RFE after interview at Frankfurt Consulate

[CalistaR 3]

Hi all,

 

Unfortunately after my spouse's CR-1 interview today they asked him for an RFE (request for more evidence) to upload his CV.

 

The officer was very confused, asking for 2021 W-2 and stating it was not uploaded to CEAC, which I uploaded to CEAC and my husband pointed out it was uploaded. He also asked my husband about his degree, and asked him to go in depth on his master thesis topic? (completely unprepared for this according to the consular interviews).

 

My husband applied for a tourist visa last year (he is from India, we are the same age, both studied in Germany together for our Master's degree which is how we met) and was denied for his tourist visa based on not showing strong enough ties to Germany, as he is currently on a job search visa after finishing his master's degree. He was also asked about this, if he wanted to come to visit me - I think the officer was confused about my husband was coming to visit me and to attend his sister-in-law's wedding (so he could attend *my* sister's wedding here in the US).

 

It was really disappointing to hear that he was asked for stuff we weren't prepared for. The officer also asked for pictures of us, which my husband also wasn't expecting to bring, since our I-130 was approved with our evidence of bondafide marriage package. We should have been more prepared with extra evidence

 

The consular officer asked him to wait to receive an email from consulate before uploading additional documents (frustrating especially since there is no time estimate for this). They gave him back his passport (as I will be visiting him and traveling together next month). The consular officer said if my husband's visa is approved, he can send his passport via mail to the consulate to apply the approved visa.

 

Any advice on how to handle this RFE? We went through our I-130 and NVC approval process without any issues, and it feels like this RFE was really random. The RFE paper didn't even have which specific document needed to be uploaded, the officer only wrote "Upload Review to CEAC Admin", only my husband knows that the officer asked for his CV.

Edited July 14, 2022 by CalistaR
more information/clarifying information

[CalistaR 3]

Not RFE, 221(g) was requested.

[Crazy Cat 39,784]

Only a Consulate Officer can approve a visa....regardless of what evidence was previously submitted.  I would just give them everything they have asked for.  Good luck.  Hopefully, his visa will be issued soon. 

[milimelo 4,270]

Provide what they asked for. Obviously field he studied/works in perked some interest. 

[CalistaR 3]

Thanks all! I appreciate the replies!

 

We will provide the requested documents (his full CV and countries traveled to in the last 10 years, even though most of this is already on the DS-260).

 

The follow up email was quick (same day) from the Frankfurt Consulate and they did not set the visa status to "refused"/pending review of additional documents (still showing "Ready", the same as before the interview), so I'm optimistic about the timeline for review. Hopefully, they are just giving him just one more hoop to jump through before approval.

[mapi 21]

Everywhere I read that people bring the same package as what they handed in for the i-130, because it's a different process and the officer doesn't have this at hand.

 

Just bring that + the additional documents asked for. Also, talking more in-depth about his thesis topic unprepared shouldn't be a problem I guess?

 

Good luck! Let us know the end of it

Edited July 14, 2022 by mapi

[pushbrk 12,262]

To clarify, his field of study can actually make a difference.  Questions about it usually come because it relates to skills that can be used to harm others.  You don't mention exactly what he was asked to submit.  Mostly you are complaining about not being prepared.  If you want help responding, tell us what they asked for exactly, and in THEIR words, not your interpretation of them.

 

What is the nature of the Masters degree?

Edited July 14, 2022 by pushbrk

[CalistaR 3]

10 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

To clarify, his field of study can actually make a difference.  Questions about it usually come because it relates to skills that can be used to harm others.  You don't mention exactly what he was asked to submit.  Mostly you are complaining about not being prepared.  If you want help responding, tell us what they asked for exactly, and in THEIR words, not your interpretation of them.

 

What is the nature of the Masters degree?

Hi,

 

Thank you for responding. My initial post was an expression of frustration and an emotional response to the situation, and I do appreciate those who responded with their reassurance, as it helped me feel better about the situation right after finding out about the additional request.

 

Once I did more digging around, I did end up finding a similar thread (linked below) posted in 2015 that explains the situation more clearly. Since my husband did his degree in an Engineering field and was involved in technical research (electronics) for this master's thesis in Germany, it is standard procedure to go through a Homeland Security Check after the consular interview for individuals involved in technical research, regardless of anything submitted prior to the interview. I feel much more reassured with this information, as I'm optimistic he will pass the background check without issue.

 

I hope this helps anyone in a similar situation reading this thread whose spouse also has a similar profile in their application. They can be more mentally prepared to expect this kind of additional processing for their spouse, instead of expecting the possibility of an approval at the interview date and wondering how they could have avoided the situation or been more prepared in terms of documents to the interview.

 

[jgauthi242 35]

FYI, my wife is stuck in the same situation. Consular officer asked for CV and list of countries traveled to along with dates for last ten years. We submitted the documentation May 12, still haven't heard anything back. Hope you have better luck than us! Please keep us updated as to when you get approved.

[CalistaR 3]

1 hour ago, jgauthi242 said:

FYI, my wife is stuck in the same situation. Consular officer asked for CV and list of countries traveled to along with dates for last ten years. We submitted the documentation May 12, still haven't heard anything back. Hope you have better luck than us! Please keep us updated as to when you get approved.

Thanks for commenting! Have you and your wife tried to email the Frankfurt consulate recently for an update? Do you know the case last updated date on the status tracker?

 

Our status was updated daily each business day until July 26th. Hasn't been updated the last few days since then.

Edited July 29, 2022 by CalistaR

[jgauthi242 35]

6 hours ago, CalistaR said:

Thanks for commenting! Have you and your wife tried to email the Frankfurt consulate recently for an update? Do you know the case last updated date on the status tracker?

 

Our status was updated daily each business day until July 26th. Hasn't been updated the last few days since then.

We check CEAC every day. Our last updated date typically gets updated two or three times a week. Ours also says July 26. Our lawyer says it doesn't really mean anything.

 

We also emailed them over two weeks ago and they've yet to respond.

 

Senator is reaching out on Monday since it's now been 75ish days. You can have your Senator reach out once it's past 60 days. We waited until now because we emailed them at the 60 day mark.

 

FWIW, consular officer said they would try to finish the processing within 30 days at the interview.

Edited July 29, 2022 by jgauthi242

[jgauthi242 35]

@CalistaR has your visa been approved yet? My wife and I are still waiting, since May 9 when she got put into administrative processing.

[CalistaR 3]

Hi all,

 

Good news, visa was approved with 47 days of administrative processing  

 

Timeline:

July 14th - Interview
July 14th-July 26 - Daily updates on Visa Status Tracker, status stays "Refused"
July 26th-August 22nd - No updates
August 23rd - Consulate sent email asking for Passport (given back during interview due to spouse needing to travel)
August 29th - Status changed to "Administrative Processing"
August 30th - Status changed to "Issued"

 

Hopefully this timeline helps someone! Thank you so much to everyone here at VisaJourney for the support and help, could not have done this process without it