wazzujoel

I second this. Nothing wrong with making a forum post that has a detailed list of what you plan to submit 🙂 I personally love posts where we help decide if the evidence is sufficient, insufficient, or over-kill. My personal approach to dealing with USCIS is to aim for "sufficient" and not venture into over-kill. Remember the agents are people to, so I don't want them getting annoyed at having to wade through too much repeat or unnecessary evidence. At the same time, you want to make sure you aren't missing anything.

Apologies that you read my comment as condescending/rude, it certainly wasn't my intent. My intent was to show you what was requested versus what you submitted and why this wasn't sufficient such that if you attempt to continue to do this on your own then you will see your errors and hopefully learn not repeat. My comment intent was to provide insight and thus by providing insight you might learn and then have success in the future. If I wasn't trying to help you, I wouldn't have taken the time to write such a long post. I'm too busy with life, and too old in life to waste my time with non-sense. The RFE did not ask for W-2's from 2020, 2021. The RFE specifically asked for "The joint sponsors most recent year tax return and all supporting tax documents (W-2's, 1099s, Form 2555, and tax schedules)". So although it was good that you submitted the W-2 for 2022, that was only a small part of what they asked for because you are missing the 2022 1040, 1099's, 2555, and tax schedules (or alternatively the tax transcript). They also did not ask for your 2022 W-2, just your joint sponsors. Do you understand this? My goal of this paragraph is to make sure you understand that you didn't need to supply documents they didn't request - In this situation W-2's from 2020 and 2021. When dealing with USCIS, always respond with the most concise evidence that address the request. Don't over-think it, don't try and swamp them with documentation you think proves the case, but only provide them exactly what they request. If you go the route of submitting a new i-485 then make sure you provide them exactly what they need which you have a good guide since you saw this RFE. reread my last comment and make sure you have concise evidence for the 7 items they asked for. Sincerely I am wishing the best for you, even though I don't know you. I have empathy for you because I also went through the K1 process and I understand how mentally exhausting the process can be. Best wishes. Note - I don't have an opinion on if you should refile i-485 or if you might have success with a I-290B. Is it possible to do both? I am not sure if a I-290B would allow the application to be reconsidered with new evidence that was previously not submitted in response to the RFE. If I was you, for this reason alone, I would probably want a quick consult with a lawyer at least.

Did you look really hard on the computer you used to create the application? Check the download folder, document folder, desktop, etc...

Hi Marshmellow-E, I just wanted to say that I think your evidence is sufficient as is, however there were a lot of other ideas suggested in this thread that are also a good idea. In your situation I don't think it will hurt you to include as much evidence as you can even if it might be a little over kill. I especially liked Sukie's idea of a letter affidavit from you as a couple explaining your marriage life and how you have co-mingled your finances and how you are both students working part-time. Just a short couple paragraph letter stating you have integrated your lives. Honestly though, I think what you have is already enough. Best wishes.

I would highly advise you to hire a lawyer. I read your RFE and they bulleted everything that was required and the denial letter very clearly states why you were denied. The RFE stated you needed to submit 1. Provide i-864 from Joint Sponsor ✅ 2. Provide Social Security Number of Joint Sponsor on i-485 ⚠️ 3. Provide correct calculated household size on -485 ⚠️ 4. Provide Joint Sponsors complete tax return including W2's and schedules for last year ❌ 5. Submit evidence that joint sponsor is a US Citizen ✅ 6. Verify that Joint sponsor + you meet income requirements with lots of ways to verify that. ⚠️ 7. Proof that you are a US Citizen ❌ And then from the denial letter documented what you actually submitted in response to this RFE was 1. A 2020 copy of W2 from joint sponsor - . ❌ Not asked for. 2. A copy of 2022 W2 for the petitioner - ❌ Not asked for 3. A copy of 2022 W-2 for joint sponsor - ⚠️ ❌ Close, but where is their full tax return? 4. A copy of the 2021 W-2 for the joint sponsor - ❌ Not asked for 5. A completed USCIS form i-864 for the joint sponsor - ⚠️✅ Good this was asked for. BUT Did you include their SSN, correct household size, and was it signed? 6. A copy of the joint sponsors birth Certificate. ✅ Great! They asked for this. With all due respect, the RFE is very clear what they were asking for and your response to the RFE did not respond with the items they were asking for AND you provided stuff they were not asking for. You are certainly not the first person to do this, nor will you be the last... But to me it is just wild that people receive RFE's or do the original application and just regurgitate a lot of irrelevant information not being asked for like that is somehow going to help their case? For what reason would you supply W2's from 202 and 2021 when they were asking for the full tax return for 2022??!?! You see, it's irrelevant. When an RFE is issued one should read it very closely, take a separate piece of paper and write down a numbered list of everything they are asking for, and then work on getting exactly that evidence and nothing further. I personally even like including a cover letter that documents what was requested, and what I am sending to meet the evidence for the request. This probably isn't necessary however I like making the connection between request and evidence extremely obvious. I really suggest you hire a lawyer because I have concerns about you being able to successfully navigate this process. Please don't take that as harsh criticism because I really do wish you all the best on this process. Based on this RFE and Denial though, this might be beyond your ability to navigate. To be successful you really need to read the rules and regulations carefully and provide exactly what is required and respond with exactly what they are asking for.

