RFE from California Center

[go west young man 0]

Hello everyone!

My name is Elena, I come from Russia. My husband Chris and I have just received RFE from California Center. This is our I-751 story.

We filed for Removal of Conditions on August 3 2007, received NOA on August 24, and got the Biometrics done in September. It all went exceptionally well, we even got redirected to California from Texas Center. But... today we received RFE. This is what our evidence package consisted of:

Table of Contents

1. Chris’s Documents.

a) Chris’s mortgage documents for 105 Bridgewater Circle (mortgage was established before Elena’s immigration to the U.S.A.);

B) Chris’s Social Security Statement (sent to Elena and Chris’s residential address);

c) Bill from Comcast (sent to Elena and Chris’s residential address);

d) W-2 from (Chris’s verification of employment at Jekyll Island Club Hotel);

e) Automobile insurance for 2 vehicles in Chris’s name;

f) Receipt from Adelphia (sent to Elena and Chris’s residential address);

g) Receipt from zZounds (sent to Elena and Chris’s residential address);

h) Receipt from Hitachi (sent to Elena and Chris’s residential address).

2. Elena’s Documents.

a) Copy of the Permanent Resident Card;

B) Copy of Elena’s passport front page and copy of Elena’s CR-1 visa;

c) 401 (k) enrollment letter to Elena from Sea Island Company;

d) Elena’s paychecks from Sea Island Company sent to Elena and Chris’s residential address;

e) Elena’s receipt from ProZ Translators Workplace (sent to Elena and Chris’s residential address);

f) Elena’s resume (Elena and Chris’s residential address);

g) Elena’s W-2 form from Pearl Enterprises, Inc. (sent to Elena and Chris’s residential address);

h) Elena’s statement of dental services (sent to Elena and Chris’s residential address);

i) Elena’s notary stamp order receipt (Chris and Elena’s residential address);

j) Elena Suntrust Bank statements (sent to Elena and Chris’s residential address);

3. Proof of joint accounts and responsibilities.

a) Joint tax return forms 2005 and 2006;

B) Elena’s life insurance form listing Chris as primary beneficiary;

c) Elena’s health insurance verification form listing Chris as beneficiary;

d) Joint Suntrust credit card documents; joint credit line agreement;

e) Elena and Chris’s driver’s licenses showing the same address;

f) Elena and Chris’s marriage certificate.

4. Sworn Affidavits.

a) Sworn Affidavit of Valerie Harrison, Chris’ mother, real estate agent;

B) Sworn Affidavit of Houston Vissage, family friend, Concierge, Cloister Hotel;

5. Photo evidence, personal evidence and vacation itineraries and receipts.

a) Article on Chris and Elena published in the local Sea Island Family magazine;

B) Flight itinerary for Chris and Elena’s family trip to UK in December 2005;

c) Flight itinerary and Chris’s Russian visa documents for Chris and Elena’s family trip to Russia in May 2006.

d) Flight itinerary and airplane tickets for Elena and Chris’s trip to Buffalo, NY, and Toronto, Canada, in February 2007.

e) Carnival Cruises documentation (family cruises of 2006 and 2007);

f) Photos:

 Cape Canaveral (November 2005, 2 pictures);

 Carnival Glory Cruise (October 2006, 2 pictures);

 Niagara Falls (February 2007, 2 pictures);

 Russian trip (April 2007, 2 pictures);

 Canoeing in Jupiter Island, Fl (May 2007, 2 pictures);

 Miami Beach (May 2007);

 Disneyworld Magic Kingdom (July 2007);

 Carnival Celebration Cruise (July 2007).

We thought it was enough - it obviously wasn't. On top of that, our RFE letter doesn't really specify what they need. It looks like they need everything sent to them one more time. They also require notarized copies of our driver's licenses, as well as a notarized letter from Chris "describing his wishes to pursue this application and detail the current status of the relationship". To make everything even worse, the address specified in RFE does not match our residential address. They got the wrong zip code!!! has anyone been in the same situation? We don't really know where to start. I am under impression, that the address was initially typed in wrong by one of the USCIS representatives, and now the information that they have does not match the information on the documents that we submitted. Should we fisrt call them? Or ask for Info pass? We can resubmit the same documents, but what if they have a different address, and it won't match again?

Thank you very much, any advice will be appreciated.

Good luck to everybody waiting for their green cards, and Happy Holidays!

[Jasman0717 9]

Send them what they are asking for

[go west young man 0]

Send them what they are asking for

But they also ask for joint financial dosuments, (all of them), affidavits, and proof of residence. We already sent all of that. And should we ask people who wrote affidavits to rewrite them and renotarize them?

[jsnearline 2]

Send them what they are asking for

Jim, Is that what you would really do if you were in the OP's shoes? Something tells me you'd do your homework and figure out exactly what they need - especially in light of your recent experience with having your I-751 rejected.

If the address on the notice is wrong, I suggest setting up an InfoPass appointment and try to get clarification on what the problem is. It wouldn't make any sense to guess and get denied as a result.

Edited December 14, 2007 by jsnearline

[Spiderette 0]

The most important things they ask for are:

- Lease of joint tenancy or joint ownership of assets. (you’re not on a lease together, Chris owns both cars)

- Joint mortgage agreement and/or property deed (mortgage is in Chris’ name)

- Tax returns (this you do have)

- Birth certificates of any children born from the marriage (you have no children, right?)

- Joint policies of life, medical, and/or car insurance. (Car insurance is in Chris’ name… you don’t have joint life policies, you have not shown to be the beneficiary on any of Chris’ polices!, only he is on YOUR policies – that is not joint)

So of the 5 most important things they ask for, you have only provided 1.

