Coffee2Go

Thank you for your help for me... as I tend to get nervous when the RFE instructions on the USCIS site states this can result in Denial!!! So, I freak out a bit and overthink everything.. which I tend to delay doing anything. But I am sending sending the letter with tracking but not certified or registered. Just courier tracking and will follow up in a couple weeks in case there isn't an update on my case online. Thanks everyone!

Hello everyone, This is a new question from a previous thread where I received an RFE for uploading a foreign language document during the petition process without an English translation. Per the instructions on the RFE, I will mail the requested translaiton to the U.S. from Germany. I will get the tracking as well to ensure delivery, but how long should I wait until contacting someone at the USCIS about receiving the RFE? I have the option to upload evidence but it wasn't clearly stated in the RFE that I can provide the proof electronically online via my USCIS account. My questions is, has anyone just submitted the RFE response both ways (via mail & online)? Thanks! -C2G

I just re-read ths instructions and there is no mention that I can submit electronically even though I have this option in my USCIS account. Very confusing, but I will follow the instructions and send via mail.

Good morning, everyone! First of all, I really do appreciate the responses to my original question as it was very helpful. I value this forum very much. So a quick UPDATE from my end, is that when reviewing the documents that I had initially uploaded, I did include an uploaded page of the original Marriage Certificate that was only in German language. I had also uploaded 3 pages of the dual language (German and English) document as well. So, this is why the RFE was sent in the first place, because any foreign language document must be supported with an English translation. I should have just not uploaded the German document as the dual translation should have sufficed. Now, since we have the RFE, my wife and I requested a translation of the German document to English and we already have it with a stamp of certification from the translator in soft and hard copy. We plan to submit the RFE today and have the option to submit electronically on the USCIS site. Does this then require me to send the RFE as well via mail? Or is electronic submission good enough? I tried finding help on the USCIS site but to no avail. Thank you, C2G

Hello pushbrk, thanks for answering my post. I received an RFE with the following response: You submitted a foreign language document that appears to be a Marriage certificate "my name" and "my spouse's name". However, you did not include a certified English translation of the document. Any document that is not in English must be submitted with a complete and certified English translation. You must submit both of the following: A complete, accurate and certified English translation of the entire document, including a translation of the registrar’s name and information, signature and stamp of the civil authority; AND A new photocopy of the corresponding foreign language document. When my wife and I were going through the process, we had requested that the Marriage Certificate would be dual in German and English, because we knew this would be needed in the future when decided on the immigration process. This doesn't make any sense, and maybe the agent on my case missed the English part but it's obvious that every field category is translated. This is why I'm trying to find someone to speak with and save myself a couple hundred more euro for translating and sending the evidence.

Thank you for the advice. I didn' even consider updating my profile but I have updated some fields, so hopefully other couples immigrating from Germany can see it. Thanks again!

Hi Dashinka, Thank you for your response. I'm calling from Germany and there wasn't an option to request a Tier 2 agent, and every time I have called they disconnect when I request to talk with a live agent.

Hello, Does anyone else ever encounter an issue with the USCIS during the petition process when an RFE was sent? In my case, I would like to speak with someone or email an agent for my case because my marriage certificate has already been translated as a dual German and English marriage certificate. The USCIS hotline number is only a bot would not direct me to an agent. The email options also not possible. Can someone help? Thanks! C2G

RFE for English translation of my German marriage certificate, even though it is translated on the marriage certificate in both German and English. I have to provide a separate English translation and re-send to the USCIS along with the original certificate that is already translated.

Update: I received the RFE and the USCIS is requesting for: A complete, accurate and certified English translation of the entire document, including a translation of the registrar’s name and information, signature and stamp of the civil authority; AND A new photocopy of the corresponding foreign language document. NOTE: Extract or summary translations of the original document are not acceptable. The translator must certify that the translation is complete and accurate, and that he or she is competent to translate from the foreign language to English. The issue I have is that when my wife and I got married we requested the marriage certificate was translated into English, and so the Marriage certificate itself is both in German and in English. It's a dual language certificate with a stamp and seal. Is it possible to request this RFE is not necessary?

