USCIS Updates Policy Guidance for Certain Requests for Evidence and Notices of Intent to Deny(merged)

[Unidentified 2,930]

1 minute ago, Pennycat said:

And just for as much proof as I can give, here is the email they sent my Congressman (emphasis mine)

 

 

They messed up and they admitted it. I knew they'd messed up, not me. I had the time to tell them so and have them fix their own mistake.  New rules, husband goes right into deportation proceedings. Again, USCIS using a hammer where they need a scalpel. I am ALL FOR getting the placeholder idiots out of the line. 100%. But this really isn't the way when USCIS makes these kinds of mistakes.

No, it wouldn't happen that quick. You'd have plenty of time to file again before they would even have time to deal with your husband. They got bigger fish to fry. 

 

And we haven't seen if this is the final deal yet. They have until September 11 to figure out all the kinks with the new system. It might be that the more obvious cases (the ones with no evidence) gets denied but are more lenient towards those who they can se really made an effort into sending in a proper application but had a minor snafu. 

[Jaquelly 1,647]

If anything, this gives me hope that we'll see an uptick in processing times because they'll be allowed to cut out the BS applications.

 

If people don't include everything they're supposed to, tough luck. The rest of us shouldn't suffer just because people didn't take the time to quadruple check their forms and evidence.

 

Not saying that @Pennycat didn't do that. Your situation genuinely blows.

[Pennycat 880]

Just now, Unidentified said:

No, it wouldn't happen that quick. You'd have plenty of time to file again before they would even have time to deal with your husband. They got bigger fish to fry. 

 

And we haven't seen if this is the final deal yet. They have until September 11 to figure out all the kinks with the new system. It might be that the more obvious cases (the ones with no evidence) gets denied but are more lenient towards those who they can se really made an effort into sending in a proper application but had a minor snafu. 

They're not only going after the big fish, they're going after they fish they know the locations of. And a denial from K1 leads to accrual of unlawful presence. And apply again? Sure, I personally can but not everyone's got a spare $1200 sitting around because some USCIS agent doesn't know how to do their jobs. 

 

This is a ridiculous amount of power to give to people who have proven time and time again that they cannot be trusted to perform their basic job functions. 

 

I say issue the RFEs and replying to an RFE costs $1000, unless you can demonstrate USCIS error. Boom, deter the people who do it on purpose, punish the idiots who don't read directions. Problem solved.

[Pennycat 880]

7 minutes ago, Jaquelly said:

If anything, this gives me hope that we'll see an uptick in processing times because they'll be allowed to cut out the BS applications.

 

If people don't include everything they're supposed to, tough luck. The rest of us shouldn't suffer just because people didn't take the time to quadruple check their forms and evidence.

 

Not saying that @Pennycat didn't do that. Your situation genuinely blows.

 

It not only genuinely blows, but this was NOT UNUSUAL for AOS applicants at the time. Feel free to dig around the archives to see for yourself. People debting if it was better to just get another medical exam here ($500, time off work and another chest x-ray) and submit it or to try to push back, which one was less risky health vs immigration wise (my husband would have had to have all his vaccinations again, third time in his life, second time in 3 months) and general time on the clock wise. We opted to push back through our Congressman because seriously eff those incompetent idiots, their boss is going to see that they can't freaking read (or choose not to, whichever). 

[florida racer 73 200]

2 minutes ago, Pennycat said:

 

It not only genuinely blows, but this was NOT UNUSUAL for AOS applicants at the time. Feel free to dig around the archives to see for yourself. People debting if it was better to just get another medical exam here ($500, time off work and another chest x-ray) and submit it or to try to push back, which one was less risky health vs immigration wise (my husband would have had to have all his vaccinations again, third time in his life, second time in 3 months) and general time on the clock wise. We opted to push back through our Congressman because seriously eff those incompetent idiots, their boss is going to see that they can't freaking read (or choose not to, whichever). 

2 set of vaccinations in 3 months, why?

did you present his previous inoculation records?

 

[florida racer 73 200]

3 minutes ago, florida racer 73 said:

2 set of vaccinations in 3 months, why?

did you present his previous inoculation records?

 

Something does not sound right here......?

[Pennycat 880]

3 minutes ago, florida racer 73 said:

2 set of vaccinations in 3 months, why?

did you present his previous inoculation records?

 

His mother lost his baby vaccination book but he did have them all as a child, but he was not in possession of any of his vaccination records. So when he had the overseas medical exam, they gave them to him again (2nd time in his life) I specifically asked him to get a photocopy of the vaccination report just in case this RFE happened (it was already famous when we were still in visa stage) but the doctor refused, claiming to not be allowed.

 

Then he moved here, we applied for AOS and got this stupid RFE. The choice was: go get a new medical exam, which would have required yet-another set of vaccinations (the second time in, sorry, 6 months, between overseas medical and RFE) or fight it. We called the embassy doctor to ask to send a copy (to get the vaccinations transcribed) they claimed to not keep copies. I called 4 different civil surgeons none of whom would do titers instead. So we fought it. And we were right, USCIS was wrong, as we knew all along. 

[Pennycat 880]

7 minutes ago, florida racer 73 said:

Something does not sound right here......?

Of course it doesn't sound right. That's why USCIS doesn't require K1 applicants to get a second medical in the US. That's why they're supposed to request the "related file" their email alluded to (it's the packet submitted at CPB).  My timeline was off about the amount of time that lapsed between his overseas medical and the RFE (apologies, it has been many years)but the fact remains that if we complied with what they'd asked for (erroneously on their part), he would have had his third set of childhood vaccinations, the second and third separated by a matter of months. I'm not sure why you think I'm making this up-- the archives are more than available to you.

