I751 Approved after RFE - sharing my experience

[Polnj 7]

Hey Everyone I was following this forum for while but I never post anything im October 3rd 2017 filler VSC my case wast transfer to TSC on December 14 then I got RFE January dont remember the date but we send everything they were asking for. on March 5th TSC recive our RFE and yesterday 20 days later my status change to NEW CARD BEING PRODUCE 

I never filled n400 

[OmSaiRam88 5]

On 3/8/2019 at 9:16 PM, rfesuccess said:

Hello, fall 2017 filer here. I got approved recently after responding to an RFE for my I751 petition. The forum has been incredibly helpful, arguably better than some immigration lawyer I spoke to. I want to share my experience and timeline in case it might be helpful or can alleviate some anxiety out there.

 

Timeline: Fall 2017 jointly filed, Biometrics followed up very quickly in 2-3 months time. Then long wait until Feb 2019 for RFE for general documents to prove bona fide marriage. I responded in two weeks after receiving RFE. The response was acknowledged on Friday the same week the documents were delivered. Card in production around 10 days after the acknowledgement of RFE response. Long wait but quick turnaround after RFE response. 

 

There is one complication with my RFE: after getting married, my husband and I lived two years together and we lived apart for two years because of work reasons (relocation, different city) and then we were physically separated for another 8 months because long distance take a toll on our relationship. So when filing jointly 2017, we did not live together but NOT by choice, when receiving the RFE, we were not living together BY CHOICE. As you can imagine, this creates a complicated situation because we are in the limbo mode: not divorced but not living together either.

 

I consulted an immigration lawyer about the best strategy going forward and he suggested me to get a divorce first, wait for the divorce decree and then respond to the RFE by switching from jointly filed to a waiver. He thinks this process will probably take more than a year and he thinks rather than wait for approval on 751, I should wait until 2020 to file N400 to force an interview happen quickly. All makes sense right? I thank god every second for not listening to him!

 

What I did instead was to write a long letter explaining the ups and downs of our marriage as well as having my husband write a letter. In the letter, I told the officer that a divorce down the road is considered but we have not yet decided finally. I also told the officer that we want to REMAIN JOINT FILING STATUS. Note: my husband and I are still on good terms despite separation. I decided to be 100% honest with USCIS and listed my past address since we get married. Of course, I also sent a giant packet with photos, affidavits from a couple, banks statement for past three years, IRS transcript (I sent returns initially, not transcript), Amazon orders, birthday gift receipts, copies of driver's license with same address showing, copies of my H1B visa to prove I did not need green card to stay in the country, the proof to show that first two years of living apart was not by choice, and flights and hotel reservation for past trips. I bought a big multi-layer folder and fill it in full. Overnighted it via Fedex to USCIS.

 

~ Two weeks later, I got approved!

 

The moral of the story is 

1. BE HONEST - worst strategy is to lie in an immigration application
2. Lawyers are incentivized to complicate the situation so that they can charge you more. Also some of them are too busy that they will rarely help you respond to an RFE in two weeks, only you can do that. USCIS apparently values timely responds as indicated in their notification when RFE response is received. For really complicated situations you might need a lawyer, but be aware of their incentives and don't get bluffed by them. Word of mouth is probably important here when looking for a good responsible lawyer.
3. USCIS officers understand marriage fall apart and takes a very humane customized approach when looking at our cases. Don't be afraid that they might not understand. As long as your marriage is real, you have nothing to worry about.
4. Be creative and exhaustive with your supporting evidence. I underestimate the document requirement when I first filed, I thought they might retain the file when I get my conditional green card and merely send a few updates. If you have not filed yet, be sure to send as many documents as possible to avoid RFE. Be creative means not only tax document, children birth certificate or mortgage, you can send anything that shows you get married because you fall in love. I actually sent in the Facebook page of our relationship status change many years ago when we first started dating. Be as detailed as possible in your cover letter and in the affidavit letter. Let the witness talk about events you did together, how you get to know each other as a couple. Amazon orders histories are good proof of joint living as well as relationship. 

