I-129f petition, never received RFE and now we got denied

[InesD 2]

Hi :-)

My fiance ( american citizen ) and I are pretty confused of what would be the wisest thing to do in our case and I would really appreciate any suggestions.

Our case : My fiance filed the petition I-129f for the K1 Visa in September 2013. We got the acceptance confirmation via email and a few days later the letter with the Form I-797. So far so good. Then we never heard from them until the 22nd of January 2014 when my fiance received a text message that our status has been updated. So we checked our status online and were in shock when we had to read that we were denied and have to wait for the letter with the explanation. My fiance received that letter yesterday ( 31st of january ).

Here is a part of it : On November 09, 2013 USCIS requested that you submit additional evidence. You were given 87 days to respond. During that time......and so on ....and then ...As of this date the petitioner has not responded and additional time may not be granted.

And then it telsl us about our opportunity to file a motion in order to reopen or reconsider etc.....

NOW : since we never received a RFE in ANY form ( no email, no text message and no hard copy ) not only are we speechless but we, of course want to find the fastest and safest solution. I've already tried to do some research but still am not sure what to do. I guess my fiance first has to call the service center and ask for a TIER 2 person ? Is that right ? I am not sure how we can proof that we never received anything so I assume either way we will have to either file a motion or simply refile the whole petition. Question is : what is faster ?

We have been waiting for a very long time to get to this stage of getting engaged to be married and finally start our life TOGETHER in the US ( I am german but live in Greece for many years ). We really thought we got it all right and were trying to be as accurate as possible with all required documents for the I- 129f ( I was in the US again for a visit, so we were filing together ). Which doesn't matter because if something was missing or not right, it is of course only fair enough that they ask for it. But now we still don't even know WHAT wasn't right since we never got anything.

Also it says we were given 87 days to respond but got denied already after 74 days. Not that that matters but still doesn't seem quite right either.

So, fact seems to be that their mistake will cost us not only our nerves but also more money and a lot more time until I can finally move over to the US and stay for good. The time factor is the hardest because it is no fun travelling back and forth and being separated over and over again.

Thank you in advance for any suggestion what would be the wisest ( just only timewise ) for us to do.

Kind regards,

InesD

[Senai 1]

It seems RFE was sent but never made to your fiance's address. I think, wait and see what is in the denial letter i.e. what exactly is missing in the original petition. Then fix that one and refile again...that is the fastest way, especially with the pace of approval we are witnessing at the moment. I have seen an early January filer got approved towards the end of January. So, that is your best bet. I also faced a similar issue but opted to refile all over again with the new evidence that stisfay the needed requirements.

Good Luck

[Ralph and Meghan 19]

Wait for letter check out the rfe and refile. Also you could call them to figure out what the rfe is.

Check out the website too for the case status (when you refile) i discovered that i didnt recieve all text messages. So started to check out there website on a weekly basis.

[Avery Cates 1,141]

Hi :-)

My fiance ( american citizen ) and I are pretty confused of what would be the wisest thing to do in our case and I would really appreciate any suggestions.

Our case : My fiance filed the petition I-129f for the K1 Visa in September 2013. We got the acceptance confirmation via email and a few days later the letter with the Form I-797. So far so good. Then we never heard from them until the 22nd of January 2014 when my fiance received a text message that our status has been updated. So we checked our status online and were in shock when we had to read that we were denied and have to wait for the letter with the explanation. My fiance received that letter yesterday ( 31st of january ).

Here is a part of it : On November 09, 2013 USCIS requested that you submit additional evidence. You were given 87 days to respond. During that time......and so on ....and then ...As of this date the petitioner has not responded and additional time may not be granted.

And then it telsl us about our opportunity to file a motion in order to reopen or reconsider etc.....

NOW : since we never received a RFE in ANY form ( no email, no text message and no hard copy ) not only are we speechless but we, of course want to find the fastest and safest solution. I've already tried to do some research but still am not sure what to do. I guess my fiance first has to call the service center and ask for a TIER 2 person ? Is that right ? I am not sure how we can proof that we never received anything so I assume either way we will have to either file a motion or simply refile the whole petition. Question is : what is faster ?

We have been waiting for a very long time to get to this stage of getting engaged to be married and finally start our life TOGETHER in the US ( I am german but live in Greece for many years ). We really thought we got it all right and were trying to be as accurate as possible with all required documents for the I- 129f ( I was in the US again for a visit, so we were filing together ). Which doesn't matter because if something was missing or not right, it is of course only fair enough that they ask for it. But now we still don't even know WHAT wasn't right since we never got anything.

