The Cost of Mistakes: Why DIY Immigration Petitions Frequently Face Rejection
An immigration filing may affect whether you can reunite with family, pursue an opportunity, or continue building your life in the United States. When you handle an immigration petition on your own, mistakes involving signatures, fees, form editions, filing procedures, or required information can result in rejection or create other problems with your case. Correcting those mistakes can cost valuable time and may interfere with plans that depend on your immigration process moving forward.
At PVB Law LLC, we help clients understand what their immigration filings require and identify potential problems before submission. From our office in Augusta, Georgia, we serve clients in Augusta and Atlanta. If you are preparing an immigration petition or have encountered a problem with a filing, we can review your circumstances and explain your options.
What Mistakes Can Cause an Immigration Filing to Be Rejected?
USCIS can reject certain filings at intake when they do not satisfy applicable filing requirements. Common problems include using an unacceptable form edition, omitting a required signature, submitting an incorrect fee, or failing to follow the filing instructions for the particular form.
Potential filing problems include:
Using an unacceptable form edition: USCIS specifies which editions of its forms it will accept.
Missing required signatures: An unsigned form can be rejected when a signature is required.
Submitting an incorrect fee: Filing with the wrong required fee can result in rejection.
Using the wrong filing location or procedure: Filing instructions may specify where and how a particular request must be submitted.
Leaving required information incomplete: Missing information can create problems with processing or adjudication.
Submitting insufficient evidence: Depending on the filing and circumstances, missing required evidence can result in a request for evidence, denial, or another case-processing issue.
Providing inconsistent information: Conflicting information can raise questions that may need to be addressed during adjudication.
A rejection is not the same as a denial or a Request for Evidence. A rejection generally means USCIS did not accept the filing for processing because it failed to meet an applicable intake requirement. A denial occurs after USCIS adjudicates a request and determines that the applicable requirements have not been met. An RFE gives you an opportunity to provide additional evidence before USCIS makes its decision.
Before filing, confirm that you are following USCIS's current requirements for your specific form. The agency's official filing guidance provides information on form editions, filing locations, fees, signatures, and other submission requirements.
How Can DIY Filing Mistakes Cost You?
The cost of a filing mistake is not limited to money. If USCIS rejects a submission, correcting the issue and resubmitting can take time and may affect plans that depend on the filing being properly received.
A rejected filing may require you to determine why USCIS did not accept it, correct the issue, confirm that you are using the current form and fee, and resubmit the filing. This can be particularly important when a filing is connected to a deadline, expiration date, or another immigration matter.
Other mistakes may not cause an intake rejection but can create problems later. Incomplete evidence, inconsistent answers, or information that conflicts with prior immigration records may result in additional scrutiny, an RFE, or an adverse decision depending on the circumstances.
Before resubmitting a rejected filing, it is important to understand why it was rejected rather than simply resubmitting the same materials. Through our immigration services, we can review your filing and help you identify any issues that may need correction or further attention.
When Are DIY Immigration Filing Mistakes More Likely?
Not every immigration matter presents the same level of complexity. A filing that appears straightforward on the form itself may become more complicated due to your immigration history, prior filings, criminal history, or other facts specific to your case.
Additional care may be warranted when your situation involves:
Previous immigration filings: Information in a new filing may need to be consistent with information previously provided to immigration authorities.
Prior denials or rejections: The reason for an earlier adverse decision or rejected filing may affect what you should do next.
Changes in personal circumstances: Marriage, divorce, employment changes, or other developments may affect certain immigration matters.
Prior immigration violations: Your immigration history may affect eligibility or the appropriate filing strategy.
Criminal history: Certain arrests, charges, or convictions can have immigration consequences depending on the circumstances.
Requests for Evidence: An RFE identifies evidence or information USCIS believes is needed to adjudicate the pending request.
Time-sensitive filings: Missing an applicable deadline can have consequences that cannot necessarily be fixed simply by resubmitting paperwork.
These circumstances do not automatically mean that your immigration goal is unavailable. They do mean that determining the correct filing strategy may require more than following the boxes and instructions printed on a form.
How Can PVB Law LLC Help Before You File?
We can review your circumstances before you submit an immigration petition and identify issues that may affect the filing. That can include reviewing forms for consistency, determining what supporting documentation may be required, and considering how prior immigration matters relate to the request you are preparing.
Immigration forms are designed for many different applicants, but your facts determine how immigration law applies to you. A question that appears simple on a form may have consequences that are not obvious from the wording alone.
If you have already prepared your filing, we can review it before submission and discuss concerns that may need to be addressed. If USCIS has rejected a filing, issued an RFE, or denied an immigration benefit, we can review the notice and help you understand what options may be available based on the specific circumstances.
Get Your Immigration Petition Right the First Time
Preparing an immigration petition yourself may initially seem to save money, but avoidable filing mistakes can cost you time and complicate an immigration process that may already be affecting important parts of your life. Understanding the applicable form, fee, evidence, and filing requirements before submission can reduce the risk of preventable problems.
At PVB Law LLC, we help clients evaluate immigration matters and prepare filings based on their individual circumstances. We have focused our practice on immigration and international law for decades, including family and employment-based immigration, citizenship, and deportation matters.
From our office in Augusta, Georgia, we serve clients in Augusta and Atlanta. Contact our immigration attorney to schedule a consultation to discuss your immigration petition before you file, or to review your options after encountering a filing problem.