOID (Notice of Intent to Deny): This notice is issued when the USCIS may have doubts about the legitimacy of your marriage and may deny your application unless you provide further evidence or documentation as needed.
- NOIR (Notice of Intent to Revoke): This type of notice is sent to a petitioner of a previously-approved I-130 petition communicating that USCIS intends to revoke the petition; in other words, this is a warning for a U.S.-based person who applies to have a family member come to the U.S.
- NOIT (Notice of Intent to Terminate): This written notice is given to an asylum-based immigrant before the person’s asylum status is terminated, giving them time to respond.
What Should I Do When I Get A Notice?
Whichever notice you do receive, it’s important that you read every word carefully to understand what exactly the notice is saying, what additional documents and information they are asking you to provide, and how to go about doing so. If they are requesting a document that you cannot provide, you must give them a valid reason for why you are not including it.
Lastly, we cannot stress enough the importance of returning your documents by the USCIS-imposed deadline. When you mail it, make a photocopy of everything for your own safekeeping and get a tracking number for it so you can ensure it was delivered safely.
While some government notices may be more serious than others, there’s a lot of things that can go wrong when you try to respond by yourself. Ultimately, hiring a seasoned immigration attorney who can review your unique case for free can take the worry and stress off your shoulders and allow you to be confident in the final outcome of your immigration application.
We’re ready to hear your story. Contact Maney Gordon Zeller at (800) 708-4399 to speak with our caring legal team for free today.