Also it says we were given 87 days to respond but got denied already after 74 days. Not that that matters but still doesn't seem quite right either.

So, fact seems to be that their mistake will cost us not only our nerves but also more money and a lot more time until I can finally move over to the US and stay for good. The time factor is the hardest because it is no fun travelling back and forth and being separated over and over again.

Thank you in advance for any suggestion what would be the wisest ( just only timewise ) for us to do.

Kind regards,

InesD

Their electronic notification system does leave a lot to be desired and seems to work only about 50% of the time in my case. Sorry to hear that this happened to you.

What I would do is today, pull up the K-1 guide here and assemble everything again. You will probably need to mail your fiance another signed letter of intent. It will be good to have that prepared for submission as soon as possible if necessary. First thing on Monday, start making some calls, ask to speak immediately to a Tier 2, see what they can tell you, and see what they can do for you.

[Ning 619]

Hi :-)

My fiance ( american citizen ) and I are pretty confused of what would be the wisest thing to do in our case and I would really appreciate any suggestions.

Our case : My fiance filed the petition I-129f for the K1 Visa in September 2013. We got the acceptance confirmation via email and a few days later the letter with the Form I-797. So far so good. Then we never heard from them until the 22nd of January 2014 when my fiance received a text message that our status has been updated. So we checked our status online and were in shock when we had to read that we were denied and have to wait for the letter with the explanation. My fiance received that letter yesterday ( 31st of january ).

Here is a part of it : On November 09, 2013 USCIS requested that you submit additional evidence. You were given 87 days to respond. During that time......and so on ....and then ...As of this date the petitioner has not responded and additional time may not be granted.

And then it telsl us about our opportunity to file a motion in order to reopen or reconsider etc.....

NOW : since we never received a RFE in ANY form ( no email, no text message and no hard copy ) not only are we speechless but we, of course want to find the fastest and safest solution. I've already tried to do some research but still am not sure what to do. I guess my fiance first has to call the service center and ask for a TIER 2 person ? Is that right ? I am not sure how we can proof that we never received anything so I assume either way we will have to either file a motion or simply refile the whole petition. Question is : what is faster ?

We have been waiting for a very long time to get to this stage of getting engaged to be married and finally start our life TOGETHER in the US ( I am german but live in Greece for many years ). We really thought we got it all right and were trying to be as accurate as possible with all required documents for the I- 129f ( I was in the US again for a visit, so we were filing together ). Which doesn't matter because if something was missing or not right, it is of course only fair enough that they ask for it. But now we still don't even know WHAT wasn't right since we never got anything.

Also it says we were given 87 days to respond but got denied already after 74 days. Not that that matters but still doesn't seem quite right either.

So, fact seems to be that their mistake will cost us not only our nerves but also more money and a lot more time until I can finally move over to the US and stay for good. The time factor is the hardest because it is no fun travelling back and forth and being separated over and over again.

Thank you in advance for any suggestion what would be the wisest ( just only timewise ) for us to do.

Kind regards,

InesD

The USC should immediately make an Info Pass appointment to sit down with USCIS in person. If he waits for the letter it may be too late and the letter may not explain anything that really helps. Info Pass is found on USCIS site.

USCIS will not respond to phone calls about the subject matter contained in RFEs. They always tell the person to wait for the RFE. This is because the response to the RFE must contain the letter sent by them anyway.

Sending in another application with the same info will probably result in a long wait followed by another RFE for the missing info they seek now.

[InesD 2]

The USC should immediately make an Info Pass appointment to sit down with USCIS in person. If he waits for the letter it may be too late and the letter may not explain anything that really helps. Info Pass is found on USCIS site.

USCIS will not respond to phone calls about the subject matter contained in RFEs. They always tell the person to wait for the RFE. This is because the response to the RFE must contain the letter sent by them anyway.

Sending in another application with the same info will probably result in a long wait followed by another RFE for the missing info they seek now.

Please read my text again : we received a letter yesterday telling us we were denied because we neglected to respond to their RFE send to us on November the 9th 2013. WHAT RFE ???? We have NEVER received a RFE. that is the big problem here .....

[Ning 619]

Please read my text again : we received a letter yesterday telling us we were denied because we neglected to respond to their RFE send to us on November the 9th 2013. WHAT RFE ???? We have NEVER received a RFE. that is the big problem here .....

I read your text and understand the USC NEVER got an RFE. The time allowed to respond to that RFE has elapsed. You have a very short time to repair the damage.

My suggestions are based on our experience with this very subject. My husband never received the RFE in our case so we were put in the same position as you are. He tried many of the other suggestions only to find it was a total waste of time. Time we didn't have. He was able to work it out with USCIS asking for reconsideration after submitting the info required by the RFE. The info and request were accepted; the case approved.

