RFE I-485: for supposedly not getting married within 90 days after entering on K1?

[ST_RO 301]

Hi everyone,

 

I suppose we need some help. USCIS is really tearing me down - or cracking me up.

I entered the US on a K1 on 12/06/2018. We got married on 12/15/2018 - which is 9 days after I entered.

I filed for AOS - NOA date is 03/05/2019. Received an RFIE on 03/14/2019, which arrived in the mail today and states the following:

 

The petitioner on form I-129F and the K-1 applicant did not marry within 90 days of the K-1's arrival into the United States; therefore, Form I-129F cannot be used as a basis for adjustment of status. You must submit evidence that a valid immigrant visa petition has been filed on your behalf. Any petition filed on your behalf after this I-485 application was received by USCIS will not make you eligible for adjustment of status with this Form I-485. If you do not have a valid petition filed on your behalf either before or at the time this Form I-485  was filed, you may withdraw this Form I-485 by sending a letter stating that you wish to withdraw this Form I-485.

 

We did include a certified copy of our marriage certificate and we did fill out page 7 of Form I-485 (information about your current marriage). The marriage certificate is also listed in my cover letter content list for the AOS package. 

 

I am a little confused about what to do now since the RFIE is not asking me to submit our marriage certificate. 

My best guess is to send back the following:

 

1. copy of all pages of the RFIE - do they need to be signed by me?
2. Another certified copy of our marriage certificate
3. Include a letter that states again when I entered, when we got married, how many days after entering the US this is, that I am including my marriage certificate again. 

 

If somebody else has received an RFIE like this or anything else that could help me in making sure I reply the right way, I would appreciate your help!

 

Thank you!

[dentsflogged 352]

Mistakes can happen, sadly. 

Double check all the dates and date formats in your AOS forms - my husband caught a few times in our package where I'd used "normal" (ie: everywhere else on earth) date format vs. US date format. 

Also double check that the date on your marriage certificate is correct. 

If all the dates are right and in the right format, I'd respond to the RFE with another certified marriage certificate, a copy of your i-94 to show your entry date, and perhaps even ask your celebrant and county clerk to write letters confirming the date of your marriage and the lodgement of the paperwork with the county clerk, just for good measure. Overkill perhaps, but better go for overkill now than risk USCIS doubling-down on their mistake. 

[K1visaHopeful 2,655]

9 minutes ago, ST_RO said:

Hi everyone,

 

I suppose we need some help. USCIS is really tearing me down - or cracking me up.

I entered the US on a K1 on 12/06/2018. We got married on 12/15/2018 - which is 9 days after I entered.

I filed for AOS - NOA date is 03/05/2019. Received an RFIE on 03/14/2019, which arrived in the mail today and states the following:

 

The petitioner on form I-129F and the K-1 applicant did not marry within 90 days of the K-1's arrival into the United States; therefore, Form I-129F cannot be used as a basis for adjustment of status. You must submit evidence that a valid immigrant visa petition has been filed on your behalf. Any petition filed on your behalf after this I-485 application was received by USCIS will not make you eligible for adjustment of status with this Form I-485. If you do not have a valid petition filed on your behalf either before or at the time this Form I-485  was filed, you may withdraw this Form I-485 by sending a letter stating that you wish to withdraw this Form I-485.

 

We did include a certified copy of our marriage certificate and we did fill out page 7 of Form I-485 (information about your current marriage). The marriage certificate is also listed in my cover letter content list for the AOS package. 

 

I am a little confused about what to do now since the RFIE is not asking me to submit our marriage certificate. 

My best guess is to send back the following:

 

1. copy of all pages of the RFIE - do they need to be signed by me?
2. Another certified copy of our marriage certificate
3. Include a letter that states again when I entered, when we got married, how many days after entering the US this is, that I am including my marriage certificate again. 

 

If somebody else has received an RFIE like this or anything else that could help me in making sure I reply the right way, I would appreciate your help!

