IMBRA RFE

[JamesT 12]

I just received an RFE in the mail. Here is what it says exactly:

"You, James ___ (the petitioner), filed a Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiance(e), in behalf of Julia ___ (the beneficiary) on April 06, 2015. You are seeking to classify the beneficiary as the fiancee of a United States citizen under section 101(a) (15) (K) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Additional evidence is required to establish the qualifying relationship. Submit your response to this request for evidence along with the attached blue sheet.

International Marriage Broker (IMB)

You answered YES to Part 2/Item 35 indicating that you used the services of an international marriage broker. Accordingly, you are required to submit a copy of the signed, written consent form the IMB obtained from your beneficiary authorizing the release of your beneficiary's personal contact information to you. The form that you submitted as evidence of the beneficiary's consent is not acceptable as it is blank and does not have beneficiary's name and or authorization to release her information to you, the petitioner."

So is this really a two-part RFE? First they are asking for additional evidence to establish the relationship, and secondly they are saying the consent form that we submitted is unacceptable?

[TBoneTX 43,006]

All that they want, for now, is the proper consent form. If you don't have a copy of the one that she signed, contact the IMB for it.

[JamesT 12]

All that they want, for now, is the proper consent form. If you don't have a copy of the one that she signed, contact the IMB for it.

TBoneTX, thanks so much for your response. I guess I was reading too much into it in thinking it was a two-part RFE. I've attached a print screen of the actual RFE and also a blank version of the Consent Form that I got from the IMB. On the Consent Form that was included with the I129-F petition, I printed and signed my name at the top of page 1, answered all questions in English, and my fiancee signed and dated at the bottom of page 2 only.

Based on what it says in the RFE, I can see 3 potential issues:

1) She did not write in my name at the bottom of page 2 next to where it says "I agree to give my contact information to".

2) She did not print her name anywhere to make it clear that she, the beneficiary, was the person sign & dating the form.

3) There is no certified translation into English. (The questions on the form are written in both English and Russian, but there is no certification that the translations are complete and accurate.)

So now what is the best way to respond to the RFE?

Can we simply write in my name where it was omitted by the statement "I agree to give my contact information to", and print her name below where she signed and indicate she is the beneficiary? Or is it a bad idea to alter the document at this point, since this all should have happened before her contact information was released to me?

Another possibility I thought of is to ask the manager of the IMB who obtained the consent form to write a letter, acknowledging the unintentional omission of my name and certifying that my fiancee knew she was authorizing the release of her contact information specifically to me. Is this a good idea?

Is a certified translation of the form required, or no?

I don't want to include too much or too little in response to the RFE...

Consent form.pdf

Edited June 15, 2015 by JamesT

[TBoneTX 43,006]

Not a lawyer here, but I wouldn't alter or backdate a document. Perhaps get the IMB to provide the translation certification (sample verbiage available on VJ), and include the letter of omission. You never know unless you try.

[JamesT 12]

Okay, thanks again TBoneTX for the info/advice! By the way, is there a sample IMBRA consent form anywhere on the VJ site? I don't see one in the example forms section. Or is it pretty much up to every so-called IMB to develop their own without a standard format?

[TBoneTX 43,006]

Your IMB should know what to send you.