 

This is a long way to say, don't be afraid of RFE and don't be afraid that a damaged marriage might cause a denial of your petition. And most importantly, if someone say, you will definitely get an interview because you and your husband don't live together any more, WALK AWAY from that person as they know nothing about I751 petition. Thanks and hope this can be of help!

 

What center were you?? Where did you submit your rfe?

[OmSaiRam88 5]

On 3/28/2019 at 8:44 AM, Polnj said:

Hey Everyone I was following this forum for while but I never post anything im October 3rd 2017 filler VSC my case wast transfer to TSC on December 14 then I got RFE January dont remember the date but we send everything they were asking for. on March 5th TSC recive our RFE and yesterday 20 days later my status change to NEW CARD BEING PRODUCE 

I never filled n400 

on an average do they take 2 weeks to approve or you have seen/heard Texas taking longer to approve after RFE response?Please share.

 

I am april 2018 filer to Vermont,my case got transferred to Texas in March 2019 and I received an RFE on Aug 2nd.

I have now submitted my RFe response and USCIC texas confirmed that they received the response on Aug 21st. Waiting for them to make a decision on my case.

 

[Polnj 7]

53 minutes ago, OmSaiRam88 said:

on an average do they take 2 weeks to approve or you have seen/heard Texas taking longer to approve after RFE response?Please share.

 

I am april 2018 filer to Vermont,my case got transferred to Texas in March 2019 and I received an RFE on Aug 2nd.

I have now submitted my RFe response and USCIC texas confirmed that they received the response on Aug 21st. Waiting for them to make a decision on my case.

 

I don’t know mine took 20 days and was approved then week later I got my green card in hand 

[OmSaiRam88 5]

13 minutes ago, Polnj said:

I don’t know mine took 20 days and was approved then week later I got my green card in hand 

and you send it to Texas, mesqite?

 

 

[Polnj 7]

22 hours ago, OmSaiRam88 said:

and you send it to Texas, mesqite?

 

 

No first I send it to Vermont then they transferred the case to Texas mesquite and Texas ask for more evidence 

[OmSaiRam88 5]

2 minutes ago, Polnj said:

No first I send it to Vermont then they transferred the case to Texas mesquite and Texas ask for more evidence 

Same with me, I had submitted my I-751 in April 2018 to Vermont.

 

They transferred my case to Texas in March and I got an RFE on Aug 2nd 2019.

I submitted my response to texas and they received the response on Aug 21st.

 

Now waiting for decision.

 

 

[Hannah_NYC 14]

Hi Guys! 

 

So, today 5/1/20  I received the RFE letter. I wanted to share everything with you and see if you can help me with the preparation of the packet. I want to thank you in advance for your help. You guys are amazing!! 🏆

 

This is what I sent to USCIS on July 12, 2019. Vermont center. 

 

Evidence of our bona fide relationship:
• Copy of our Marriage Certificate
• Copies of our joint tax return for 2017 and 2018
• Copies of our tax transcripts for 2017 and 2018
• Copies of our W2's for 2017 and 2018 showing same address
• Copies of bank statements from our join bank account for the past 24 months
• Copy of our joint account debit cards
• Copy of our apartment renters insurance showing joint policy
• Copy of my spouse's life insurance policy showing my name as the beneficiary
• Copy of our original apartment rental contract showing joint cohabitation
• Copy of our renewed apartment rental contract showing joint cohabitation
• Notarized sworn affidavit letters of support from family and friends
• Letter from the Building Management Office confirming our tenancy and joint cohabitation
• Copies of electricity bills for the past 24 months showing joint account 
• Copy of our Costco joint membership
• Copies of checks that we have paid the apartment rent with from our joint bank account and the landlord's receipts.
• Copy of check that we have paid the IRS from our joint bank account
• Copies of medical records, phone bills, online orders, furniture deliveries, bank correspondence, IRS correspondence, Department of Motor Vehicles, USPS package deliveries, promotional materials and other showing same address
• Copy of an email from a real estate investor in regards to future investments addressed to both of us
• Copy of a reservation confirmation for a United Airlines client event that we attended in New York City showing both of our names
• Copies of Driver's Licence and State ID showing same address
• Copy of our airline tickets from our trip to Chicago, Illinois
• Copy of our hotel reservation confirmation letter in Chicago, Illinois
• Explanation to why we don’t have a joint health care insurance
• Explanation to why we don’t have a joint phone plan
• Pictures together from 2016 to 2019.

