I-485 RFE (INITIAL) RECEIVED , I-864 RELATED - PLS ADVISE !

[aosapplicant 3]

Dear Forum member,

I am an AOS applicant. I have an attorney who has submitted an I-130 and I-485 on behalf of my sponsoring spouse (USC) and

myself (applicant/beneficiary).

I have recently received an RFE.

The letter from USCIS states that page 3 of I-864 was missing or wasn't properly filled.

So, my attorney has resubmitted the requested page.

But I have also reviewed the page that was resubmitted and had a confusion as to what would be the proper way to fill it.

My spouse is sponsoring me , she is the only sponsor I have.

The question is:

HOW DO YOU ANSWER THE PART 5 , 21.c. ?

My attorney filled r" next to If you are currently married , enter "1" for your spouse.

I called my attorney and asked why instead of "1" they entered r"

My attorney told me that entering "1" there would confuse the matters and that they have properly filled the field.

I am now very concerned. What if USCIS considers this as an improper filing? And, most importantly, what is the correct way of

answering that question (Part 5, 21.c) ?

Again, I will clarify once more: I AM A SPOUSE OF USC. My spouse filed I-130 to sponsor me and was required to submit I-864 as part of

application. I have filed I-485 (concurrently, as a spouse of USC). She is my ONLY sponsor and I am the ONLY person she ever sponsored (is sposoring now).

To the best of your knowledge, what is the proper way to answer Part 5, Q. 21.c on I-864 Form?

My attorney mailed reply which was received days ago but there is no update on USCIS case status page and

I am really concerned what if the question is improperly answered I what if I get denied for something

so silly as thAt?

Tomorrow I will see my attorney in person, but I wanted to hear from those of you who have filed this form and

are knowledgeable of how to properly answer Part 5 21.c? Is my attorney correct? Do you enter r" or "1" or

some other answer is required?

Please share your opinion (preferably those of you who already were approved or filled the forms a while ago and didn't get RFE

for it).

Thanks!!

AOS applicant

[Inky 1,110]

That part of the form is supposed to be NUMBERS in the boxes. Not letters. Your lawyer is screwing stuff up for you.

Edited February 29, 2012 by Inky

[Inky 1,110]

Here is even the example form that shows you how to fill it out - http://www.visajourney.com/examples/INS-Form-I-864.pdf

[paojack 41]

That part of the form is supposed to be NUMBERS in the boxes. Not letters. Your lawyer is screwing stuff up for you.

Exactly!! How did he come up with R as an answer? What is the R supposed to mean? IT's kinda stupid he has screwed it up twice as the instructions are pretty clear. If I were you I would get rid of him/her and would do it myself, no need for a lawyer when this site is also extremely helpful!

[Mike X Man 37]

Yes....it's for determining household size. That box should indicate (1) because she is sponsoring you and she is your wife. Quite straight forward.

[aosapplicant 3]

Exactly!! How did he come up with R as an answer? What is the R supposed to mean? IT's kinda stupid he has screwed it up twice as the instructions are pretty clear. If I were you I would get rid of him/her and would do it myself, no need for a lawyer when this site is also extremely helpful!

I have NO IDEA why r" was entered as answer to Part 5 21.c , therefore wanted to ask forum members' opinion.

I have an appointment scheduled with the attorney tomorrow in the morning.

I think I will FEDEX proper answer to USCIS myself, but I am concerned what the PROPER answer is and

whether (considering the fact he already sent this TWICE) my petition will be denied REGARDLESS of what I resubmit on my own?

What can I do?

[Inky 1,110]

Exactly!! How did he come up with R as an answer? What is the R supposed to mean? IT's kinda stupid he has screwed it up twice as the instructions are pretty clear. If I were you I would get rid of him/her and would do it myself, no need for a lawyer when this site is also extremely helpful!

Iv got no idea what R could mean in this situation... only the lawyer knows what his/her made up dreams are i think lol...

I agree with getting rid of the lawyer. If the lawyer cant fill out a simple form with the instructions telling you to put the number... thats pretty bad.

[aosapplicant 3]

Iv got no idea what R could mean in this situation... only the lawyer knows what his/her made up dreams are i think lol...

I agree with getting rid of the lawyer. If the lawyer cant fill out a simple form with the instructions telling you to put the number... thats pretty bad.

Getting rid of a lawyer is easy. If he made other errors, who will be held responsible for outcome?

As a lawyer he must abide by ethical guidelines and if I am denied due to his error I can at least file

the claim with arbitration committee and have legal basis for reconsidering if I ever end up in court

due to mistake made by lawyer.

Also, getting rid of lawyer now won't get my money back , plus anything that happens I will be blamed for

as he can say "He fired me and there was nothing I could do about it".

