tachi88

Hello, 

My hubby got an RIE back at the end of March (for birth certificate) and they reset the clock back in May. 

Due to recent developments with RFEs not being issued anymore come September 11, I'm terrified of something being wrong with our AoS now. Particularly that we didn't have our joint 2017 taxes (first year joint filing) completed when submitting the initial packet. Now that the clock has been reset to May, does that mean that they would likely request the 2017 returns?

I filed for a tax extension until October. 

Should I send them to USCIS without them asking once I get them completed?  Should/can we call them and ask if they want it? In the initial packet, I did provide returns for the years 16,15,14, and a letter of long term employment with my salary stated and a few paystubs. I make over the limit for income requirements, but not by a whole lot and we don't have a sponsor for back up.

I know there's a lot of confusion right now, should we be worried? Do applicants often get an RIE and then an RFE down the line? We were told our timeline is now 12-22 months for my husband's green card. I'm scared of a now potentially unmentioned RFE (like his medical exam might expire or etc) that could happen at any point during this time... 

Thank you! 

Extremely scary if the examples are to be believed. My husband hasn't done anything wrong but what sort of minor, bs reason could they potentially get him for, who knows? We are in AoS right now...

Hello,

I need to file for an extension (yes, very late shame on me). My husband doesn't have a ssn or an itin # and is still in the AoS process. I saw that the website for filing suggested something like a 999-98-9999. or something like that as a filler #, is that true? 

What do I do? Choose to file separately? My husband has not received his EAD yet either and hasn't worked in 2018. He arrived to the usa Nov 2017. We got married Dec 2017. Up until that point, he was still living and working in his home country.

Any advice would be helpful! We are taking to a tax professional about our situation, but I need this extension now. 

Thank you! 

Hello everyone, 

My husband and I just received a yellow RIE/RFE(?) in the mail and I feel very anxious about what this means. 

Excerpt from the letter: 

"Request for Initial Evidence

Submit a copy of the applicant's foreign birth certificate issued by the appropriate civil authority. If the document is in a language other than English, you must submit a copy of the foreign language document and an English translation. If the birth certificate is not available, you must submit acceptable secondary evidence and a letter from the government or other authority". 

I don't understand if it means that they don't like the birth cert we provided or if they lost it?? We sent a black and white scanned one with the AoS packet in January 2018 with a self translation by my husband as he is fluent in English (In hindsight, I realize that was probably not a great idea and we will get a certified translation this time around. If anyone one has suggestions, I'd greatly appreciate it). 

Two other things concern me about this letter, it was mailed March 29 but it says" remailed" at the top and we got it April 12th. Does that mean we missed it before? I don't know when the 87 day window to reply actually started. 

They also misspelled my husbands first name incorrectly by one letter off. 

Should I mention the misspelling in the cover letter? Other letters that we have received have his name spelled correctly. 

My husband has an official, color copy of his El Salvador birth certificate and receipt when he got it that we can send this time around.

Should I provide other secondary evidence just in case to be safe? He also has his country ID card that lists his info including both his parents names. He also has a driver's license, but it does not list his parents there. 

They state that we have 87 days to reply, but there is no date included?? Does that mean from March 29th the clock starts? 

I was going to call USCIS today and see if we can get any more info about what they want exactly. I'm really scared because you can only do this once! I saw people saying to schedule an InfoPass, but my nearest office is 3 hrs away and I don't want to schedule for something that may be a minor issue.

Had anyone else had experience with this? Is there a good template for replying to an RFE/RIE? 

Also, there are two addresses listed and I don't know which one to write to...!

Thank you for reading and thank you in advance for any replies!

Hello!

Sorry I haven't been able to get back to the thread. I really appreciate everyone's replies and it helped put my worries at ease. I will be talking to my landlord about it on Monday. I will let you know what she says.