 

Thank you!

Did you submit ALL of the required documents below with EACH of your I485, I765 and I131:

 

1) your passport bio page.

2) your K1 Visa sticker and entry stamp which proves you entered on your K1.

3) your I94 admission record which serves as the official record of when your 90 days started (your marriage certificate only proves when you married, not when you arrived so you need that to prove when the 90 days started).

4) a photocopy of your K1 Noa2 Approval Notice that proves you were approved for a K1 petition by USCIS.

 

On the I485:

5) Did you fill out Page 4, Part 2 Question 3 with your "Receipt number of underlying petition" with your K1 Noa1 receipt number?

6) Did you fill out Page 4, Part 2 Question 4 with your "Priority Date for underlying petition" with your K1 Noa1 receipt date?

 

If you did not do ALL of the above that is likely why....

[Cryssiekins 976]

18 minutes ago, ST_RO said:

Hi everyone,

 

I suppose we need some help. USCIS is really tearing me down - or cracking me up.

I entered the US on a K1 on 12/06/2018. We got married on 12/15/2018 - which is 9 days after I entered.

I filed for AOS - NOA date is 03/05/2019. Received an RFIE on 03/14/2019, which arrived in the mail today and states the following:

 

Ugh, how terribly frustrating.  I’m sorry that they’ve made a mistake. 

 

Definitely respond to the RFE and restate all applicable dates.  You definitely married within 90 days, so as long as you point out the mistake, it will be rectified.  Just an annoying mistake to have to endure.  

7 minutes ago, dentsflogged said:

Mistakes can happen, sadly. 

Double check all the dates and date formats in your AOS forms - my husband caught a few times in our package where I'd used "normal" (ie: everywhere else on earth) date format vs. US date format. 

Also double check that the date on your marriage certificate is correct. 

If all the dates are right and in the right format, I'd respond to the RFE with another certified marriage certificate, a copy of your i-94 to show your entry date, and perhaps even ask your celebrant and county clerk to write letters confirming the date of your marriage and the lodgement of the paperwork with the county clerk, just for good measure. Overkill perhaps, but better go for overkill now than risk USCIS doubling-down on their mistake. 

Agreed 100%.  I know in my county the Clerk’s Office can actually certify the certificate (literally the definition of redundancy) but overkill is definitely advisable in this situation.

[mc962 55]

1 hour ago, ST_RO said:

I filed for AOS - NOA date is 03/05/2019. Received an RFIE on 03/14/2019

Maybe they were having an off day that day...we just got an RFIE for something equally as frustrating on March 14 as well (for something we definitely sent, but they said was not sent).

[ST_RO 301]

1 hour ago, K1visaHopeful said:

Did you submit ALL of the required documents below with EACH of your I485, I765 and I131:

  

1) your passport bio page.

 2) your K1 Visa sticker and entry stamp which proves you entered on your K1.

3) your I94 admission record which serves as the official record of when your 90 days started (your marriage certificate only proves when you married, not when you arrived so you need that to prove when the 90 days started).

 4) a photocopy of your K1 Noa2 Approval Notice that proves you were approved for a K1 petition by USCIS.

  

On the I485:

5) Did you fill out Page 4, Part 2 Question 3 with your "Receipt number of underlying petition" with your K1 Noa1 receipt number?

6) Did you fill out Page 4, Part 2 Question 4 with your "Priority Date for underlying petition" with your K1 Noa1 receipt date?

 

If you did not do ALL of the above that is likely why....

2

Yes, submitted all the docs with each application and answered the questions accordingly.

 

[ST_RO 301]

2 hours ago, mc962 said:

Maybe they were having an off day that day...we just got an RFIE for something equally as frustrating on March 14 as well (for something we definitely sent, but they said was not sent).

Sorry to hear that! I hope you get it resolved and keep your head up! You're right, this process is frustrating and USCIS is not making it easier.

