Calling the service center after an RFE

[twitchy 2]

Hi Everyone,

We filed our initial application back in Dec 2011, and finally received an RFE which we responded to and received notice it was received on May 16. My question is, knowing they have "60 days" to process, would calling to check status do any good at all? Has anyone had positive or negative results? I just feel the file is sitting on a desk with a note showing the 60 days date, and someone is ignoring it until it's that date...

[steffbry 5]

Hi Everyone,

We filed our initial application back in Dec 2011, and finally received an RFE which we responded to and received notice it was received on May 16. My question is, knowing they have "60 days" to process, would calling to check status do any good at all? Has anyone had positive or negative results? I just feel the file is sitting on a desk with a note showing the 60 days date, and someone is ignoring it until it's that date...

There are some who got their petition approved in 3-5days after an RFE. Ours took more than a month. You can try calling USCIS after 5 days to check if your case has been approved. Good luck!

[EvilSquee 7]

I would wait at least two weeks before calling. As you've already noted they have up to 60 days but for my RFE it took less than 2 weeks and many others who I've talked to had recent RFEs had a similar timeline. It can vary and take 1-2 months though. When they make the decision they will update your case status on the USCIS website so I'd just monitor that rather than bothering to call. If you signed up for text and/or email notifications you may find out that way (I actually got the txt msg of status change) but those can be unreliable (not everyone gets them even if registered properly). Hopefully they will send you an approval soon!

[twitchy 2]

Thanks for the replies. I guess I'm just curious as to what kind of answer they could give, such as if anything else is being looked at, etc. I'm kind of worried that we'll wait the 60 days or close to to have another RFE thrown at us.

Plus I'm just getting really impatient at this point...

[Xanax 349]

Your impatience is understable, but if they tell you to wait 60 days it is unlikely that calling before that time will yield any positive results.

[CANbirdUSman 11]

My RFE reply took 6 days. I agree to wait it out, and keep checking the USCIS site for updates.

In the meantime, do whatever you can to prepare for the next 'steps'.

Hope you get a response soon.

[EvilSquee 7]

The answer will be approved or denied. If you sent acceptable proof of everything they requested you should be approved. I've not heard of them bothering to send a second RFE for the I-129F.

We're all impatient, hang in there. The process seems longer every day into it you get. The closer I've gotten the harder it's been but there's not much you can do but wait and try to stay sane. As CANbirdUSman suggested use the wait time to get ready for the next step. Even after you get approval there's about a 1 month delay to get the petition through the NVC and to the embassy/consulate. Use this time to do some research in the Canada forums, look into Packet 3, and start gathering the documents such as long form birth certificate, police records, passport renewals, etc that you may need for the next step. You'll probably want to hold off on the financial (I-134) stuff until closer to an interview date (if it's old they'll make you get recent data) but there's a great deal of stuff you may potentially need to prepare depending on your circumstances so get it ready so you can mail Packet 3 back as fast as possible to make up some of the lost time later.