No, this is not about firing and getting rid of attorney. Foremost of all, this is about how to PROPERLY answer

a question. Have any of you reading this topic gone through i-130/i-485 application? When you filled i-864 what did you

answer? (assuming you have been through and didn't get an RFE for it, you must know by know what was proper answer).

What can I do to correct it if my lawyer answered it incorrectly? How do I know what is correct answer?

Edited February 29, 2012 by aosapplicant

[Philwithlove 17]

i think its a typo error in the lawyer's side. which the lawyer should be held responsible.

wondering what the lawyer answer on the total number of household? 1+r ?

[Inky 1,110]

No, this is not about firing and getting rid of attorney. Foremost of all, this is about how to PROPERLY answer

a question. Have any of you reading this topic gone through i-130/i-485 application? When you filled i-864 what did you

answer? (assuming you have been through and didn't get an RFE for it, you must know by know what was proper answer).

What can I do to correct it if my lawyer answered it incorrectly? How do I know what is correct answer?

I posted a link above for you of the example form - it shows you how to fill out the form correctly.

Yes i know how to fill out the I-864 we filled it out for our process we used the correct number " 1 " just like the instructions and the guides and the example forms show. We had no RFE and no problems.

Right now you cant do anything to correct his mistake - he made the same mistake twice, its possible they will RFE again or deny the petition because he was already sent an RFE for a corrected form and did not send a corrected form but sent another incorrect form back to them.

[kcoyclay1 98]

Is "r" a number? That attorney is silly. So, when he added everything to get the totals, did he put 2 or "r1"? He did it incorrectly. R is not a number and he knows better.

[kstrozyk 13]

It was confusing for me at the beginning as well, but the form specifically states not to count same person twice. I followed the sample on this forum. It was kind of strange to put "0" after "if you are married" question, but my wife was already counted as a beneficiary.

[July15 4]

I don't think you should worry as long as he "Add together lines and enter the number here. Household Size" (21.h) In your case will be "2" if he entered 2r -then that's another story.

[aosapplicant 3]

Thanks everyone for your input!

I will provide more details that may help to get a better understanding of my initial question:

1. My spouse is USC

2. She is my ONLY sponsor and NEVER sponsored anyone before.

3. We have 2 kids together.

4. Our household size is FOUR (me, my wife and 2 kids).

I have copy of I-864 filled by my attorney in front of me.

I am looking at PART 5 (USCIS sent RFE for INITIAL evidence , stating that Page 3 of I-864 is missing or not filled).

My attorney re-submitted what he mailed to USCIS earlier.

Here are the ANSWERS he put:

21. Your household size- DO NOT COUNT ANYONE TWICE

a. Enter the number you entered on line 10 (two square boxes next to Q, attorney entered 1 on first (left ) square and blank on second(right) square.

Persons NOT sponsored in this affidavit:

b. Yourself (one square box next to it, attorney entered large number 1 )

c. If you are currently married , enter "1" for your spouse. (one quare next to Q, attorney entered something that looks like r", I am not sure if it he tried to enter "1" including quotation marks and got the part of it cut due to format, or whether he really entered r", but it does look like r"

To d. If you have dependent children, enter number here he answered with number 2 entered on left square and blank on right, so I assume he tried to enter 2 , as this is number of children me and my wife have.

He left blank e., f., g., and entered 4 on second/right square , next to Household Size:

I have a feeling that he didn't properly file this form. I personally am confused as it seems utterly self contradictory to enter either 1 or 0 on 21.c , but I do not think what appears as r" is the proper answer there.

I called him on the phone today and he insisted that it was filled out CORRECTLY , so I am planning to see him in the morning tomorrow. My case may have already been damaged beyond repair and it is very tragic if stupid mistake such as this result in petition denied and me having to prove the Judge in court that 2 + 2 is 4. But I want to know if there is anything that I can do before it's too late? I still have more than 60 days left to answer this RFE, I will do my best to correct it, but how do I know what is right and what is wrong?

This is so screwed up, I hired and paid an attorney to avoid this sort of errors and now I have to find out what the correct answer to a question on 864 form is!!

Can anyone share expert opinion and give me assurance if and what is wrong with the way this form is filled?

Thank you ALL for your input on this thread, it is greatly appreciated!

Edited February 29, 2012 by aosapplicant

[kstrozyk 13]

I know exactly what you mean by saying "I personally am confused as it seems utterly self contradictory to enter either 1 or 0 on 21.c" If you are married, it suggests you put 1, but since you are already counted as a beneficiary, then you should put 0. I filed for my wife this week, and decided to put 0 in that box. I'll keep you posted how it turned out.