I will make sure when the time comes, that my fiance has an extra copy of the police report. I have always been transparent with my landlord about issues and have always paid my rent on time, etc. So she doesn't have anything against me that I know of! I was just concerned because I didn't understand that if she never dealt with something like this before, if she didn't know what to do, what I could tell her to convince her otherwise that it's no big deal.

Thanks again!

Like Boiler said, the landlord does the reference checking. They can use and online application like Sterling Back Check as I often do in Canada for credit and criminal checks for candidates from around the world. (I work in HR) Good you are doing it the right way....better for sleeping at night . Back Check is international but can limit as well to just one country.

Thank you! I would like to give her some idea,s if she were to ask for them, what service she can use!

When I first moved to the US I moved into my wife's rented apartment. It was a big development of apartments, owned by a company. I probably could have just stayed there without them finding out, but we like to do things properly and the lease had a similar provision about people staying. They added me to the lease - had to pay about 100 bucks as I recall (to handle the paperwork). They took a copy of my passport.

They didn't seem to have any problem with me being from overseas - consider that the background check done on me by USCIS was probably much more thorough than they'd do to a US resident. I think they also appreciated that I could have just "forgotten" to register with them and saved 100 bucks, so I probably wasn't the kind of person who'd give them any problems.

I see! Thank you for your reply!

That's what we are trying to do also. It's possible I could sneak him in to my apartment, but I don't want to have anything go wrong by taking that risk!

My landlord doesn't need a background check from his home country or something?

Also, thank you all for replying to my thread thus far. I appreciate it!

The landlord should be the one doing the check.

So when they're doing the check, it's just to pull up if there are any felonies

in his name? I was confused bc I thought to have a background check, you need finger prints etc to run, and since he doesn't have those yet, I didn't know how my landlord can do a search on someone who isn't here in the USA yet.

No. You don't need an SSN for one. I had one done without one. They checked my first and last name and date of birth for records.

But where can he get a background check in the US if he's just arriving on the k1?

Maybe I just don't understand how a background check actually works? :c

I thought background checks are run on people who live in the USA...

No because I wanted some advice first just in case. Because the lease agreement says that visitors staying more than 2 days must have a background check and file an application. I'm afraid once she hears "he's coming on a visa and has no record and you can't do a background check" she's going to immediately say no and my fiance has no where to go.

Landlords typically do, but how do they get a background check on someone just entering the USA on a k1 visa? He had no record of anything in the USA. Only his home country. My understanding is you have to have a ssn to get a background check. And since he won't have one right away, I don't know where he can stay until that happens??

Hello!

My fiance and I are still working on our k1 visa application. I am the USA citizen and I live in Florida. My fiance is from El Salvador.

I am thinking of where we will live once he arrives on the k1 visa.

My current apartment doesn't allow unauthorized persons to stay without having a the guest do a background check and he must fill out a rental application as well.

How do I get the background check to my landlord if my fiance is not a US resident?

I understand that once we are married, he gets a ssn. My apt is the only place he and I can stay together,but he can't stay without a background check! Do we have to get an international background check somehow sent to my landlord prior to his arrival? Do we get it from the embassy? Do we get a copy one he gets the k1 visa? I just don't understand and am very scared! Will he have to live in a hotel or something?

My fiance and I both have never committed any crimes.

Thank you for your help!!

Thanks! This has really helped me figure out what to do and hopefully for others as well.

He does still have the round trip ticket...whether is helps or hurts, that's the ticket he's got. Didn't really know that would be considered a potential hit against!

But luckily we can use that ticket at a later date so at least it wasn't a total waste of money if it doesn't work out this time.

B2 application has no effect on K1.

And seriously do not buy any ticket before having the visa.

Well we were hoping that a return ticket can aide in showing the officer his intention to go home.

I made this mistake a month ago, I hope our k1 application doesn't suffer bcs of that (visiting a "friend") lie, that was stupid.

Thank you for the input.

I will offer the same advice as others have! (hopefully in a less judgmental and more tactful manner).

Honesty is always the best policy, especially if you plan on filing a K-1 visa down the line.