 

BELOW IS THE RFE LETTER. They are basically asking for the same things. I don't understand. Compared to other people that I know, who have gotten green cards, I think I have sent more than enough.

Unfortunately I don't have anything additional from what I sent 10 months ago. We don't have a kid, we don't have a car, we don't have a joint phone bill because his company pays for his bill and we don't have joint health insurance because we've been changing jobs frequently and we couldn't be on the same plan. 

Do you think if I send the same documents, but with new dates for the past 10 months it will be sufficient??? AWAITING FOR YOUR ADVICE :)) 

 

 

 

[Randyandyuni 2,682]

You are posting in an almost year old post

 

[Hannah_NYC 14]

16 minutes ago, Randyandyuni said:

You are posting in an almost year old post

 

I know ... 😂 I've been posting everywhere, all night,  hoping for answers 😁. 

Thank you, Randy! 

[Randyandyuni 2,682]

22 minutes ago, Hannah_NYC said:

I know ... 😂 I've been posting everywhere, all night,  hoping for answers 😁. 

Thank you, Randy! 

Lol ok, some of them are 3-4 years old, haven’t seen some of those names around in a couple of years

[Elena & Craig 80]

On 5/2/2020 at 12:07 AM, Hannah_NYC said:

Hi Guys! 

 

So, today 5/1/20  I received the RFE letter. I wanted to share everything with you and see if you can help me with the preparation of the packet. I want to thank you in advance for your help. You guys are amazing!! 🏆

 

This is what I sent to USCIS on July 12, 2019. Vermont center. 

 

Evidence of our bona fide relationship:
• Copy of our Marriage Certificate
• Copies of our joint tax return for 2017 and 2018
• Copies of our tax transcripts for 2017 and 2018
• Copies of our W2's for 2017 and 2018 showing same address
• Copies of bank statements from our join bank account for the past 24 months
• Copy of our joint account debit cards
• Copy of our apartment renters insurance showing joint policy
• Copy of my spouse's life insurance policy showing my name as the beneficiary
• Copy of our original apartment rental contract showing joint cohabitation
• Copy of our renewed apartment rental contract showing joint cohabitation
• Notarized sworn affidavit letters of support from family and friends
• Letter from the Building Management Office confirming our tenancy and joint cohabitation
• Copies of electricity bills for the past 24 months showing joint account 
• Copy of our Costco joint membership
• Copies of checks that we have paid the apartment rent with from our joint bank account and the landlord's receipts.
• Copy of check that we have paid the IRS from our joint bank account
• Copies of medical records, phone bills, online orders, furniture deliveries, bank correspondence, IRS correspondence, Department of Motor Vehicles, USPS package deliveries, promotional materials and other showing same address
• Copy of an email from a real estate investor in regards to future investments addressed to both of us
• Copy of a reservation confirmation for a United Airlines client event that we attended in New York City showing both of our names
• Copies of Driver's Licence and State ID showing same address
• Copy of our airline tickets from our trip to Chicago, Illinois
• Copy of our hotel reservation confirmation letter in Chicago, Illinois
• Explanation to why we don’t have a joint health care insurance
• Explanation to why we don’t have a joint phone plan
• Pictures together from 2016 to 2019.

 

BELOW IS THE RFE LETTER. They are basically asking for the same things. I don't understand. Compared to other people that I know, who have gotten green cards, I think I have sent more than enough.

Unfortunately I don't have anything additional from what I sent 10 months ago. We don't have a kid, we don't have a car, we don't have a joint phone bill because his company pays for his bill and we don't have joint health insurance because we've been changing jobs frequently and we couldn't be on the same plan. 

Do you think if I send the same documents, but with new dates for the past 10 months it will be sufficient??? AWAITING FOR YOUR ADVICE :)) 

 

 

 

Hi. I know this is a long shot and you may not be around on this website anymore but I’d give it a try and ask. What did you end up sending to them and how did your pending petition for I-751 resolve? Ty @Hannah_NYC

I’m currently expecting my RFE and don’t know yet what they ask for. Trying to mentally prepare for that.