Thanks CrazyCat! 🙂 Wow, even with an Immigration Lawyer nothing is really guaranteed to go smoothly. I hope you're right and it is a simple fix, which it probably is... but after waiting almost a year I just wanted to see a different outcome. But patience is good advice. Thank you.

This is more of a rant than asking for advice or solace. I initially delayed starting the petition process to immigrate my spouse to the U.S. Once I was able to get the required documents in order to move to Germany 6 years ago, I had such a difficult adjustment with integrating myself to a new culture, language, job, etc. I delayed the process for a couple years with no real excuse. It was the biggest move of my life, and there was so many difficult steps that maybe it was just me being afraid to start another long and tedious process again. My wife helped me get all structured and get the correct documents notarized from like 8,000 miles away. I didn't have the smoothest experience with the German Ausländerbehörde but with my wife's detailed preparation, it went pretty ok. This petition process I told her that I would handle it. I would do the research and ensure I had everything correctly submitted. I wanted to pay her back for all the help she gave me, which I think now was honorable but stupid. The VisaJourney here provided updates on when to approximately expect a response for my initial petition to the USCIS. I would say that it was totally accurate given the last suggested update I recieved from this site. So kudos to this site really... really nice and dependable. But now I have to wait for the mail to recieve instructions on what I missed or didn't submit correctly. My account says now that the delay will take another 5 months! I'm just so thoroughly disappointed in myself... Maybe I didn' submit enough pictures of our travels, or letters from family. I didn't include family providing a notarized letter providing their witness to the validitiy of our marriage. I thought all of the pictures, letters and cards we shared were enough. So now I have to sit and wait and inform my wife that we have to wait. She is currently out of town taking care of her mom recovering from surgery... so I don't even want to text her about this. It will cause undo stress, so I will just wait until she gets home this weekend and inform her. That is why I like being anonymous here and gives me a chance to rant about this situation. Thanks for reading and please make sure you have provided the initial evidence and documentation correctly. I'll provide an update here once I recieve the instructions as well as the progress of the petition.

Thank you all for sharing your experiences and advice. I may come back here with a different thread for an update and will update my timeline accordingly once the petition feedback is recieved. Wish us luck! 😀

Hello everyone, I'm currently living with my wife in Germany and am a USC and petitioner for my wife. We don't have dependents and are expecting to recieve a response from our petition approximately in the next 3-4 weeks. That is what the estimate suggests. I am currently employed in Germany and will not be able to carry over my job to the U.S. and we only have maybe 1/3 of our required assets to provide sufficient means ot support. The assets are in my savings account, and I understand since I don't have domicile nor a job I can carry into the U.S. I must provide proof of 125% of the HHS poverty level. I get all that and understand that I will fall short of that ability to provide this income. As far as finding a co-sponsor, this is where I have also a blocker. My parents are very old and will not provide a co-sponser nor my sibling, which I cannot phathom why not. They love my wife and I have never historically been a burden to them... I believe itis just the unknown of how much liability and responsibility they would incur in case something really tragic happens. I don't know. I do have extended family but have not asked them mostly because of pride but also because I do not want to bind them as well to something I am ultimately responsible for. I have friends in the U.S. but the same applies, and I don't have the type of friends that would openly volunteer being a co-sponsor. This leaves me with only the choice of quitting my job once the petition is approved and moving to the U.S. to establish domicile and secure a new job. I can do that even though it will be tricky and costly as well. The question I have is the timing of everything. Once the NVC takes over, then I haven't found any documentation on when the I-864 will be required to be submitted to the NVC, nor what is the timing in general to have the form filled out to allow me to move to the U.S. and secure a job and domicile. I've read many blogs here and obviously I have missed it if documented in the travel.state.gov site: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas.html I have read through the FAQ many times and cannot find this information. Has someone else been through this same experience while living abroad and trying to plan ahead to immigrate their spouse to the U.S.? Is there a strict timeline once the petition is approved to have the next round of supporting documents submitted? Is this documented somewhere, or do I find out once the NVC sends the information to me? Thank you! Coffee2Go