New York · est. 2013Saturday, September 5, 2026
Inside Immigration

Plain-language guides to US immigration, asylum and USCIS procedure.

Forms

I-290B Notice of Appeal or Motion

Appeals a USCIS denial to the Administrative Appeals Office, or asks the deciding office to reopen or reconsider its own decision. It must be filed within 30 days of the decision, or 33 if the decision was mailed. Which route it takes depends on the form that was denied.

Fee
$800. $0 for Special Immigrant Juveniles, T and U applicants, VAWA self-petitioners, Cuban Adjustment Act and HRIFA abused spouses and children, Afghan and Iraqi special immigrants, first appeals of certain denied Afghan parole requests, and I-751 battery-or-extreme-cruelty waivers, in each case within the limits set out in the fee schedule.
Fee waiver
Available (Form I-912)
Who files
The applicant or petitioner whose case USCIS denied, or their representative.
Where to file
By mail to the USCIS lockbox named in the instructions; it goes first to the office that made the decision.

Usually filed with

Part of these processes

What changed in 2025 and 2026

  • An I-130 denial does not go here - it goes to the BIA on Form EOIR-29. Missing the 30-day deadline usually means refiling the underlying application rather than appealing.

Official page. https://www.uscis.gov/i-290b. Download the form there, never from a third-party site; check the edition date and fee before filing.