New September 11 rules for RFE

[Ang Oras 13]

Hello does anyone know the procedure on the new No RFE after September/11/2018 if someone has filed on August/06/2018 and gets their NOA 1 before 9/11/2018 does this mean they would not be denied under the new rule of they lacked something or needed more evidence ? 

[geowrian 22,337]

The new rule does nto state that no RFEs will be issued. It only states that obvious placeholder petitions and applications (i.e. ones submitted intentionally without enough evidence just to buy time to get more evidence and send it later) are more likely to be denied without an RFE.

The new rule would apply to any new decisions.

[Ang Oras 13]

I was only wondering because we sent our petition in on 8/6/2018 and we still have not got our NOA1 and someone posted that it only applies to filers after September/11/2018 . It's understood on our end that no RFE would be requested after that date so if you didn't send in enough proof of a bonafide relationship they would automatically deny the petition .

[Ryan H 3,812]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Progress Reports to General Immigration-Related Discussion.

[geowrian 22,337]

11 minutes ago, Thomas Reinhardt said:

I was only wondering because we sent our petition in on 8/6/2018 and we still have not got our NOA1 and someone posted that it only applies to filers after September/11/2018 . It's understood on our end that no RFE would be requested after that date so if you didn't send in enough proof of a bonafide relationship they would automatically deny the petition .

It's impossible to know what they will do before they actually do it. But a petition lacking evidence of a bona fide relationship is unlikely to be hit with the new policy regarding RFEs. It's aimed at petitions submitted without the bare essentials...i.e. an  I-130 sent with a missing marriage certificate + other issues, or an asylum claim with no supporting evidence, just to buy time before being eligible for removal.

[Ang Oras 13]

Ok I understand it . We sent about 200 photos boarding passes for 3 trips to the Philippines stay time was 3 months and 2 week's total a few screen shots of chat logs tons of receipts and proof of Remittances along with at least 5 joint credit cards  and two joining bank accounts along with a US issued ITIN number for my spouse have we submitted enough evidence ? We don't have any direct call logs phone bills.

[geowrian 22,337]

Just now, Thomas Reinhardt said:

Ok I understand it . We sent about 200 photos boarding passes for 3 trips to the Philippines stay time was 3 months and 2 week's total a few screen shots of chat logs tons of receipts and proof of Remittances along with at least 5 joint credit cards  and two joining bank accounts along with a US issued ITIN number for my spouse have we submitted enough evidence ? We don't have any direct call logs phone bills.

Nobody knows for sure what they will decide, but that sounds plenty for both the I-130 + Manila's COs.

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

5 hours ago, Thomas Reinhardt said:

I was only wondering because we sent our petition in on 8/6/2018 and we still have not got our NOA1 and someone posted that it only applies to filers after September/11/2018 . It's understood on our end that no RFE would be requested after that date so if you didn't send in enough proof of a bonafide relationship they would automatically deny the petition .

The information you provided is more than enough for Manila right now. I would say wait at least until the end of this week before you contact them in regards to your NOA1 because it can take up to 2-3 working weeks before you get the NOA1. 

[azblk 338]

5 hours ago, geowrian said:

The new rule does nto state that no RFEs will be issued. It only states that obvious placeholder petitions and applications (i.e. ones submitted intentionally without enough evidence just to buy time to get more evidence and send it later) are more likely to be denied without an RFE.

The new rule would apply to any new decisions.

How does the uscis decide which petition/application is a placeholder and should be denied and which should get an RFE? How do they decide what amount of evidence is enough? After all they have not published a list of required evidence or how much to send.  Is the intent to get everyone to front load their evidence? .

Edited August 20, 2018 by azblk

[JFH 12,189]

22 minutes ago, azblk said:

How does the uscis decide which petition/application is a placeholder and should be denied and which should get an RFE? How do they decide what amount of evidence is enough? After all they have not published a list of required evidence or how much to send.  Is the intent to get everyone to front load their evidence? .

As stated, the evidence of bona fide marriage is not affected by this. What is affected is (and I have seen it happen here), people sending petitions without the necessary eligibility documents because the petitioner just wants to "get in line" even though they don't have all the eligibility documents (marriage certificate for a spouse, birth certificate for parents, etc) and doesn't want to wait until they have them. They know it will take several weeks or months for USCIS to reach the petition  and start work on it, thus buying themselves time to gather necessary documentation. It is not based on the amount of extra evidence but on the bare minimum eligibility requirements. 

 

The new policy means that if any of the required eligibility documentation is missing then the petition will be denied. It is already happening. There was a thread recently where a K-1 petition was denied without an RFE for no letter of intent to marry. That letter forms the basis of the eligibility requirements. 

Edited August 20, 2018 by JFH

[EandH0904 1,184]

9 minutes ago, JFH said:

What is affected is (and I have seen it happen here), people sending petitions without the necessary eligibility documents because the petitioner just wants to "get in line" even though they don't have all the eligibility documents (marriage certificate for a spouse, birth certificate for parents, etc) and doesn't want to wait until they have them

I must be super naive because I had absolutely no idea people did this. 

[Ang Oras 13]

Ok I did not include a letter a 2 page letter of our love story will we be denied because I didn't send a introductory letter???

[Ang Oras 13]

Sorry that should have been that I only sent in a 2 page love story with our petition.

[ThomasNC1988 762]

2 hours ago, EandH0904 said:

I must be super naive because I had absolutely no idea people did this. 

Yeah, I used to advise people to kind of do this when they would ask about using a service like RapidVisa. They would say well it is worth it to make sure you don't miss anything and have to get an RFE. My response would be well it would be quicker and cheaper to just get the RFE and answer it versus waiting to jump through RapidVisa hoops for a couple of weeks. I would for sure hold back on that advice now.

[geowrian 22,337]

3 hours ago, azblk said:

How does the uscis decide which petition/application is a placeholder and should be denied and which should get an RFE? How do they decide what amount of evidence is enough? After all they have not published a list of required evidence or how much to send.  Is the intent to get everyone to front load their evidence? .

Discretion. But my understanding is it must be a required item that is missing for this policy change to apply, not just a similar-yet-wrong document (i.e. marriage or divorce documents) or missing/insufficient amount of supporting evidence. The issue was people sending in incomplete petitions or applications instead of waiting to obtain the documents they needed.