worried about RFE letter

[bigdog 376]

Hi all,

I'm turning to the VJ crowd once more for good advice. Here's my situation :

* got K1-visa, got married to a US girl (12-08), obtained conditional green card (4-09)

* relationship ended soon after (9-09). We haven't lived together since, but remain married and filed jointly to remove conditions (4-11). We are still good friends but have not been romantic in any way for almost 2 years now.

I now received a Request for Evidence. I don't know what to make of it and am feeling quite stressed out. My questions:

* What does this letter mean??

* Is this where I should really hire a lawyer? (which I can't really afford, though I probably make too much to qualify for low-income anything)

The letter :

<<<<<

" Please submit the following evidence using the attached form [ ...]

The Conditions Relative (my name) indicate his address is (my address). The spouse indicate (her address). Please explain, and submit evidence to support your claim.

IDENTITY DOCUMENT : Submit legible copies of ...

EVIDENCE OF GOOD FAITH MARRIAGE: To establish eligibility [...], additional documentation be submitted to establish a good faith marriage that covers the period of time from the date of the marriage to the present date. Such examples may include ... [followed by a long list that will be familiar to everyone here]

>>>>>

Now, the thing is, in the statements she and I included in our application, plus a cover letter, it is made very clear that we have long ceased to have a functional marriage, and that we have long lived apart. So I am surprised by this question. Apart from including our addresses, the whole thing is completely non-specific to our case, and makes me wonder if "they" actually even read our application?

Of course, I included pretty much any evidence I could think of in my original application. There's not much more I could send now. This makes me rather worried.

What are your ideas?

Thanks very much,

Kevin

PS My "evidence" of good faith marriage include

- statement by me, her, relatives (including the sponsor), and a friend or two ; all supporting that it was a "love marriage"

- lease signed by both of us for 1 year, some utility bills, homeowner's insurance for the same period

- 3 years of romantic relationship preceding marriage ; expensive rings ; she followed a summer course to learn my (entirely useless) native language

- some photos of us together on road trip, at home, and tending garden together during our short married relationship

- statements from people leading support groups I participated in during/after relationship (couldn't afford a counselor)

- signs of continuing trust and friendship : she's on my health and life insurance, on the title of my vehicle; we have access to each other's bank accounts and filed for taxes jointly; share a phone plan and a car-share membership; statement from housemate that she lived at my house for a month in 02-11 when she couldn't find her own place

(- maybe forgetting a thing or two - I don't have the application here right now)

All good advise here, I would get an attorney you do not want to get deported.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Rika wrote: As far as RFE goes, you must reply to USCIS by the date they have given you, and I suggest you write a letter of explanation and ask them to replace your old petition with a waiver petition (include a new, waiver petition). USCIS will issue a new RFE asking for divorce papers, but you will have some time to obtain them.

This is excellent advice for the immediate course action. You need to respond to the RFE before the deadline date. Do this as Rika suggests - with a letter of explanation and a new I-751 petition with the waiver option selected (at the bottom of the form). Ask to have the on form already on file replaced with this form instead. It will generate another RFE, this time for the divorce document, but hopefully you will have it by then. If you have initiated divorce proceedings already (by the time you send off the replacement form for the RFE), then you can state you are still waiting for the divorce decree. It will depend on how long everything takes at both ends - USCIS and yours.

Good luck.

Edited July 7, 2011 by Kathryn41

[elikhom 7]

Hmmm, I think your case is rare but included in one of the USCIS memos I have posted before.You did the right think in filing jointly if you haven't filed for divorce yet.

They have also taken the expected route in these cases, that is sending for an RFE and asking for additional proof of a bonafide marriage if any.

A good lawyer would be a plus but a bad one can be worse than nothing, when I was calling lawyers for my case I found several that were terrible so be careful.

Check my previous posts for documents that I have posted when people with similar cases asked question, and after reading you can make your own conclusions, not following what good intentioned but sometimes misinformed people tell you.

Take care.

[kevinj 19]

I think whoever issued that RFE have read your file and knows exactly what's going on. But of course, all you get is a canned response.

You can file for divorce in either her state or yours. You have to get divorced if you want to get your ROC approved (and you do not want to accuse your spouse of abuse).

Check what grounds are allowed for divorce in the state where you live. Since you two were separated for a long time, chances are that you will be able to get an amicable divorce on no-fault grounds/irreconcilable differences within weeks. If there is no children involved and you agree on how to split the property, then you don't need a lawyer for this, you can prepare all the paperwork and do divorce yourself. The downside - each of you will have to get their own medical insurance from the date of divorce.

As far as RFE goes, you must reply to USCIS by the date they have given you, and I suggest you write a letter of explanation and ask them to replace your old petition with a waiver petition (include a new, waiver petition). USCIS will issue a new RFE asking for divorce papers, but you will have some time to obtain them.

Thanks for your response. I'm guessing a divorce will have to happen either very soon or at some point. I would like it to be fast and painless as you indicate. It's all stressful enough as it is!

Rika wrote: As far as RFE goes, you must reply to USCIS by the date they have given you, and I suggest you write a letter of explanation and ask them to replace your old petition with a waiver petition (include a new, waiver petition). USCIS will issue a new RFE asking for divorce papers, but you will have some time to obtain them.

This is excellent advice for the immediate course action. You need to respond to the RFE before the deadline date. Do this as Rika suggests - with a letter of explanation and a new I-751 petition with the waiver option selected (at the bottom of the form). Ask to have the on form already on file replaced with this form instead. It will generate another RFE, this time for the divorce document, but hopefully you will have it by then. If you have initiated divorce proceedings already (by the time you send off the replacement form for the RFE), then you can state you are still waiting for the divorce decree. It will depend on how long everything takes at both ends - USCIS and yours.

