"i-864 Important Notice instructions"...?

[Lewis K 0]

Hello all,

I have a couple of questions on details that aren't very clear to me:

I received a letter from the NVC requesting more supporting documents for my i-864. It says "make sure that the documents submitted are in the correct order and stapled together, as stated in the I-864 Important Notice instructions." What are the "I-864 Important Notice instructions" and where can I find them? I have searched all over the internet for this.

It also says they need me to "complete and submit a new form with the changes noted on the attached checklist". What do they mean by "with the changes noted on the attached checklist"? Should the changes be noted on the form or on the checklist, and how should the changes be noted?

Am I just being overly meticulous with their instructions? Before getting this request for more documents I thought I was being real meticulous with the packet I originally sent, but since that wasn't good enough I don't know what to think!

Thanks

Lewis

[sachinky 464]

What was your RFE for?

Respond to the RFE as required. Stick on the barcoded cover sheet.

[Scott and Mhay 57]

I believe it on the payment portal page. If you look at your page for tha AOS payment, there will be a link that leads the the travel.state.gov site. It will have a place to download the I-864 and other information and instruction. FWIW, I never stapled mine and just put it in the most logical order for me. Of course the NVC never really processed my stuff (was expedited).

Give it a look through this page: https://ceac.state.gov/CTRAC/Invoice/signon.aspx

[KayaEel 5]

The USCIS website includes "special instructions" for the I-864, but I couldn't find any "Important Notice Instructions" either. Did you include your own cover letter (behind the NVC Document Cover sheet, of course) listing all of the enclosed forms and documents; and then did you include all of the documents listed in the order mentioned in your cover letter? Also, were there actually some supporting documents that were not included with your I-864 submission, i.e. employment verification letter, pay stubs for past 6 months, tax transcripts for 2006-2008? If something was missing, focus on that. I mean, the NVC isssues these form letters and they all pretty much say the same thing, including 'friendly reminders' about how to submit that sometimes cause more confusion. Unbelievable, the USCIS does not want anything stapled or attached together and prefers 2-holes punched at the top with the original petition, but the NVC DOES want documents stapled. (stupid)

[Lewis K 0]

Thanks KayaEel and Scott & Mhay for your replies! I've gone through pretty much everything and can't find any information about the proper order of documents. There are lists of documents and it's logical they should be in that order, so I'll just try to be logical about it. Anyway it's hard to imagine they'd reject a case because of the order of documents. It is easy to get carried away with this stuff, though you never know what people can find problems with. Some of the documents they're requesting do seem a bit excessive, I already sent proof I'm a US citizen (that's part of why my i-130 was approved), already sent what I thought was proof of US domicile, what I thought was an explanation for why I was exempt for filing taxes, what I thought was my wife's valid passport (her passport renewal page is separate from the bio-data page, which probably caused the confusion), but I got asked for all these things again. After calling the NVC they basically said I should send these things again and be as clear as possible, but I already thought I was being as clear as possible..

BTW I did the two hole thing for the NVC instead of staples and at least got no complaints from them on that!:=)

Thanks again

Lewis

[Lewis K 0]

Sorry, one more question, they say they need the i-864 submitted again. Does this mean I have to include the i-864 coversheet again? The RFE letter had its own barcode, and I wouldn't like sending two barcodes. What do they need sent again? I assume they only need the documents listed in the RFE letter and that I don't have to send again things not listed, or... ??

Lewis

[pushbrk 12,115]

Sorry, one more question, they say they need the i-864 submitted again. Does this mean I have to include the i-864 coversheet again? The RFE letter had its own barcode, and I wouldn't like sending two barcodes. What do they need sent again? I assume they only need the documents listed in the RFE letter and that I don't have to send again things not listed, or... ??

Lewis

Use the most recent cover sheet. Your tax return or transcript pages should be in the proper order, as should the pages of the affidavit itself. Forget USCIS on this one NVC, part of the Dept. of State is processing your I-864. Use THEIR instructions.

[Darnell 8,478]

There is SLIGHT POSSIBILITY that this is actually a false RFE.

CALL NVC on Monday, and inquire about it.

There's been some internal issues at NVC in March and April, with things not getting reviewed in a timely fashion, then an RFE being automatically issued.

IF IT IS A TRUE RFE - and if it's for the I-864 -

If it's as you say, that you did not have to file taxes - then you still need to be able to prove up yer income. If you lived overseas and took advantange of the exemption, for NVC/I-864 purposes, you still need to FILE taxes (even showing the exemption amount). But that's just one example - if yer particular case on income is something else, entirely, then you should include a letter of attestation as to WHY you are exempt from paying taxes - keep it down to 1 page.

FWIW - a 'true RFE' comes to you as a I-797-C formletter, so be sure the thing you've received is an I-797-C, or NOT.

Good Luck, however it turns out.

[Bobby+Umit 161]

Revised reqs from State

and this:

Preparing Affidavit of Support Forms – I-864, I-864EZ, I-864A, and I-864W

[pushbrk 12,115]

There is SLIGHT POSSIBILITY that this is actually a false RFE.

CALL NVC on Monday, and inquire about it.

There's been some internal issues at NVC in March and April, with things not getting reviewed in a timely fashion, then an RFE being automatically issued.

IF IT IS A TRUE RFE - and if it's for the I-864 -

If it's as you say, that you did not have to file taxes - then you still need to be able to prove up yer income. If you lived overseas and took advantange of the exemption, for NVC/I-864 purposes, you still need to FILE taxes (even showing the exemption amount). But that's just one example - if yer particular case on income is something else, entirely, then you should include a letter of attestation as to WHY you are exempt from paying taxes - keep it down to 1 page.

FWIW - a 'true RFE' comes to you as a I-797-C formletter, so be sure the thing you've received is an I-797-C, or NOT.

Good Luck, however it turns out.

I-797C is a USCIS document. This case is at the NVC. RFE is not really a valid term for NVC and they certainly don't use USCIS forms. If something is missing at NVC, you get a "Checklist Cover Letter" and yes, sometimes those are sent for things they don't know they already have. This one sounds like something was actually requested and needed though as they refer to changes noted on the checklist.

Edited April 18, 2010 by pushbrk

[Lewis K 0]

Thanks for all the responses! Yes, I don't think it's a false checklist letter (sorry for calling it an rfe) and even if it were I already talked to the NVC people on the phone and they just said it's probably best to play it safe and send things again with clear explanations. It is weird that they themselves seemed to be outside of the loop, unsure of what exactly they needed or why I was asked for certain things, but I'll do what they say. They did say that it wasn't necessary for me to prove I'm a US citizen again. In fact, on my checklist sheet, which was addressed to me, it said "You, the joint sponsor, have not provided...etc" which seems in itself an error since I am not the joint sponsor.

Thanks

Lewis

[Married2009 32]

Thanks for all the responses! Yes, I don't think it's a false checklist letter (sorry for calling it an rfe) and even if it were I already talked to the NVC people on the phone and they just said it's probably best to play it safe and send things again with clear explanations. It is weird that they themselves seemed to be outside of the loop, unsure of what exactly they needed or why I was asked for certain things, but I'll do what they say. They did say that it wasn't necessary for me to prove I'm a US citizen again. In fact, on my checklist sheet, which was addressed to me, it said "You, the joint sponsor, have not provided...etc" which seems in itself an error since I am not the joint sponsor.

Thanks

Lewis

You are dealing with people that answer the phone, and don't review the information. If you are in doubt, call and ask to speak to a supervisor.

[sachinky 464]

Wait for the detailed email RFE to come in.