[ST_RO 301]

3 hours ago, Cryssiekins said:

Ugh, how terribly frustrating.  I’m sorry that they’ve made a mistake. 

  

Definitely respond to the RFE and restate all applicable dates.  You definitely married within 90 days, so as long as you point out the mistake, it will be rectified.  Just an annoying mistake to have to endure.  

Agreed 100%.  I know in my county the Clerk’s Office can actually certify the certificate (literally the definition of redundancy) but overkill is definitely advisable in this situation.

My best guess is that they did not accept our Marriage Certificate as such because in Texas (or at least here in El Paso County, not sure about the rest of Texas) the Marriage License becomes your Marriage Certificate. You take the license back to the Clerk's office and they then confirm on the License that the marriage was entered into the records. I will call them tomorrow to make sure there is nothing else I need to know about, but I specifically asked them about that when we got our certified copies because I knew I would need an official document for AOS. 

[K1visaHopeful 2,655]

1 hour ago, ST_RO said:

My best guess is that they did not accept our Marriage Certificate as such because in Texas (or at least here in El Paso County, not sure about the rest of Texas) the Marriage License becomes your Marriage Certificate. You take the license back to the Clerk's office and they then confirm on the License that the marriage was entered into the records. I will call them tomorrow to make sure there is nothing else I need to know about, but I specifically asked them about that when we got our certified copies because I knew I would need an official document for AOS. 

Well let us know here exactly the reason for your RFE when you find out. It will be interesting to see what they say you missed. *following*

[MariaUSA90 176]

6 hours ago, ST_RO said:

My best guess is that they did not accept our Marriage Certificate as such because in Texas (or at least here in El Paso County, not sure about the rest of Texas) the Marriage License becomes your Marriage Certificate. You take the license back to the Clerk's office and they then confirm on the License that the marriage was entered into the records. I will call them tomorrow to make sure there is nothing else I need to know about, but I specifically asked them about that when we got our certified copies because I knew I would need an official document for AOS. 

it’s the same in colorado. the marriage license has the marriage certificate on the same page. I’m sorry you’re going through this. I would just send all the info again like everyone else is saying. maybe the IO had a bad day and just made a mistake. 🤷🏼‍♀️😔

[nastra30 1,968]

Strange universe. Based on your responses it seems you submitted what needed to to be submitted. It is frustrating. 

Check your marriage certificate to make it's a certificate and not a license. In some States your marr license has to to be re-affirmed as a marriage certificate after marriage ceremony is completed, but some people forget that extra step of converting the license to a certificate. 

[Ash.1101 1,755]

8 hours ago, ST_RO said:

My best guess is that they did not accept our Marriage Certificate as such because in Texas (or at least here in El Paso County, not sure about the rest of Texas) the Marriage License becomes your Marriage Certificate. You take the license back to the Clerk's office and they then confirm on the License that the marriage was entered into the records. I will call them tomorrow to make sure there is nothing else I need to know about, but I specifically asked them about that when we got our certified copies because I knew I would need an official document for AOS. 

 

Pretty sure they stamp a case number into the certificate that makes it official on the court level. If you just sent a copy of the liscense between signing it and giving it to the court house then the copy wasn’t official enough and you’ll need to get an exact copy of what the court house has.

 

but yea, the certified copies should be enough. It could just be an off day for USCIS. I’ve seen them ask for things that aren’t even required on applications before (like ROC RFE asking for marriage certificate for someone still in the same marriage from AOS) or asked for things the petitioner knows they’ve sent because they had a copy of what they sent.

Edited March 19, 2019 by Ash.1101

[Mollie09 1,543]

12 hours ago, ST_RO said:

Hi everyone,

 

I suppose we need some help. USCIS is really tearing me down - or cracking me up.

I entered the US on a K1 on 12/06/2018. We got married on 12/15/2018 - which is 9 days after I entered.