Good luck.

Thanks for your advice. I will definitely reply before the due date (1 month from now). It is clearly stated in the letter that they will consider the case abandoned if I do not. I will consult a lawyer before writing my response or initiating divorce.

thanks,

Kevin

[kevinj 19]

Hmmm, I think your case is rare but included in one of the USCIS memos I have posted before.You did the right think in filing jointly if you haven't filed for divorce yet.

They have also taken the expected route in these cases, that is sending for an RFE and asking for additional proof of a bonafide marriage if any.

A good lawyer would be a plus but a bad one can be worse than nothing, when I was calling lawyers for my case I found several that were terrible so be careful.

Check my previous posts for documents that I have posted when people with similar cases asked question, and after reading you can make your own conclusions, not following what good intentioned but sometimes misinformed people tell you.

Take care.

Thanks for writing this - I was beginning to think I'd gone crazy, from all the responses I'd gotten so far . I had indeed gathered from a previous legal consultation that there is no choice to file jointly or separately - it is a formal consequence of whether one is still married or already divorced. The essential aspect of the application is, in both cases, to establish bona fide marriage. These considerations led me to file the case as I did - which may still have been a big mistake .

I've made an appointment with a lawyer for next Friday, the 15th, and I'll update here after that conversation. She's done nothing but immigration cases since 1994, and I think she has ample experience also outside the realm of "perfect cases". I'm hoping her advice will be valuable ; I'm currently inclined to just hire her on for the whole case (though she's probably not cheap). A short phone conversation with her indicated that things are likely not as black-and-white as everybody here has suggested. I will bring her a copy of my full application and we'll go through that to determine which course of action is necessary. If it takes a divorce, then that's what I'll do. But I'm not taking any decisions until then.

thanks,

Kevin

[kevinj 19]

Check my previous posts for documents that I have posted when people with similar cases asked question, and after reading you can make your own conclusions, not following what good intentioned but sometimes misinformed people tell you.

After a quick read of the 3 memos you posted, it sounds like I'm in a grey zone here. I'll read them more carefully over the weekend. Thanks for sharing.

[rika60607 215]

I have gone through a situation similar to yours about 2 years ago.

USCIS issued new memos and adopted new policies about treatment of ROC for separated spouses since then.

However, I have not seen a single case back then or recently, where a separated (and not abused) ROC filer was approved. It seems crazy that USCIS would push for divorce, but... it is what it is.

May be Elikhom can point you to a successful case similar to yours (since he is the only one of the opinion that separated spouses can get their ROC approved).

Good luck with your lawyer, good luck with your ROC and please let us know what happens - your case may help others. Even better than a lawyer (and free!), you may want to go for an InfoPass appointment and ask an Immigration Officer for advice. You are not out of status yet, so you have nothing to be afraid of - explain to them your situation. IOs of your local USCIS office could be the ones interviewing you later and making the decision on your case, so they know better what is acceptable to them and what is not.

After a quick read of the 3 memos you posted, it sounds like I'm in a grey zone here. I'll read them more carefully over the weekend. Thanks for sharing.

[kevinj 19]

I have gone through a situation similar to yours about 2 years ago.

USCIS issued new memos and adopted new policies about treatment of ROC for separated spouses since then.

However, I have not seen a single case back then or recently, where a separated (and not abused) ROC filer was approved. It seems crazy that USCIS would push for divorce, but... it is what it is.

IMPORTANT UPDATE - IF YOU ARE IN A SIMILAR SITUATION, PLEASE READ CAREFULLY.

(The very first post of the thread plus this post tell you all you need to know)

So I followed through and consulted a specialized immigration lawyer (Teresa Statler in Portland OR - has done nothing but immigration cases for about 20 years). A consultation costs $200.

Her advice after reading my RFE letter :

"Hmmm, we see letters like these sometimes. Was your evidence perhaps not attached very securely to the I751 form? [it was not.] My guess - and I'm almost sure - is that they simply lost all of your evidence, and the person who's now looking at your file couldn't find anything. We simply need to resubmit your evidence."

She also advised me very strongly NOT TO DIVORCE at this point, but to remain married for the rest of the procedure. She then looked over my copy of my submission (i.e. everything that USCIS apparently had lost) and thought it looked quite good. She told me to reorder some of it so it matched the list of types of evidence in the USCIS letter (or the I751 instructions) more closely, and to go through it with a highlighter and mark our two names (my wife and I) on each document to make the life of the USCIS officer easier.

So, on the one hand, I paid $200 for someone to tell me how to use a highlighter. On the other hand, I felt incredibly relieved, and I got advice that, for all the good intentions and truly much appreciated concern on this forum (thank you so much for taking the time to try and help me), was perpendicular to what nearly everyone here was telling me to do.

So I made new copies of everything, edited my cover letter to match the reordering of the pieces of evidence and delete a couple pieces that in the end didn't seem so crucial, and sent it back in around 7-25-11. My lawyer had told me to surely expect an interview. She also seemed fairly confident in the strength of my case.

Around 8-25 I got an e-mail notice indicating a change of status for my ROC case; it sounded cryptic but not in a bad way. A few days later I got a notice in the mail saying that I had been APPROVED and on 8-27 I received my beautiful, shiny, 10-year GREEN CARD in the mail !!! No interview, no nothing!

The take-home message here is that:

1/// USCIS cares less about the formalities (are you legally married or not?) and more about the heart of the case (love marriage or fake marriage?) than many here have said. There was no complot to "get me".

2/// If your case really is unusual, go to a pro for advice.

Again, I basically made a new copy of my case and sent it in again; and 30 days later I was holding my green card.

Whew!

~ Kevin

[Darnell 8,478]

excellent news !

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

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Edited September 17, 2011 by Gary and Alla