Success in responding to a denial of an I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, that was denied due to USCIS error

We assisted our client, a U.S. citizen, in filing an I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, for his wife. Approximately 8 months after filing the petition we received notice that the case had been transferred to another USCIS service center. Three months later we received a denial notice giving the reason for denial as no record of a response to a Request for Evidence (RFE). The denial notice stated that the RFE was issued on a date that was a few weeks prior to the notice of the case transfer. We contacted USCIS and subsequently submitted an inquiry with the  USCIS Ombudsman’s Office because we had no record of the client or our law office receiving an RFE. We also filed a motion to reopen the case. The Ombudsman’s Office eventually informed us that, upon contacting USCIS on our behalf, that the case was being reopened as it appeared to USCIS that the initial RFE was never mailed. The RFE was re-ordered by USCIS and subsequently received. The passport photos requested in the RFE were provided and we requested the adjudication be expedited due to clear USCIS error. The petition was approved as was an I-485 subsequent petition for the beneficiary.