I filed for AOS - NOA date is 03/05/2019. Received an RFIE on 03/14/2019, which arrived in the mail today and states the following:

 

The petitioner on form I-129F and the K-1 applicant did not marry within 90 days of the K-1's arrival into the United States; therefore, Form I-129F cannot be used as a basis for adjustment of status. You must submit evidence that a valid immigrant visa petition has been filed on your behalf. Any petition filed on your behalf after this I-485 application was received by USCIS will not make you eligible for adjustment of status with this Form I-485. If you do not have a valid petition filed on your behalf either before or at the time this Form I-485  was filed, you may withdraw this Form I-485 by sending a letter stating that you wish to withdraw this Form I-485.

 

We did include a certified copy of our marriage certificate and we did fill out page 7 of Form I-485 (information about your current marriage). The marriage certificate is also listed in my cover letter content list for the AOS package. 

 

I am a little confused about what to do now since the RFIE is not asking me to submit our marriage certificate. 

My best guess is to send back the following:

 

1. copy of all pages of the RFIE - do they need to be signed by me?
2. Another certified copy of our marriage certificate
3. Include a letter that states again when I entered, when we got married, how many days after entering the US this is, that I am including my marriage certificate again. 

 

If somebody else has received an RFIE like this or anything else that could help me in making sure I reply the right way, I would appreciate your help!

 

Thank you!

I don't have anything helpful to add, but I wanted to say that I physically facepalmed when I read this. My first thought was "maybe you got married too fast for them? who knows?"

Laughable! Sorry you're going through this.

[GreenGem 58]

13 hours ago, ST_RO said:

Hi everyone,

 

I suppose we need some help. USCIS is really tearing me down - or cracking me up.

I entered the US on a K1 on 12/06/2018. We got married on 12/15/2018 - which is 9 days after I entered.

I filed for AOS - NOA date is 03/05/2019. Received an RFIE on 03/14/2019, which arrived in the mail today and states the following:

 

The petitioner on form I-129F and the K-1 applicant did not marry within 90 days of the K-1's arrival into the United States; therefore, Form I-129F cannot be used as a basis for adjustment of status. You must submit evidence that a valid immigrant visa petition has been filed on your behalf. Any petition filed on your behalf after this I-485 application was received by USCIS will not make you eligible for adjustment of status with this Form I-485. If you do not have a valid petition filed on your behalf either before or at the time this Form I-485  was filed, you may withdraw this Form I-485 by sending a letter stating that you wish to withdraw this Form I-485.

 

We did include a certified copy of our marriage certificate and we did fill out page 7 of Form I-485 (information about your current marriage). The marriage certificate is also listed in my cover letter content list for the AOS package. 

 

I am a little confused about what to do now since the RFIE is not asking me to submit our marriage certificate. 

My best guess is to send back the following:

 

1. copy of all pages of the RFIE - do they need to be signed by me?
2. Another certified copy of our marriage certificate
3. Include a letter that states again when I entered, when we got married, how many days after entering the US this is, that I am including my marriage certificate again. 

 

If somebody else has received an RFIE like this or anything else that could help me in making sure I reply the right way, I would appreciate your help!

 

Thank you!

Would definitely include a copy of your I-94 highlight the date you entered and as well as the date on your marriage certificate. Who ever handled your case must have had a long day to get confused with the dates.

[SalishSea 16,746]

11 hours ago, ST_RO said:

My best guess is that they did not accept our Marriage Certificate as such because in Texas (or at least here in El Paso County, not sure about the rest of Texas) the Marriage License becomes your Marriage Certificate. You take the license back to the Clerk's office and they then confirm on the License that the marriage was entered into the records. I will call them tomorrow to make sure there is nothing else I need to know about, but I specifically asked them about that when we got our certified copies because I knew I would need an official document for AOS. 

That’s not so uncommon that they wouldn’t have seen that before though.   Many counties do that.