RFE on AOS

[Mike-eeh and Odie 192]

Does anyone find it odd that they are requesting co mingled evidence at this stage ?

Or could it be a general request letter of some kind ?

Of course the certified marriage certificate is obviously needed but bank statements and photos ?

We always advice no need to send those with the initial petition. Perhaps that advice should be re evaluated?

Not odd at all. Proof of co-mingled funds/living together was one of the first things our visa service requested. That said, we provided:

1. Joint Checking account with transaction history.

2. Joint Credit Cards

3. Medical bills with my wife's name on the header.

4. Proof of Beneficiary on my Employee Life Insurance Policy.

5. Proof of Dependency on my Employee Medical Insurance.

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

Providing extras that are not a requirement for filing the I-485 will neither hurt nor help.

Not really as they've been told they wouldn't have to go through an interview.

When I had an infopass meeting with an Immigration Officer about questions regarding how to fill in one of the forms I was told that if I added photos of us, letter of our story, how we met and fell in love, and things with both our names on it and prove, with the package, that we were bona fide we could reduce our interview time from 30 minutes to 5.

Most people that are approved without interview do not have to provide anything else beyond their initial submission that did not include proof of bona fide marriage. So yes, it is a bit odd, as it is out of the ordinary.

Our interview was 5 minutes. We provided no evidence of marriage other than the copy of marriage certificate that is required. We were not even asked for any at the interview, and he was approved on the spot. Also, about half of K-1 adjusters have the interview waived and are approved without interview or any extra proof of bona fide marriage.

Not odd at all. Proof of co-mingled funds/living together was one of the first things our visa service requested. That said, we provided:

1. Joint Checking account with transaction history.

2. Joint Credit Cards

3. Medical bills with my wife's name on the header.

4. Proof of Beneficiary on my Employee Life Insurance Policy.

5. Proof of Dependency on my Employee Medical Insurance.

None of those things are required for the initial filing of the I-485, and many are approved without ever providing any. If someone is given an interview, then they should bring those things in case the IO asks for them.

[Mike-eeh and Odie 192]

* Providing extras that are not a requirement for filing the I-485 will neither hurt nor help.

- Do you have data to support this?

* * Also, about half of K-1 adjusters have the interview waived and are approved without interview or any extra proof of bona fide marriage.

- Do you have data to support this?

*** None of those things are required for the initial filing of the I-485, and many are approved without ever providing any. If someone is given an interview, then they should bring those things in case the IO asks for them.

- While that may be true, I know from personal experience we had interview waivers. I think it would be interesting to compare the data of people with interview waivers who front-loaded on the I-485 as to those who did not. I do not see why our visa service lawyer would ask for the information to submit along with our I-485 if he did not think it would increase the chances of an interview waiver. Secondly, we did not get an RFE. I am inclined to believe it wasn't simply due to our properly filled out paperwork.

Edited August 25, 2015 by Mike-eeh and Odie

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

You can check the timelines and data for people that filed AOS from K-1 yourself. It appears to be about half that get approved without interview. If you want to run the numbers to get an exact percentage, knock yourself out.

The waiver letters are a fairly recent thing. Cases without interview used to be sent to the CSC for faster processing, and back then, the ones without interview were quicker, for the most part, than those that received an interview. Who received an interview and who did not was pretty much random. Occasionally there are cases where they want to interview cases that seem suspicious to them, but for the most part, the interviews are short, painless and an approval is the outcome. Now all that is the same, but the ones without interview stay at the NBC, and get a letter of 'waiver' and have to wait months longer than someone getting an interview.

You can believe whatever you like. Properly filled out paperwork along with all required documentation will garner no RFEs for people, even if they do not add in extras that are not a requirement. People get approved without interview all the time without ever using any services, lawyers, or having sent in anything beyond what the initial I-485 filing instructions ask for.