If I was you, I would

1) give them a reason why you are not on the mortgage

2) give them a reason why Chris owns both cars

3) become the beneficiary on Chris’ life/insurance policies

4) and… have babies 

Seriously, good luck and I hope my insight helps your case.

(PS, this is my personal advice, this is not legal advice)

Good luck!!

[go west young man 0]

Thank you guys for your kind words!

We didn't expect that at all, and Christmas is around the corner .

We called Customer Service today, and the agent told us, that "the wrong address is a minor mistake, and it is not the reason for RFE". he also told us to attach a note with the right address when we are ready to resend the package. The weird part is that the official NOA receipts have the right address, it's only RFE letter that has it wrong.

Anyways, since we filed I-751 many things have changed. We moved to NC, so now we do have a rental agreement with both of our names on it, as well as Alltel car insurance with both of our names (I had to renew my Driver's License, and NC state law requires liability insuranse, so we changed it). I guess that's a big plus. We just feel very discouraged, because we do have a real marriage, and it is very disappointing that instead of getting ready for Christmas and New Year's, we have to get the second package ready for USCIS.

Thank you for your support,

Elena and Chris

[tom&tata 2]

Do you have joint bank account ? Apology if this was included in original petition but I didn't see it. If not, open a joint bank account or add each other on your individual account.

[Wild Wind 0]

Do you have joint bank account ? Apology if this was included in original petition but I didn't see it. If not, open a joint bank account or add each other on your individual account.

My wife isn't on my mortgage but I added her to my homeowner policy which I submitted, she also has her own separate bank account showing the same address, she is working full time, and we sent in her latest pay statement, no drivers license but a DMV ID card. We sent in 3 unsolicited thank you notes from neighbor, friend and family member and a letter from her employer none notarized. Tax returns none but sent in IRS tax transcript. Plus the regular stuff, pictures of both families together, trips itineraries, green card, 401/457 beneficiary, health and dental benefits etc.Just approved Dec. 11th. Good Luck

[tmman 0]

hi, you don`t need to send all those documents u mentioned...just few well chosen and organised documents will be sufficent...for example, copy of both driver license shwing same address, joint bank account, car insurance in both names, health insurance both names, taxes ..w2, credit cards in both names.. pictures of when u first get married and recent ones especially with familly...and so on....hope that helps

[Jasman0717 9]

Send them what they are asking for

Jim, Is that what you would really do if you were in the OP's shoes? Something tells me you'd do your homework and figure out exactly what they need - especially in light of your recent experience with having your I-751 rejected.

If the address on the notice is wrong, I suggest setting up an InfoPass appointment and try to get clarification on what the problem is. It wouldn't make any sense to guess and get denied as a result.

Yep, not sense arguing with them. My I-751 was rejected because I made a boneheaded mistake. I have since fixed that....in essence, sent them what they asked for

An additional point to think about is if they are asking for documentation you don't have or can't provide write a letter explaining why. As an example, I didn't put Claudeth on the trust deed because she is the primary beneficiary in my living trust and will.

Edited December 14, 2007 by jasman0717

[spmalone 0]

Send them what they are asking for

Jim, Is that what you would really do if you were in the OP's shoes? Something tells me you'd do your homework and figure out exactly what they need - especially in light of your recent experience with having your I-751 rejected.

If the address on the notice is wrong, I suggest setting up an InfoPass appointment and try to get clarification on what the problem is. It wouldn't make any sense to guess and get denied as a result.

Yep, not sense arguing with them. My I-751 was rejected because I made a boneheaded mistake. I have since fixed that....in essence, sent them what they asked for

An additional point to think about is if they are asking for documentation you don't have or can't provide write a letter explaining why. As an example, I didn't put Claudeth on the trust deed because she is the primary beneficiary in my living trust and will.

My wife just received her Green Card this week. We also went through CSC and we also got a RFE. We started in late June and sent in the information requested with several affidavits. I looked on the web the requirements for affidavits made a little form and had people fill out the form and added there opion of us as a couple. No interview, no updates on the web, the card just showed up. My wife is not on the mortgage, or on most of those things because I had everything before we were married. I hope this helps you feel a little better.

[Spiderette 0]

To be fair, jasman's application was not REJECTED.. it was just returned

[go west young man 0]

You are a great help, guys!

This is what our plan is:

1. As requested, we'll send them a notarized letter from my husband, as well as notarized copies of our driver's licenses.

2. Allstate car insurance with both names.

3. Rental agreement with both names.

4. And guess we'll have to add our names to each other's bank accounts.

5. 4 or 5 affdavits.

What do you think?

[jsnearline 2]

That's what a rejection is. It means they return the packet to you without receipting it. It is not the same as a denial.

When someone asks for advice because they don't understand what is being asked of them, it's not really helpful advice to simply tell them to "give them what they want". if you get a notice from USCIS that you don't understand or think is too vague, you can at least try to get them to clarify it by making an InfoPass appointment.

After my wife's AOS interview early last year, we got a notice telling us to appear for biometrics. She had already done her biometrics and they had not expired, so we wondered if they'd sent the notice by mistake. We wrote a letter to the officer who interviewed us and asked for clarification. He called my wife and explained to her that her biometrics weren't in the computer for some reason so she had to redo them, but that she was approved. Knowing she was approved made the trip to get biometrics redone a little easier. It never hurts to ask if you don't know what they want or why they want it.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

You are a great help, guys!

This is what our plan is:

1. As requested, we'll send them a notarized letter from my husband, as well as notarized copies of our driver's licenses.

2. Allstate car insurance with both names.

3. Rental agreement with both names.

4. And guess we'll have to add our names to each other's bank accounts.

5. 4 or 5 affdavits.

What do you think?

Sounds good to me -- send what they are asking for.

Good luck, L.