[InesD 2]

I read your text and understand the USC NEVER got an RFE. The time allowed to respond to that RFE has elapsed. You have a very short time to repair the damage.

My suggestions are based on our experience with this very subject. My husband never received the RFE in our case so we were put in the same position as you are. He tried many of the other suggestions only to find it was a total waste of time. Time we didn't have. He was able to work it out with USCIS asking for reconsideration after submitting the info required by the RFE. The info and request were accepted; the case approved.

OK, thank you for your reply:-) But if your husband never received the RFE, how did he find out what additional info they required ? We can not submit anything or send to them or even file for motion without the RFE in our hands...in other words : without even knowing WHAT exactly do they require ? I feel very frustrated :-(

[*Snowdrop* 604]

I agree that the USC should make an Infopass and try to speak to someone in person to double check all of this. The letter may have a typo as you are right they claim to have given you a 87 day deadline and 87 days have not passed yet.

Most RFE deadlines I have seen though are 30 or 60 days - 87 seems like a weird number.

If they did send an RFE and you simply never got it and there was a problem with the petition then the quickest/easiest option will be to file a new petition.

But definitely try for the infopass so that you can at least try to find out what the RFE was for so that you don't make the same mistake again.

Edited February 1, 2014 by *Lynne*

[Trisha89 36]

Ooohhh myyy gooosh! This here makes me so afraid that we maybe never got an RFE and that's why we are still waiting ;-C! OMG!!! It is so sad I'm so sorry to hear that! My fiance he is the USC is also from Alabama and we wait since August 12th 2013! OMG I'm so freaking afraid that this happend to us too!! We never heard anything from them about a RFE we talked already several times to them even to a TIER 2! Q.q wish you good luck and hope y'all can fix the problem really quick!

[Ning 619]

OK, thank you for your reply:-) But if your husband never received the RFE, how did he find out what additional info they required ? We can not submit anything or send to them or even file for motion without the RFE in our hands...in other words : without even knowing WHAT exactly do they require ? I feel very frustrated :-(

You ask if I read your text then ask me for the same info I already gave you in my text?

Again I suggest the USC sits down in PERSON with USCIS. Other than that the USC will not get any help from USCIS by phone as you see in one post here.

For the record our RFE had a 90 day time limit. That had passed but the case was reconsidered and approved.

[Ning 619]

Ooohhh myyy gooosh! This here makes me so afraid that we maybe never got an RFE and that's why we are still waiting ;-C! OMG!!! It is so sad I'm so sorry to hear that! My fiance he is the USC is also from Alabama and we wait since August 12th 2013! OMG I'm so freaking afraid that this happend to us too!! We never heard anything from them about a RFE we talked already several times to them even to a TIER 2! Q.q wish you good luck and hope y'all can fix the problem really quick!

What has happened in another case doesn't mean it will happen in every case.

Why do you think there is an RFE issued in your case?

[InesD 2]

You ask if I read your text then ask me for the same info I already gave you in my text?

Again I suggest the USC sits down in PERSON with USCIS. Other than that the USC will not get any help from USCIS by phone as you see in one post here.

For the record our RFE had a 90 day time limit. That had passed but the case was reconsidered and approved.

sorry, I didn't mean to sound harsh when I asked to please read my text again. and thank you again for your reply, I really appreciate.

[InesD 2]

Ooohhh myyy gooosh! This here makes me so afraid that we maybe never got an RFE and that's why we are still waiting ;-C! OMG!!! It is so sad I'm so sorry to hear that! My fiance he is the USC is also from Alabama and we wait since August 12th 2013! OMG I'm so freaking afraid that this happend to us too!! We never heard anything from them about a RFE we talked already several times to them even to a TIER 2! Q.q wish you good luck and hope y'all can fix the problem really quick!

Don't be afraid, I think the average processing time for I-129f petitions is or can be up to 5 months from what I read. And obviously what happens here to us at the moment doesn't happen very often.

Thank you for your wishes and I hope you will hear any day from now that your case has been approved and you can move on to the next step :-)

Good luck y'all !

[Senai 1]

You have two options then... one call USCIS and request a copy of the RFE letter or make an info pass someone suggested. Alternately, carefully look at the petition requirements and compare with what you have submitted and try to pin point for any missing document. It seems letter of intent from the two sides appear to be a leading source of RFE from what I have seen in this forum. Others would be evidence of meeting in person in the past two years, copies of divorce decree if the petitioner/beneficiary have been married before, proof of bc, and so on