what would happen if you ignore a rfe?

[Kajikit 65]

This is NOT me... I got my greencard last week. A friend of mine came to the US a few months before I did and she applied for AOS in March 2005. A few months ago they sent her a RFE for a new medical exam, saying that hers was too old and she had to have another one. Nothing more was said until the other day when I mentioned that I got my greencard (hooray) and she said that it's not fair she applied first and she still hadn't heard anything... and then she said that for various complicated reasons that I won't go into here, she IGNORED THE RFE! She thinks that since she had her medical exam in France that's enough and that somehow they'll accept the old one in lieu of a re-exam...

What is going to happen to her next week when her time for filling the RFE is up and she hasn't done it? Can you submit the form late and have them still accept it? Or is it a case of 'times up, you're out of here'... she thinks that she'll be okay but I've got a terrible feeling that the next time I hear from her it'll be her saying that she's been denied and deported (I KNOW she doesn't have the money for appeals and laywers, and I don't think 'we couldn't afford the medical' counts as a good excuse for not getting it...)

Also, if she did get denied and deported, would she and her daughter (born here) ever be allowed back into the US to visit the kid's grandparents?

Edited January 29, 2006 by Kajikit

[gimygirl 0]

she may get denied like anastasia.

guess she will have to wait until next week to find out!!! let us know if the 'various complicated reasons' for not answering the RFE affected the outcome at all!

[den_y2005 0]

they might deny your application

[hcj 0]

Completely ignoring an RFE will almost certainly get the AOS application denied.

At the least maybe she should write a letter pleading extenuating circumstances and let them know the medical exam is coming. And hope and pray that they accept the late medical exam.

But why do it late? Make the appointment and do it before the RFE due date.

Or, if she intends to not fulfill the RFE, I would think she needs to let them know her reasoning behind not complying with it instead of just ignoring it. She should seek an attorney's advice in composing her response so she can make some good legal arguments for why she should not have to submit an additional medical exam. Of course, it's probably cheaper to just go get the exam.

[Jasman0717 9]

They will most likely reject the petition after a period of time and then would consider the beneficiary out of status.

[sjoefl01 1]

It seems pretty foolish to go this far and then throw the whole thing away. I can't imagine what your friend is thinking.

[Steffi 0]

Like everyone else already said, I'll also chime in and say that she will probably get a "DENIED" letter very soon if she does not turn in her RFE! Like leaveing the US without an AP they would probably consider it an abondonment of her application. And like gimygirl already stated, look at Anastassia! She just got denied because she sent in the vaccination supplement only vs. the whole medical (because even the 800 number told her that it was ok). So I would tell your friend to get the medical done NOW or she can wave "bye. bye" to her husband very soon. The cost of getting deported will certainly not measure up to the cost of the medical, so even if she says she's poor she better make sure she finds the money somewhere.

[kc456 0]

Not advisable. If necessary, it's better to put the medical exam costs on a credit card. We did not have the money excuse would not work -- that's why USCIS have minimum poverty guidelines.

[smoochies 0]

I'd have to agree, she will likely be denied. I have to admit though, I am curious to know what these "various complicated reasons" are that would keep a person from completing the process after coming this far...

[Kajikit 65]

That's what I tried to tell her, folks... I was quite frankly horrified that she left it this long - when we got our RFE for a medical I jumped up and down whining about how it 'wasn't fair' for about ten minutes, and then I picked up the phone and booked an appointment for the next week. There was no way on earth I was going to take the chance of not getting it sorted out in time!

But I can see her viewpoint too - they're very young and they have a baby daughter and her husband lost his job just afer she was born and they've had no income for over six months and she JUST managed to find a job last week so she's still doing the training and she said she has to be in class from 8-5 every day without fail or they'll fire her on the spot... She probably had other things on her mind than immigration... If she'd asked me three weeks ago I would have sent her a check on the spot, but it's too late now... anyway, it's their life and it's up to her to decide what to do when she gets that denial letter. She lives two hundred miles away but I suspect I'll hear her screams of despair from here

[Kez/JWolf 6]

I am sure we all will......

All the Civil Surgeons I called when looking for the best price had appointments available in the evenings and some even at weekends....

Kezzie

[xtin 0]

I got an RFE November before my medical exam expires. Actually, I received the letter 2 weeks before it expires. I will have my medical exam tomorrow hopefully & my last day submission of of RFE will be this coming wednesday. So i might be 1 day late, i dont know. Anyway, i understand Kajikit's friend. Immigration is not the first priority maybe that time he/she receive the letter.

i hope your friend will be alright.

xtin

[kc456 0]

I'd be careful about sending it late. It's best to send it in the timeframe USCIS required.

[sjoefl01 1]

It soesn't sound like the husband is pulling his weight. There aren't many excuses for going 6 months witout work in America. Maybe they can't get the job he wants but anything is better than nothing.

Hopefully she doesn't mess around and get deported. If that happens it will be a nightmare to come back.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

We ingnored an RFE. Ok. it actually never got to us (lost in the mail or never sent?). So when we went to get an interim EAD they told us that our case was on 'hold' for an unanswered RFE. We didn't get the EAD either. I was told to get the evidence in quick before the case was denied. I ended up writing the NBC to have the RFE resent and our case got rolling again.

We didn't answer the RFE until 2 months after the RFE deadline. There is time.

Edited January 30, 2006 by rch99