Trying to avoid an RFE

[TnJ 131]

The guides here at VJ state:

Copy of the Birth certificate (front and back) for the US Citizen or a copy of ALL pages of the US Citizen's passport.

If you only sent the birth certificate, you are fine. That's all we sent and we had no issues.

All they care about is your income and whether it meets their requirements. You taking a few months off will not impact anything.

:thumbs: This is a silly argument. To the OP, Evylin is correct. I don't know where the confusion is:

3. What Documents Do You Need to Show That You Are a U.S. Citizen?

A. If you were born in the United States, give USCIS a copy, front and back, of your birth certificate.

...

...

D. In place of any of the above, you may give USCIS a copy of your valid, unexpired U.S. passport issued with a validity period of at least five years. You must submit copies of all pages in your passport.

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-129finstr.pdf

That's it. There is no debate. Submit either or. Some people send both, but IT IS NOT required. I submitted both just in case there was an issue with one or the other, not because it was required.

Edited May 30, 2012 by ToddnJessa

[TnJ 131]

Hi guys, I did have a question about what we've been talking about. It says they wanted me to copy both sides of my birth certificate, but only one side had any information on it; the only thing on the back was blank white and you can vaguely make out a seal on the back, but there's no way you can see it by scanning it. So I just copied the side with all the info on it. Is this going to cause a problem though?

Quite possibly since they require the back even if it is blank. You could always obtain another newer copy from your state public health department.

[Peter_Pan 661]

He needs birth certificate to prove citizenship + passport to prove meeting within th elast 2 years.

[alexpdx 0]

Wait for an RFE. That's really all you can do at this point.

It's not advised to send additional information in before they request it. If you do, there's a high chance that what you send in never gets matched up to your original petition. So wait, see if you get one, and then send in everything they request.

Though, you sent in pictures and boarding passes/tickets. That sounds like enough to me. USCIS just wants proof that you've met in person in the last two years. They don't need daily communication proof, that's for the interview when you need to prove an ongoing relationship. From what you've listed, it sounds like you've sent enough to meet the requirements of USCIS.

As for the cosponsor, that's something that is done for the interview. You and the co-sponsor will both fill out the I-134 Affidavit of Support. You'll both have to include supporting evidence such as pay stubs, tax returns, letters from employers, etc.

I called USCIS twice and asked if I can send further evidence, and the rep read me their instruction and the 5th one stated that we are allowed to send documents to add to the file. She said make sure you include a copy of your receipt. And that's what I did.

Edited May 30, 2012 by alexpdx

[TnJ 131]

He needs birth certificate to prove citizenship + passport to prove meeting within th elast 2 years.

Right, but bio page and stamp pages are all that is needed when providing for the meeting within 2 years. There is no need for all pages when birth certificate is present. However, it is just easy to provide both with all passport pages if you are going to provide as evidence anyway.

Edited May 30, 2012 by ToddnJessa

[SteelFaithU2 3]

I called USCIS twice and asked if I can send further evidence, and the rep read me their instruction and the 5th one stated that we are allowed to send documents to add to the file. She said make sure you include a copy of your receipt. And that's what I did.

Awesome, thank you!

[pddp 240]

Unfortunately it's not always straightforward. We got an unexpected RFE for ALL pages of both USC (born and raised) petitioner's AND beneficiary's passports, despite both having also included birth certificates in our original package. Go figure. But like someone else said, an RFE is not a big deal and it only added 2 weeks to our journey. So relax.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

I called USCIS twice and asked if I can send further evidence, and the rep read me their instruction and the 5th one stated that we are allowed to send documents to add to the file. She said make sure you include a copy of your receipt. And that's what I did.

Awesome. And sometimes that works. Sometimes it doesn't.

[Pelmeni 39]

On 5/29/2012 at 8:48 AM, SteelFaithU2 said:

Hello everyone, I needed to know if I can send in more evidence for petition to avoid getting an RFE since I'm just waiting to hear back from immigration. When I originally sent my petition, I wasn't aware of this forum, and the instructions from the USCIS website were vague on details of what they consider primary and secondary evidence. I thought a lot of the evidence I had would only be needed on the interview date, but now I see that I should have sent in more info with my I-29F.

What I did send was 6 photos showing us together(face and body pics), proposal pics, and us together with her family and friends; our hotel booking (but it only has my name on it); a photo of my stamps from PHI immigration (not a scan); my boarding passes and tickets; Western Union money transfer receipts (with both of our names on it); and all the other info they blatantly requested - except I didn't copy each page of my passport

Kathy has the other primary evidence with her though; such as the Engagement Ring Receipt with both of our names; our apartment we leased together for the month (with both of our names). As far as I'm aware, our daily communication and correspondence is not needed to the interview though, correct?

So what should I do about this? Is there anything else missing I should provide as well? Any help is greatly appreciated - cheers!

Edit: Oh, and if I'm going to have a family member co-sponsor my fiance, when and how should I go about doing so?

I'm in kind of the same situation with a little extra baggage.. I submitted everything asked for. I'm an older professional woman and I looked at it like "Why would they deny me? We are obviously not fraudulent. I can support him if needed. He's not a criminal. He's a fire fighter in Yakutsk. We have followed all the rules." I'm not a scrapbooky kind of person either and some of the examples I've since noticed on YouTube are full of hearts and read like a teenage romance novel. I thought if I were the person looking at an application wouldn't I just want the facts? However, at times I wonder if I'll be judged because there are not enough hearts and glitter or that I'm being judged on whether or not that interviewer thinks my marriage will work when I love him and have every intention of being with him for always. 