That's wild they would say you didn't prove he is a USC with the copy from vital statics. Although I agree with you that sounds like a lot of evidence, remember ultimately it was just the USCIS agent making the determination if he thought your evidence proved a bona fide relationship. Based on that one person's opinion, it did not. Were they influenced by discrimination? Maybe, but that's not easily provable. You have to focus on what are the facts and the facts are this one USCIS agent did not think your husband was 1. a USC 2. That you two had a bona fide marriage. In my non-legal opinion, I think your next steps are to file an appeal which means your case, and the appeal brief you submit will be reviewed by a secondary agent who might agree with your position and approve. I can't really offer you any real advice on what additional evidence to submit or what to write in your appeal, but don't make the appeal be about things you can't prove (the last agent maybe using discrimination to deny you) and instead focus on why he is a USC and why your evidence was sufficient to prove a bona fide marriage. Best wishes

100%. If I were to ever use a "preparer" or a lawyer, I would completely review everything they planned on submitting before it was submitted. I've seen far too many cases where people had issues with preparers or lawyers overlooking details that result in RFE's or denials. No one is more invested in this then the beneficiary and petitioner. Always review everything and make sure all responses are accurate and sufficiently address the issue.

Oh also... when I say "your appeal" I meant your USC husbands appeal. You cannot file an appeal, only the petitioner can.

I have a couple of comments, and please don't take this negatively because I am coming from a place of trying to help you. First, I am not a lawyer, I'm an engineer. I have read a lot about immigration due to my own circumstances and have successfully filed many applications without ever seeing an RFE or denial... But I am far from an expert and I have never deeply looked into an immigration case such as yours. So please don't take my comments as fact, but more something to consider as you search for the legal facts that will help you win your case. The best advice would probably be to talk to a very good immigration lawyer that has experience with a USC that is locked up. If you consult with a lawyer or not, I believe your next step needs to be to file an appeal. But prior to filing an appeal I want to talk about the reasons for your denial. https://www.uscis.gov/forms/all-forms/questions-and-answers-appeals-and-motions Remember that the person denying you is just a person like anyone here. They are looking at the evidence you provided and are making a decision based on what they think is correct in their head. Whenever I am dealing with USCIS, I like to make my evidence organized, concise, and telling a complete story. I don't want to leave anything for them to 'make up' because there were holes in the evidence. I also don't want them having to wade through mountains and mountains of the same bullshit evidence that doesn't really add to the story but overwhelms them which pretty much the same thing. I am not saying you did anything wrong here, I am only telling you my approach to dealing with USCIS because that might help you in your appeal. When an RFE or denial is given, I think it is important that the response be exactly in response to what they asked for. Your goal isn't to re-prove your entire case, but to prove the parts that are in question. Now lets get to your specifics. 1. Did not establish he is a USC. Yet you stated you provided his Birth Certificate. Well that's strange isn't it? Either the agent didn't see the birth certificate, or you didn't provide a decent or official copy? In the US sometimes people will be given a certificate of birth at the hospital, and sometimes people think these are their BC's but they are not.... That's literally just garbage. Could you have submitted that instead of a official birth certificate? I think that one thing you should do in your appeal is get another copy of the BC from town government if it's not too much trouble. I can't think of anything else as to why they would list that as one of the reasons. The good news is if you really did submit the official BC then I personally believe your appeal is very valid. How can they say he's not a USC if he has a US BC? stupid. 2. Did not establish a bona fide relationship. You don't need to convince me but I am not going to sugar coat this because I want you to understand what you are up against. You stated in this post that for the 12 years of your relationship and 8 years of your marriage, you have never cohabitated because I assume he was in prison. My instant reaction to that is, this is a sham of a marriage. How can someone be in a genuine relationship if they have never spent any real time together???.... sleeping in the same bed, working through relationship issues that come up because you see each other 24/7? If someone told me your situation in 2 sentences like I have read here, I would assume that this not a real marriage. What does normal i-130's provide to prove a bona fide relationship? Well supporting documents showing bona fide marriage usually include things like a. Copy of Marriage Certificate b. Apartment lease agreement c. Health insurance under petitioner d. Joint Financials - bank accounts, 401k, Ira, Venmo transactions to each other e. Proof of Beneficiary as beneficiary on retirement accounts f. Three letters of support from friends with licenses g. Pictures of couple together with friends and family All of those things seem like they might be pretty unlikely in your situation.... and that's what you are up against. Are you providing official prison visit logs? Is that even something you can get? I don't think it will be enough to say your visit "3 times a week for 3 hours every day, trust me". Are your correspondences dated? What evidence can you provide to show that this is a real relationship and not that you just found some guy who is locked up with nothing better to do that agreed to help bring you here? In my non-legal, non-expert opinion, you have a massively uphill battle here. What you need to do is find some people who have been in similar circumstances as you, and listen to their advice well... specifically on the evidence part. I've heard stories (this could be made up, never verified) of USCIS agents doubting a bona fide relationship when the couple has a child together and live together full time ("A child just proves you had sex once, not that you are together"). So my thoughts to you is that your appeal brief needs to specifically address the two reasons for denial. First the USC part which should be easily resolved with a new Official BC. Secondly think really hard about what you can say in response to the Bona Fide marriage. Was the marriage certificate you provided an official government marriage certificate? or an unofficial copy? What hard evidence can you provide that shows the amount of time you spend together and was what you submitted originally sufficient? These are all things you need to address and address it very concisely with clear evidence that backs it up. Don't get yourself stuck on "we were denied because he's incarcerated".... No It specifically stated it was because he didn't think it was a bona fide relationship. Possibly the agent was biased against those incarcerated, but that's not what you are fighting in your appeal... You are fighting that it was a "bona fide" relationship. Best wishes on your journey for a favorable ruling.

