Denied for not submitting a passport style photo even though we did

[natasha-mehdito 137]

They can absolutely deny for submitting the wrong size pic. I did not yet read all the comments so sorry if you received this question already but...did you call them and ask if you can resubmit it?

[WarmRegards 4]

Honestly, somtimes I hate reading these forums because they just make me second-guess everything I sent in with everyone's overanalysis of situations. Granted in this situation the photos is certainly the wrong height, I don't know about the color, it seems more yellow than normal, but mine was from Walgreens and it's also a bit yellow and the photo manager said it won't be a problem. I'll let you know if it is if I get hit with an RFE.

Sometimes I think some of these RFE's are a result of a processing person having a bad day.

[Ash.1101 1,756]

Honestly, somtimes I hate reading these forums because they just make me second-guess everything I sent in with everyone's overanalysis of situations. Granted in this situation the photos is certainly the wrong height, I don't know about the color, it seems more yellow than normal, but mine was from Walgreens and it's also a bit yellow and the photo manager said it won't be a problem. I'll let you know if it is if I get hit with an RFE.

Sometimes I think some of these RFE's are a result of a processing person having a bad day.

I absolutely agree with the bolded part.

I know there have been people who knew they messed up on something, asked about it on VJ to prepare for the RFE, and then surprise! No RFE! Imo, they either got someone that didn't care or someone who was in a good mood and ignored the mistake.

In cases where RFE's are over little things, it could be a case of a grumpy processor, but over all I don't see many RFE's for something that wasn't expected.

I personally expected an RFE because I had put that I met my husband online, but didn't state where online. There was a VJ user that applied within 4 days of us that got hit for an RFE for saying almost the exact same thing I had about us meeting. I think the fact we had known each other for 5 years at the point of filing and been dating for 2 years at the time made the processing officer just say yeah you're good, but it could have also been that they just ignored it and maybe the person processing the other users case was more strict. /shrug

With that said, I always have striven to do my best with every part of this process, but not over kill anything, because at the end of the day if your case is in the hands of someone that just doesn't like the world that day, they'll find SOMETHING wrong, even if they have to fine-tooth comb through your case.

Edited October 13, 2016 by Ash.1101

[Meg&Andrew 297]

It's interesting because my fiance's picture wasn't 2x2 (it was the UK passport photo size, whatever that is) and we were approved without an RFE.

His was professionally done though, so for you it could just be a combination of the color/shadows/etc and the size.

Not sure why you wouldn't go get it done by a pro (Walgreens, Costco, etc) after the first RFE..

What one adjudicator sees as an RFE may not be the same as what another adjudicator sees as an RFE. It's crazy that it works that way, but that seems to be the case with USCIS.

[96987 1]

<p>

[*]Eye glasses may be worn, but there must not be any glare.

Starting 11/01/16 eye glasses are not allowed at all anymore btw.

[KayDeeCee 4,896]

Yes @mimolicious, this is the only reason they provided for why we were denied. The letter said that they requested the photos but I did not submit them. I am not sure if they mean I did not submit a "proper" photo or if they just missed it altogether.

I did not know they would be so picky about this picture. I figure they need this mainly for purposes of identification. It seems absolutely unreasonable to deny the entire petition just because there is a little more whitespace above my head.

Did your status ever change to state the RFE response was received? Did you mail it with tracking so that you knew when and if it was delivered to the USCIS? The wording sounds like they sent you an RFE, you failed to respond, so you were denied for that reason.

Have you asked whether or not they received the RFE response?

[Ash.1101 1,756]

Did your status ever change to state the RFE response was received? Did you mail it with tracking so that you knew when and if it was delivered to the USCIS? The wording sounds like they sent you an RFE, you failed to respond, so you were denied for that reason.

Have you asked whether or not they received the RFE response?

On page 1 it says that she got a notification saying that they received her RFE response.

I received the notification that they received the RFE.

I'm thinking it's because the passport photo has both shadows behind her head and on her face along with a yellow tint. That and the dimensions on the passport photo for her is 2 x 2.7 inches (width x length) and her facial area that should be about an inch (usually at an inch or under) covers about 1.4 inches of the photo.

The denial letter can be taken two ways imo, that they either never received it (which they must have because her RFE also included meeting in person and that's not on the reason for denial), or that what they did receive wasn't a passport photo, therefore they never received a passport photo.

[laci1806 15]

My passport photos have me smiling and my ears covered and it was no problem. You can smile in US passport photos and show teeth (no cheesy grins but normal smile okay).

I would lean more toward the fact that the photo is not square, and it is not with a white background.

My ears also aren't showing and I'm smiling in my passport photo and have not had any problems with it

[soulstriker 274]

i can also confirm that if you just happened to have a passport pic that is uk passport sized, most likely ull have no issues

[SunflowerSweet 1,321]

What one adjudicator sees as an RFE may not be the same as what another adjudicator sees as an RFE. It's crazy that it works that way, but that seems to be the case with USCIS.

Yep

But there are still steps you can take to better your chances.

It's not just my experiences with the size thing though. One of the first threads I posted on here was asking about passport photo sizes after I realized my fiancé had sent me a UK sized one and not a US sized one. I wanted to know if anyone had gotten RFEs for sending a different sized passport photo and the result was overwhelming "no you're fine, just send in what you have."

[MelinaMurren 0]

It seems like it is pretty much just up to whoever judges your case, which is quite unfair. But in my case, it is still strange that they accepted my fiance's photo and not mine. The only difference was that there was a little bit less space above his head. The picture was actually just a 4x6 (normal sized photograph that I just printed out at CVS).

The reason I did not immediately go to CVS to get the professionally taken one was because his was accepted and I figured the format was okay. I went yesterday to get an actual passport photo, so I will bring that along with what I sent in for the RFE to my infopass appointment on the 24th and see if they can just submit that photo again so our case can finally be approved!!

[JFH 12,191]

I think it's the shadows. I've never seen professional passport photos that have so much shadow in them (and I used to work the check in counter for an airline in one of the busiest airports in the world so I've seen a lot of passports).

File again but with professional photos.

[KayDeeCee 4,896]

On page 1 it says that she got a notification saying that they received her RFE response.

I'm thinking it's because the passport photo has both shadows behind her head and on her face along with a yellow tint. That and the dimensions on the passport photo for her is 2 x 2.7 inches (width x length) and her facial area that should be about an inch (usually at an inch or under) covers about 1.4 inches of the photo.

The denial letter can be taken two ways imo, that they either never received it (which they must have because her RFE also included meeting in person and that's not on the reason for denial), or that what they did receive wasn't a passport photo, therefore they never received a passport photo.

Thanks, I missed that.

Yes, the photo definitely does not meet the passport photo requirements provided by the DoS. They sent an RFE because the first one sent did not either, so I guess they are saying they still did not receive an actual passport photo from the USC petitioner.

OP> Refile. It is cheaper than trying to appeal, and incorrectly responding to the RFE they sent you is a valid reason for denial.