DC Federal Litigation Federal Court Litigation · Denied P-1, O-1 and EB-1A Petitions

I-290B — Paid Consultation on Appealing or Reopening a USCIS Denial

A paid consultation with Sherrod Seward, Esq. on a denied P-1, O-1 or EB-1A petition — and on whether a complaint in federal district court beats every route on the form.

$500 consultation — Credited in full against the fee for the engagement if this office is engaged on the matter. The $500 is the fee for the consultation itself and for the written summary that follows it. It is not a retainer, and it does not include preparing or filing an appeal or a motion on Form I-290B, a response to a Request for Evidence or a Notice of Intent to Deny, a new or refiled petition, or a complaint in federal district court - each of those is separately scoped and separately quoted. USCIS filing fees and federal court filing fees are not included and are payable to the government, not to this office. Government, agency and court filing fees, and any agency search, review or duplication fees, are separate from this fee and are payable to the government.

Form I-290B is not one thing. It is three different filings on one form, decided on different standards, and choosing wrong costs you the deadline. It also is not the only option: an extraordinary-ability denial can be challenged by a complaint in federal district court, and this office has filed those. That is the practice — denied P-1, O-1 and EB-1A petitions, taken to federal court where the record supports it. You will leave the call knowing why yours was refused, which route actually fits, and what each costs.

Prefer to speak to someone first? +1 (202) 999-3631

Request the consultation

Six fields. About a minute.

USCIS — and the service centre that issued the decision, plus the receipt number if the notice is to hand.

By sending this you agree to be contacted about this enquiry. Sending this form does not create an attorney-client relationship. No attorney-client relationship is formed until this office and you have signed a written engagement agreement.

Bring the call one of these

  • You have a denial notice and thirty days that started running when it was issued.
  • You cannot tell whether you need an appeal, a motion to reopen, or a motion to reconsider.
  • You were denied without ever receiving a Request for Evidence.
  • You have new evidence now that you did not have when you filed.
  • You think the officer applied the wrong legal standard to the record you gave them.

How it runs

  1. Send the enquiryThe form below. Six fields, about a minute.
  2. Pay the consultation fee$500, on the firm's secure payment page. Credited in full against the fee for the engagement if this office is engaged on the matter.
  3. The consultationThe call itself. Bring the request, the response letter and the envelope — deadlines run from what the paper says.
  4. A written summaryWhat was decided, what the next step is, and the date it has to happen by.

Questions people actually ask

What do I actually get for the fee?

The $500 is the fee for the consultation itself and for the written summary that follows it. It is not a retainer, and it does not include preparing or filing an appeal or a motion on Form I-290B, a response to a Request for Evidence or a Notice of Intent to Deny, a new or refiled petition, or a complaint in federal district court - each of those is separately scoped and separately quoted. USCIS filing fees and federal court filing fees are not included and are payable to the government, not to this office.

Is this legal advice?

The consultation is. This page is not — it is general information about federal practice, and reading it creates no relationship with this office. Sending this form does not create an attorney-client relationship. No attorney-client relationship is formed until this office and you have signed a written engagement agreement.

Can you tell me what my chances are?

You will get a candid assessment of what your record supports and where it is thin, which is the useful version of that question. What you will not get is a percentage. Every matter is decided on its own record by a government officer or a judge, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

What happens if you cannot help?

You will be told so on the call, and told where the matter actually belongs. That happens often enough to be worth saying out loud.

Appeal, motion to reopen, or motion to reconsider — what is the difference?

An appeal asks the Administrative Appeals Office to review the decision. A motion to reopen is based on NEW facts that were not before the officer. A motion to reconsider argues the officer misapplied the law to the record that was already there. They are decided by different bodies on different standards, and the strongest argument on one can be irrelevant on another. Picking correctly is most of the work.

USCIS denied my case without sending a Request for Evidence first. Can they do that?

Under the policy USCIS announced on 5 August 2026, officers have discretion to deny a request without first issuing a Request for Evidence or a Notice of Intent to Deny where the filing did not establish eligibility or did not include required initial evidence. That policy is effective immediately and applies to requests that were already pending, not only to new ones. Whether it was correctly applied to your filing is a separate question, and it is one worth examining.

$500. Credited in full against the fee for the engagement if this office is engaged on the matter.

Request the consultation

One consultation with the attorney$500, credited to the engagement
Request the consultation