Ah well that's good news then. I wish you best luck on your immigration journey and hope you get your approval. Ill be following this thread to see if anyone has any better tips for you. Cheers

It could still cause problems for you... If either party is found ineligible, then i-130 petition can be rejected. The i-485 then gets rejected because you have no underlying visa claim since i-130 was rejected. I understand that your initial case was denied because he wasn't able to show up to the interview, however even if he had depending on the nature of the criminal offense, they could have still denied the i-130 because of it. I would suggest you talk with a lawyer unless you want to share more information about your husband. And even if you do, I am not certain anyone here is going to be able to give you really great advice here. That said... Don't take my word for gospel, perhaps someone who is smarter than me will have better answers for you.

Does the reasons behind his incarnation prevent him from obtaining permanent residency? It depends on several factors including the nature of the crime, persons immigration status, and the specific circumstances. The United States has strict immigration laws and regulations that affect the eligibility of individuals with criminal records to enter or remain in the country. Depending on the crime, he could be looking at a lifetime inadmissibility.

Well the application was submitted with the most accurate information we can provide. We submitted both her Cuban passport and her Cuban BC which list a different birth city, and are both different than the birth city she thinks she was born in. Nothing to do but sit back and see if it results in an RFE, and then try and understand what we could do to fix it. You should try and understand that this country (Cuba) does not have infrastructure and excellent record keeping as other countries like the USA. The processes and methods for getting errors in records fixed is almost impossible to navigate. So what should one do to get their birth city and their passport in a country that has limited communication infrastructure to resolve issues like this even if you were physically present? Should we just say that "her BC is the factual evidence of what city she was born in" and tell her to "forget the city she thinks she was born in, you are really born in the city listed on the BC" and then work on getting the passport changed in anticipation of an RFE?

No. She is not giving vague or incorrect information on purpose. She is a very sweet lady, but she is she is also uneducated and not the brightest. Prior to submitting the last documentations I didn't have her birth certificate because they were in Cuba and moving and didn't have it available. Since it wasn't required for the applications I was submitting on their behalf, I filled out all the information factually based on the information she sent me or verbally told me. She literally thought her birth city was a different city then what it said on either her BC or her passport. When I filed information, I went with the version on her passport. I appreciate your responses and you taking the time. Don't misunderstand me, I take great pride in filling these applications out accurately and getting them approved without issue. When I uncovered this issue where this 50 year old lady does not know her own birth city it blew my mind. And when she thought that her passport listing a different birth city was "no problem", it also blew my mind. To be perfectly honest with you, I also don't know what is the honest truth. It's very likely that both her BC and her passport are wrong, and what is correct is what she thought... She is from very very western Cuba in a place where they don't have restaurants, cell phones, hotels, or stores. They eat what they grow or slaughter, and children are often born at home. I certainly answered truthfully on my affidavit on the application where I said I filled out everything truthfully with information or data that was provided to me by the applicant.