I also work teaching English as a Foreign language so I meet more non-American men than usual. My first marriage was through this process so I wonder if they think I'm just shopping around for a foreign guy or have something against American males. Nope. We had known each other 13 years before and met working overseas in Korea. We were married for 10 years and had two children. Totally legitimate. He's British, still here working and being a good dad and teacher in public schools. Unfortunately, like many marriages with the  best of intentions it didn't work. I've read that it's acceptable to file another I-129F but I wonder if I will be judged on all this. I'm usually somewhat logical and calm. My "may be adjucated" passed on September 15 with no word. I thought about trying to send "my love story" and an excuse for the divorce but they have a copy of the divorce papers, etc. Basically, I looked at the instructions and sent what they asked for.  I'm hoping following that will be sufficient. There's really no way to predict what kind of interviewer you're going to have, etc and no way we can know what they will think. Sorry guys, if that was TMI and a little off topic. My point is that if you give USCIS what they ask for in the instructions and that it's a valid relationship, the fiance is not a criminal, and the person will not become a burden on society then there's no reason for them not to approve the petition.

[LeesaMarie 206]

59 minutes ago, Pelmeni said:

I'm in kind of the same situation with a little extra baggage.. I submitted everything asked for. I'm an older professional woman and I looked at it like "Why would they deny me? We are obviously not fraudulent. I can support him if needed. He's not a criminal. He's a fire fighter in Yakutsk. We have followed all the rules." I'm not a scrapbooky kind of person either and some of the examples I've since noticed on YouTube are full of hearts and read like a teenage romance novel. I thought if I were the person looking at an application wouldn't I just want the facts? However, at times I wonder if I'll be judged because there are not enough hearts and glitter or that I'm being judged on whether or not that interviewer thinks my marriage will work when I love him and have every intention of being with him for always. 

I also work teaching English as a Foreign language so I meet more non-American men than usual. My first marriage was through this process so I wonder if they think I'm just shopping around for a foreign guy or have something against American males. Nope. We had known each other 13 years before and met working overseas in Korea. We were married for 10 years and had two children. Totally legitimate. He's British, still here working and being a good dad and teacher in public schools. Unfortunately, like many marriages with the  best of intentions it didn't work. I've read that it's acceptable to file another I-129F but I wonder if I will be judged on all this. I'm usually somewhat logical and calm. My "may be adjucated" passed on September 15 with no word. I thought about trying to send "my love story" and an excuse for the divorce but they have a copy of the divorce papers, etc. Basically, I looked at the instructions and sent what they asked for.  I'm hoping following that will be sufficient. There's really no way to predict what kind of interviewer you're going to have, etc and no way we can know what they will think. Sorry guys, if that was TMI and a little off topic. My point is that if you give USCIS what they ask for in the instructions and that it's a valid relationship, the fiance is not a criminal, and the person will not become a burden on society then there's no reason for them not to approve the petition.

You did the right thing, you'll provide a better impression by following the instructions, and making your application easier to read. I too, almost fell for the "PLEASE READ MY LOVE STORY" as I thought this was required. Unfortunately people did that and then got approved, and so they think it is needed. Hearts and glitter so not prove you have met, they do not prove you're in a real relationship. 

 

So please do not worry. They aren't judging you as a person, and your relationship choices, they are evaluating the person you are attempting to bring into the US, and that you can have a legal marriage, and that it's not fraud.

 

I wish you all the best with your application.

[Pelmeni 39]

36 minutes ago, LeesaMarie said:

You did the right thing, you'll provide a better impression by following the instructions, and making your application easier to read. I too, almost fell for the "PLEASE READ MY LOVE STORY" as I thought this was required. Unfortunately people did that and then got approved, and so they think it is needed. Hearts and glitter so not prove you have met, they do not prove you're in a real relationship. 

 

So please do not worry. They aren't judging you as a person, and your relationship choices, they are evaluating the person you are attempting to bring into the US, and that you can have a legal marriage, and that it's not fraud.

 

I wish you all the best with your application.

Thank you.

[Pelmeni 39]

On 5/30/2012 at 11:29 PM, Penny Lane said:

Awesome. And sometimes that works. Sometimes it doesn't.

I just got an rfe and I have no idea what it could be because I sent them everything that was in the instructions. I was notified by email and text but I have to wait for the letter to see what they need.

[LeesaMarie 206]

13 hours ago, Pelmeni said:

I just got an rfe and I have no idea what it could be because I sent them everything that was in the instructions. I was notified by email and text but I have to wait for the letter to see what they need.

That's okay, perhaps something wasn't clear to them. It will be easily rectified I'm sure  Please let us know what was missing, or what they needed further clarification on so other people can be more prepared.

 

Stay positive.

[Pelmeni 39]

5 minutes ago, LeesaMarie said:

That's okay, perhaps something wasn't clear to them. It will be easily rectified I'm sure  Please let us know what was missing, or what they needed further clarification on so other people can be more prepared.

 

Stay positive.

Yes, I will. I'm looking at it like this. They are giving me a chance. They don't have to do RFEs. Andrey feels positive about it. "Soon we will know exactly what they want."

[Pelmeni 39]

On 9/21/2018 at 5:36 AM, Pelmeni said:

Yes, I will. I'm looking at it like this. They are giving me a chance. They don't have to do RFEs. Andrey feels positive about it. "Soon we will know exactly what they want."

I hope this helps someone. Here it is! I left out a page in the divorce papers so make sure that you send absolutely every single page!