Request for Initial Evidence

[KatieMay 0]

Hi All

I received the dreaded pink 'Request for Initial Evidence' letter last week which has put me in a bit of a tizzy (I thought it was my initial interview letter! boo)

I am a UK citizen, my husband is American, we have been living in the UK for three years until April when we came to the USA for a visit and then applied for an AOS based on a change in circumstances since. My husband was offered a job in July here in the USA - that was the change in circumstance.

Because this job is new, we didn't have '6 months of pay stubs' for him as my sponsor so we included a joint sponsor who well-over-exceeded the poverty level requirements.

The pink letter is requesting a letter of employment for my husband (which we should have included originally I guess, but didn't - we have it now to include) and.. the clincher - pay stubs or other documentation of pay for the previous 6 months.

We do not have this 6 months of evidence - only a few pay slips since he started working here in July. Is it sufficient enough to include the letter of employment, these payslips and then another letter to draw attention to the fact that we DID include a joint sponsor because we knew the evidence wasn't sufficient?

My husband did not have a job back in the UK, I was the main earner there. I can include bank statements to show that there was money earned previously but it was done under my name on a contract basis (so there are no 'pay stubs')

Thanks!

Katie

[payxibka 10,045]

I don't know if it is OK or not but you can only provide what you have... If you are short requested evidence then a brief factual explanation is not out of the question.

[KatieMay 0]

I don't know if it is OK or not but you can only provide what you have... If you are short requested evidence then a brief factual explanation is not out of the question.

Thanks fwaguy - you're right, I just don't have anything else to include. I'm concerned that they won't read my 'explanation' as it seems like they didn't read the joint sponsor form we included the first time round! haha

Here's hoping - thanks for your response

[KatieMay 0]

sorry.. one more question..

Should I include another copy of our joint-sponsor's form? They have not asked for it and it may not be that they didn't see the form, it could just be they want to check we're not lying on my husband's (seeing we didn't include any evidence about his job at all) ..?

Has this ever happened to anyone else?

I have written the following in the letter to them, perhaps it will suffice?:

A gentleman behind the counter at the USCIS suggested that, because we don’t have 6 months of evidence, we include a joint sponsor and that is why an additional form with tax return evidence, submitted by our close family friend, *their name here*, was included with the original application.

(it is true about the immigration officer by the way haha!)

[kumarkitty 0]

Hi All

I received the dreaded pink 'Request for Initial Evidence' letter last week which has put me in a bit of a tizzy (I thought it was my initial interview letter! boo)

I am a UK citizen, my husband is American, we have been living in the UK for three years until April when we came to the USA for a visit and then applied for an AOS based on a change in circumstances since. My husband was offered a job in July here in the USA - that was the change in circumstance.

Because this job is new, we didn't have '6 months of pay stubs' for him as my sponsor so we included a joint sponsor who well-over-exceeded the poverty level requirements.

The pink letter is requesting a letter of employment for my husband (which we should have included originally I guess, but didn't - we have it now to include) and.. the clincher - pay stubs or other documentation of pay for the previous 6 months.

We do not have this 6 months of evidence - only a few pay slips since he started working here in July. Is it sufficient enough to include the letter of employment, these payslips and then another letter to draw attention to the fact that we DID include a joint sponsor because we knew the evidence wasn't sufficient?

My husband did not have a job back in the UK, I was the main earner there. I can include bank statements to show that there was money earned previously but it was done under my name on a contract basis (so there are no 'pay stubs')

Thanks!

Katie

iwas more or less in the same boat .i had an rfe for more proof from the household member for the affidavit of support.there were things i could get for the respons,but, there we things i could not .so i posted here and i called the immigration service, and the officer told me she would send what was available for me and if they need anyhting more, they would let me know. and i think so far so good .my case has been transferred to california .so , just go ahead and send what you have and pray things will go allright.

[KatieMay 0]

thank you kumarkitty - I'm definitely doing lots of praying!

[SonoranSongbird 3]

I don't know for sure if that will be okay, but I think it should. What I think happened is they sent the request because your husband is the primary sponsor so even with a cosponsor, they want that type of evidence. The request, I assume, is computer generated, so it is automatically going to ask for 6 months of paystubs. If you send back what you've suggested---an employer letter that gives his start date, however many paystubs you do have, and a note explaining that you only have stubs since July because that is when he started and that you included information about a cosponsor for that reason---I think you should be fine. If they have any concerns about the stability of your husband's job because he just started, that's what having a cosponsor addresses.

[SonoranSongbird 3]

Forgot to add--I think you will be okay with just mentioning the joint sponsor in your explanation, the way you have written it here. It wouldn't hurt to send their information again, but I don't think you need to. I think they asked because your husband is the primary sponsor, not because they lost what you already sent.

[sweetpiano 0]

Our situation was more or less similar to yours: I applied for AOS in April-08 and my husband started his job here in Feb-08, so we only had 2 months of pay stubs, which we sent. We then received an RFIE in May for letter of employment (which we forgot to include, just like you ) and 6 months pay stubs. We sent the letter, but obviously not enough pay stubs. So what we did was wait until the end of May so we had a total of 4 pay stubs, which we sent and that was accepted. Take a look at my timeline to get an idea.

If you are given 87 days to respond to the RFIE, I suggest you wait until the end of September so you at least have 3 paystubs (july, aug, sep). I know it delays your case, but it might be worth a try, if you're not short of money and can wait on your EAD. Unfortunately they want to see that your husband's job is permanent and likely to continue in the future, even if you already have a joint sponsor.

Here's some tips on assembling an RFE response.

Good luck!

How_to_prepare_RFE_response.pdf

Edited September 9, 2008 by sweetpiano

[KatieMay 0]

Thanks everyone

the tips are great

I guess we should just hold out and have a few more pay stubs .. I'm just so anxious to get this all under way - but yeah, that makes sense

thanks!!!