To make things even more funny - We already filed for my partner (her daughter) and her son's I-485. We had asked her where she was both and she verbally told us a third city that was on neither her passport nor her birth certificate. The city she gave us is where her parents were born, and she mistakenly assumed that she was born there too. SMH. Don't ask me how someone of her age doesn't know what city she was born in. I don't think this should be an issue for her two kids applications because the information was true to the best of our knowledge..... but just wow. You'd think if you were getting a passport to come to the US that you would triple check everything

We are filing my MIL from Cuba's I-485, and I noticed during the process that her birth city on her birth certificate does not much the birth city on her passport. Last year we filed a i-765 for her with the birth city being the one listed on her passport, and that application was approved. For the I-485 packet we were submitting both a copy of her birth certificate as well as her Cuban passport. My thought it to keep her I-485 consistent with prior documentation (i-765 and i-134a) and list her birth city as the one on her passport. Technically though her birth city is the one listed on her birth certificate and this just wasn't caught previously when we applied for I-765 and I-134a because the birth certificate wasn't needed for those two applications. I think to fix this we would need to go through a massive hassle and get her passport corrected with the Cuban government and Cuban Embassy here in the US, which could take a very long time. My gut is telling me to just submit what we have and not worry about it because in the grand scheme of things, how important is a birth city??? everything else on these two documents match and is correct. thoughts?

This comment is a side tangent, but USCIS really shouldn't reject anyone over filing fees. They should just send a bill to the applicant stating the amount owed before the case can proceed. It could even be optional to send payment, and then have the ability for their USCIS website to pay your balance. The IRS doesn't have any problems with this pay online or pay later concept. Maybe USCIS should talk more to other government agencies that are quite a bit more competent.

These are my in-laws, they don't speak English, and I am following all of USCIS regulations for filling these forms out for them. I am even listing myself as the preparer for the application, and signing it appropriately. I have successfully filed many USCIS forms on behalf of others and I have never received an RFE. This includes one successful i-129F on behalf of their daughter, five successful i-134a's, five successful i-765's, and I am now in the process of submitting five i-485's on their behalf. It is true I could tell my spouses family who don't speak English, to go waste the little money they have on lawyers and translators, however I do consider them my family and I have been around this community enough to see that even lawyers mess up simple things like this.

I think the answer here is I need three separate applications and I don't think there is any advantage or disadvantage for selecting yes or no. Ill probably just select "no"

I am helping three Cubans with their AOS. They are adjusting from Cuban Humanitarian Parole via Cuban Adjustment Act and all three are related (mother, Father, son). I noticed on the i-485 application there is a checkmark that says "is this child/spouse applying with you?" This has caused me some confusion because I was planning on submitting three individual applications for them. Is there any reason why I should click yes or no in this box? Right now I am leaning towards making these three individual applications because I can't think of any real advantage to tying the applications together. thoughts?

Thanks for the suggestion. That is the one thing I am worried about. I don't think she will have an interview, and she also didn't need to do biometrics because she did that for her i-765 EAD.... I was hoping to save time by avoiding an RFE, but I certainly don't want them getting confused by what I am sending.

Well I only submitted the i485 which is now $1,440 after April 1st. $1,440 is what we sent and they accepted. ---- I did not pay for the other things you stated however looking at USCIS website it looks like i765 - $260 i130 - $675 So I would guess that the correct amount for you is : Total = $2,375 That said, you should try and calculate on your own because maybe you have certain conditions that change your amount. Plus these prices changed April 1st. Here is the fee calculator https://www.uscis.gov/feecalculator

We applied on 4/10/2024 for AOS and our check was cashed 4/29/2024, and we received an -797C (Notice of Action) with a receipt date of 4/26/2024. I have another friend who has a similar timeline, and we both sent to the Chicago lockbox and are both applying for AOS under Cuban Adjustment Act.

I am making this post here because it seems like the best place for my question. My fiancée is from Cuba, and although we started down the K1 path, she arrived to the USA on Humanitarian Parole. She has been in the USA now for over a year and we applied for Adjustment of Status (I-485) under Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966. In my area there is a very limited number of USCIS civil servants, so we sent the initial I-485 packet without completing the Medical on 4/12/2024. Today we are finishing the I-693 medical and will have the sealed envelope today 5/13/2024. Our notice date for I-485 is 4/26/2024 and we do have an MSC receipt number for this Adjustment of Status. Question - Should I send in this Sealed medical now or should I wait until we receive an RFE? If I send it in now, then where do I send it, and do I send it with a letter of some sort explaining what it is?

I tried editing the timeline but it wasn't obvious to me on how to change the timeline from K1 to something else (and if there was something else to even change it to). Edit - I just looked again and I see I can select a different category, however our category isn't an option. Additionally if I did that then all my K1 timeline goes away. I feel like it's best to leave it as is.