 

Hilariously, of course, after all this, his mother found the darn baby vaccination book. Offered to send it. That ship had long sailed. 

Edited July 17, 2018 by Pennycat

[Unidentified 2,930]

1 minute ago, Pennycat said:

Of course it doesn't sound right. That's why USCIS doesn't require K1 applicants to get a second medical in the US. That's why they're supposed to request the "related file" their email alluded to (it's the packet submitted at CPB).  My timeline was off about the amount of time that lapsed between his overseas medical and the RFE (apologies, it has been many years)but the fact remains that if we complied with what they'd asked for (erroneously on their part), he would have had his third set of childhood vaccinations, the second and third separated by a matter of months. I'm not sure why you think I'm making this up-- the archives are more than available to you.

 

Hilariously, of course, after all this, his mother found the darn baby vaccination book. Offered to send it. That ship had long sailed. 

No it doesn't sounds right because your husband could have requested immunization documents from his doctor instead of putting an unnecessary amount of vaccines into his body. Unless I'm misunderstanding your "2 sets of vaccines in 3 months". 

[florida racer 73 200]

7 minutes ago, Pennycat said:

His mother lost his baby vaccination book but he did have them all as a child, but he was not in possession of any of his vaccination records. So when he had the overseas medical exam, they gave them to him again (2nd time in his life) I specifically asked him to get a photocopy of the vaccination report just in case this RFE happened (it was already famous when we were still in visa stage) but the doctor refused, claiming to not be allowed.

 

Then he moved here, we applied for AOS and got this stupid RFE. The choice was: go get a new medical exam, which would have required yet-another set of vaccinations (the second time in, sorry, 6 months, between overseas medical and RFE) or fight it. We called the embassy doctor to ask to send a copy (to get the vaccinations transcribed) they claimed to not keep copies. I called 4 different civil surgeons none of whom would do titers instead. So we fought it. And we were right, USCIS was wrong, as we knew all along. 

Gotcha, it is good 👍

[RLA 323]

1 hour ago, Cyberfx1024 said:

Why would USCIS lose that?

Same reason why USCIS lost our I-129F petition after they had approved it?  Same reason why it took 6 weeks and 3 visits to the Social Security Administration until I finally got my Social Security card?  Because sometimes bureaucrats #### up.  That's why we want some measures of protection in place against those inevitable bureaucratic ####-ups, especially when they might get people deported.  USCIS's latest policy changes remove some of those protections (in favor of streamlining the process). 

[florida racer 73 200]

7 minutes ago, RLA said:

Same reason why USCIS lost our I-129F petition after they had approved it?  Same reason why it took 6 weeks and 3 visits to the Social Security Administration until I finally got my Social Security card?  Because sometimes bureaucrats #### up.  That's why we want some measures of protection in place against those inevitable bureaucratic ####-ups, especially when they might get people deported.  USCIS's latest policy changes remove some of those protections (in favor of streamlining the process). 

Ho hum...... same old argument

 

And how about the people that play games with the system, Remember for every rule or law there is an idiot that caused it to be created

Edited July 17, 2018 by florida racer 73

[Unidentified 2,930]

I doubt they're going to make it impossible to argue with USCIS if your application gets turned down because they messed up. 

[RLA 323]

58 minutes ago, VisaCode said:

I don't foresee adjudicators really gaining that much time from this that it's going to materially speed up processing times.

I guess there'd have to be a lot of placeholder applications for that to have any significant effect on overall processing times.  Would be interesting to know how many there really are.  Here on VJ they seem to be pretty uncommon. 

[Pennycat 880]

1 minute ago, Unidentified said:

No it doesn't sounds right because your husband could have requested immunization documents from his doctor instead of putting an unnecessary amount of vaccines into his body. Unless I'm misunderstanding your "2 sets of vaccines in 3 months". 

Directly above what you've just quoted I said:

 

"His mother lost his baby vaccination book but he did have them all as a child, but he was not in possession of any of his vaccination records. So when he had the overseas medical exam, they gave them to him again (2nd time in his life) I specifically asked him to get a photocopy of the vaccination report just in case this RFE happened (it was already famous when we were still in visa stage) but the doctor refused, claiming to not be allowed.

 

Then he moved here, we applied for AOS and got this stupid RFE. The choice was: go get a new medical exam, which would have required yet-another set of vaccinations (the second time in, sorry, 6 months, between overseas medical and RFE) or fight it. We called the embassy doctor to ask to send a copy (to get the vaccinations transcribed) they claimed to not keep copies. I called 4 different civil surgeons none of whom would do titers instead. So we fought it. And we were right, USCIS was wrong, as we knew all along. "

 

I know it's not great to not have access to your vaccination records. That's why he needed to get the second lifetime set at the embassy doctor. Stuff happens, this isn't terribly uncommon especially in developing countries. 6 months (I was off on the timeline between overseas medical and RFE, it has been years since this happened) after his overseas medical, after we applied for AOS, they sent us an RFE for the medical. We took steps to try to get the vaccination record from the embassy doctor or to work around this with local civil surgeons to no avail. The choice was fight the RFE or get the shots again (and I might add another chest x-ray). If you see another option, be my guest and tell me what we could have done instead. It still doesn't change the fact that they erroneously issued the RFE. I knew it, THEY knew it. This sort of USCIS error could now lead to outright denial, through no fault of an applicant. And I hate to tell you, they make errors ALL the time. This was incredibly common at the time we were going through this process.