I-485 RFE

[ATCSUSNRET 38]

Hello everyone,

Woke up to an RFE notification on our case status this morning.  Our timeline is:  I-797 May 16, Scheduled Biometrics May 24, RFE sent May 28.  I am a bit confused, as we have only received the 797 in the mail, which was Sat the 25th.  I had assumed we were at a standstill until biometrics are complete.  We did not submit for EAD or AP, just the 485 and 864.  I make 7x the poverty level cutoff, submitted last 3 years of tax transcripts, employment verification, etc.  Can anyone shine some light on this?  I know I have to wait to actually receive the RFE, just wondering if anyone has heard of one being issued prior to biometrics.  

 

Thanks

 

Seth

[Marieke H 2,379]

We can only really guess until you receive the RFE, but this early in the process they normally just scan the file, making sure everything is complete. So my guess is that a form or a page of a form is missing, or a signature or something like that. 

[powerpuff 6,122]

RFEs can be issued at any point in the process, including before biometrics appointment.

[K1visaHopeful 2,705]

Guessing will only have anyone reading this thread jump to conclusions instead of learning facts. 

My opinion is to be patient and not allow assumptions that can hurt others.

Not everyone has the same mental state (especially a K1 immigrant who has been stuck at home for months doing nothing) or capacity to understand. 

Facts are helpful. 

Update when you have your RFE and if you don't understand, we can help.

[W199 281]

2 hours ago, ATCSUSNRET said:

Hello everyone,

Woke up to an RFE notification on our case status this morning.  Our timeline is:  I-797 May 16, Scheduled Biometrics May 24, RFE sent May 28.  I am a bit confused, as we have only received the 797 in the mail, which was Sat the 25th.  I had assumed we were at a standstill until biometrics are complete.  We did not submit for EAD or AP, just the 485 and 864.  I make 7x the poverty level cutoff, submitted last 3 years of tax transcripts, employment verification, etc.  Can anyone shine some light on this?  I know I have to wait to actually receive the RFE, just wondering if anyone has heard of one being issued prior to biometrics.  

 

Thanks

 

Seth

As the I-864 sponsor, did you include proof of being a USA citizen? That is what caused us to get an immediate RFE.

 

Edited May 28 by W199

[ATCSUSNRET 38]

14 minutes ago, W199 said:

As the I-864 sponsor, did you include proof of being a USA citizen? That is what caused us to get an immediate RFE.

 

I did not.  That did not occur to me.  That seems like a strange requirement given that we already had the K1 approved.  I am hoping it is something simple like that.  Thanks for the response.  

[W199 281]

3 hours ago, ATCSUSNRET said:

I did not.  That did not occur to me.  That seems like a strange requirement given that we already had the K1 approved.  I am hoping it is something simple like that.  Thanks for the response.  

As far as I could see from the instructions, if you are adjusting status from a K-1 and hence are the sponsor of the I-864 then you do NOT need to prove you are a USA citizen, as you’d expect. 

 

My guess is that the contractors receiving and doing the initial basic checks need some additional training. I just uploaded a copy of my passport to the online account they created for me back in JanuaryZ 

 

We actually just got the approval too, so it took about 4.5 months.

 

 

[Dashinka 23,543]

All you can do at this point is review the package you sent in and see if something jumps out at you.

 

Good Luck!

[ineedadisplayname 450]

You can check the RFE letter in https://my.uscis.gov/ if you have an account.

At least they used to publish it "back in my day".

So by the time the snail mail comes you can be ready to turn it around the same day.

[ATCSUSNRET 38]

I was able to see the RFE online.  It referenced tax transcripts (last 3 years provided), joint sponsor reqs( not necessary) and proof of my citizenship via passport/birth cert.  I can only assume it is the citizenship part.  It is in the block 11 instructions on the 864 to provide, I just overlooked it.  

[W199 281]

21 hours ago, ATCSUSNRET said:

I was able to see the RFE online.  It referenced tax transcripts (last 3 years provided), joint sponsor reqs( not necessary) and proof of my citizenship via passport/birth cert.  I can only assume it is the citizenship part.  It is in the block 11 instructions on the 864 to provide, I just overlooked it.  

But the pdf instructions for form I-864 in section 11a which instructs you to provide proof of your USA citizenship says that if you have already provided proof of your status when filing form I-129F then there is no need to prove your status. 

 

Therefore, unless I am misinterpreting those instructions, I don’t think you or I overlooked it.  It seems to me the mail room contractor just issues the RFE automatically without even checking if the above exclusion applies in order to save time.

[OldUser 5,304]

9 hours ago, W199 said:

But the pdf instructions for form I-864 in section 11a which instructs you to provide proof of your USA citizenship says that if you have already provided proof of your status when filing form I-129F then there is no need to prove your status. 

 

Therefore, unless I am misinterpreting those instructions, I don’t think you or I overlooked it.  It seems to me the mail room contractor just issues the RFE automatically without even checking if the above exclusion applies in order to save time.

I'll add more: it could be USCIS software that generates those RFEs not a human. The best of course of action is to always provide everything you can instead of hoping USCIS will take into account various rules and exceptions.

[ATCSUSNRET 38]

On 5/30/2024 at 6:44 PM, OldUser said:

I'll add more: it could be USCIS software that generates those RFEs not a human. The best of course of action is to always provide everything you can instead of hoping USCIS will take into account various rules and exceptions.

Yes I intend to.  Probably a little overkill but I am not taking any chances at this point.