dismissed
EB-1A
dismissed EB-1A Case: Unknown
Decision Summary
The appeal was rejected as untimely filed. The petitioner's counsel sent the appeal to the AAO instead of the service center, causing it to be received by the correct office 43 days after the decision was issued, exceeding the 33-day filing deadline. The appeal did not meet the requirements to be treated as a motion to reopen or reconsider.
Criteria Discussed
Timeliness Of Appeal
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identifying data deleted to prevent clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privac> PUBLlCCOPY U.S. Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) 20 Massachusetts Ave .. N.W .. MS 2090 Washington, DC 20529-2090 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services DATE: Office: TEXAS SERVICE CENTER FILE: APR 1 9 20\1 SRC 08 087 53783 IN RE: Petitioner: Beneficiary: PETITION: Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker as an Alien of Extraordinary Ability Pursuant to Section 203(b)(1)(A) ofthe Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 USc. § 1153(b)(I)(A) ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER: INSTRUCTIONS: Enclosed please t,nd the decision of the Administrative Appeals Office in your case. All of the documents related to this matter have been returned to the office that originally decided your case. Please be advised that any further inquiry that you might have concerning your case must be made to that office. If you believe the law was inappropriately applied by us in reaching our decision, or you have additional information that you wish to have considered, you may file a motion to reconsider or a motion to reopen. The specitlc requirements for tiling such a request can be found at 8 C.F.R. § 103.5. All motions must be submitted to the office that originally decided your case by tiling a Fonn 1-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion, with a fee of $630. Please be aware that 8 C.F.R. § 103.5(a)(I)(i) requires that any motion must be filed within 30 days of the decision that the motion seeks to reconsider or reopen. Thank you, .AI O/11//N~ f Perry Rhew i'Chief, Administrative Appeals Ollice www.uscis.gov Page 2 DISCUSSION: The Director, Texas Service Center, denied the immigrant visa petition. The matter is now before the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) on appeal. The appeal will be rejected as untimely filed. The regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 103.2(a)(1) provides: General. Every application, petition, appeal, motion, request, or other document submitted on the form prescribed by this chapter ... must be filed with the location and executed in accordance with the instructions on the form, such instructions being hereby incorporated into the particular section of the regulations .... As it pertains to the proper filing of an appeal, the regulation at 8 C.F.R. § I 03.3(a)(2)(i) provides: Filing Appeal. The affected party shall file an appeal on Form I-290B. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the affected party must pay the fee required by §103.7 of this part. The affected party shall file the complete appeal including any supporting brief with the office where the unfavorable decision was made within 30 days after service of the decision. If the decision was mailed, the appeal must be filed within 33 days. See 8 C.F.R. § 103.5a(b). The date of filing is not the date of mailing, but the date of actual receipt with the required fee. See 8 C.F.R. § 103.2(a)(7)(i). The record indicates that the director issued the decision on December IS, 2009. It is noted that the director properly gave notice to the petitioner that it had 33 days to tile the appeal and listed the proper fee for an appeal. The notice further advised: "Your notice of appeal must be filed with this office at the address at the top of this page." The notice concluded: "The appeal may not be filed directly with the Administrative Appeals Office. The appeal must be filed at the address at the top of this page." (Bold emphasis in original.) Counsel dated the appeal January 15,2010. However, despite the clear instructions in the director's notice and on the Form I-290B, counsel sent the appeal to the AAO. On January 20, 2010, the AAO returned the appeal as improperly filed with the wrong office. The appeal was received by the director on January 27, 2010, 43 days after the decision was issued. Accordingly, the appeal was untimely filed. Neither the Act nor the pertinent regulations grant the AAO authority to extend the 33-day time limit for filing an appeal. The regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 103.3(a)(2)(v)(B)(2) states that, if an untimely appeal meets the requirements of a motion to reopen or a motion to reconsider, the appeal must be treated as a motion, and a decision must be made on the merits of the case. A motion to reopen must state the new facts to be proved in the reopened proceeding and, when filed, be supported by affidavits or other documentary evidence. 8 C.F.R. § 103.5(a)(2). A motion to reconsider must state the reasons for reconsideration and be supported by any pertinent precedent Page 3 decisions to establish that the decision was based on an incorrect application of law or Service policy. A motion to reconsider a decision on an application or petition must, when filed, also establish that the decision was incorrect based on the evidence of record at the time of the initial decision. 8 C.F.R. § 103.5(a)(3). A motion that does not meet applicable requirements when filed shall be dismissed. 8 C.F.R. § 103.5(a)(4). Here, the untimely appeal did not meet the requirements of a motion to reopen or a motion to reconsider when it was filed. Therefore, there is no requirement to treat the appeal as a motion under 8 C.F.R. § 103.3(a)(2)(v)(B)(2). As the appeal was untimely filed and does not qualify as a motion, the appeal must be rejected. ORDER: The appeal is rejected.
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