When my fiance first came to visit me for a month or so, he did refer to me as a "friend" when asked by a CBP officer. This was not false information, as at this point before meeting we were uncertain of whether or not we were going to be more, but did have some romantic feelings. It was a gray area, basically.

Our big fear was that if they had him on record saying I was just a friend a year ago, it may hurt our attempts to prove a bona fide relationship, but so far it seems like we have been okay.

The fact that it is a short trip helps you of course. Make sure he brings his return ticket and/or itinerary.

The fact that the trip is occurring near the holidays will probably help as well. Just as he was able to travel to the US for reasons of the gaming tournament, the holidays are a popular travel time and it's more than feasible to assume you would want to be around your significant other near the Holidays.

I would check out the "Yes, you can visit!" thread http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/67796-yes-you-can-visit/ if you have not already. Sure it is in the K-1 Visa forum, but I am sure the tips they have there apply to any current visa applicant who is trying to visit the US.

Good luck to you! I hope you are successful and have a wonderful Christmas with your boyfriend!

Hello! I appreciate your reply. Maybe it's a little cheesy but I'm hoping the officer may be a little more generous bc of the holidays as well...I will check out that other topic as well. Thank you very much Wishing you the best on your journey as well.

Thank you for all your replies. They mean a lot and I agree that we'd like to just tell the truth and let the chips fall where they may. We are fortunate enough that the visa fee won't be too bad financially, it will sting a bit if we are denied, but thankfully the plane ticket won't go to waste (airline will let him use at a later date). Thank you to TboneTX for verifying as well.

HFM181818, do you know if a denied B-2 visa hurts the chances of a K-1 in the future or no? And in your opinion, do you think my bf has a shot at getting through to see me (and I'm talking about we are telling the truth)? What WOULD make you feel secure enough to approve someone? Just wondering if there might be more ties to home that we could consider, etc.

My last questions for now!

Thank you.

Sorry, I wrote that post as you were posting the other one. Thank you for your reply. I appreciate it, but it seems I am almost out of replies? (Sorry, I only lurked before, but his interview is tomorrow...) But thank you for weighing in and thank you to all others that have replied and may reply later!

"You can make 5 more posts until 24 November 2015 - 01:40 AM. This restriction is in place until 24 November 2015 - 01:12 AM"

spoken like a 'true expert.' Playing seemingly clever word games will backfire intensely when discovered....if you truly believe that you (or your BF) is far more clever than a CO or a CPB officer, by all means, follow the 'sage' advice of 'trin_prince'....who, no doubt, knows far more about the visa process than even a retired consular officer....

Moving away from word games, I've also heard "don't offer more info than necessary, or "don't say unless asked". Can you give your opinion on that please?

I'm just wondering if it's wrong to say "tourism" (which isn't untrue) and then if they ask, "who are you staying with" and he answers "my gf". Is that ok or should we just straight up have him say "I'm going to visit my gf"? Which is still a bit deceptive but, it's not a requirement to say you're visiting a significant other in that sense.

Oops I was replying as soon as you wrote that. I'm reading your reply now.

What visa did he use when he visited with his brother?

Is this visa still valid?

Tourist visa, which from what I understand can only be used once to enter/exit for his country.

Honesty is the best policy....Tell them he is visiting his girlfriend, and he is staying with you at XXXXX. Don't be candid, be truthful. He has to qualify on his own merits. Traveling to USA in past is good.

Good luck to you

I agree with this as well. Thank you very much!

Thank you for your replies. I agree on being honest as well. But I did learn something new that an invitation letter might not help. Interesting! Any more feedback on what we can bring as far as return ties home?

Some of you seem a little bit on edge in your responses. If you think it's a dumb question, you don't have to reply. I'm not trying to be quick that's why I'm asking (well maybe it can be perceived as that a little bit!), I just want to see my bf. I think we will go truthful and then go for K-1 soon if it fails! Not saying you have to sugarcoat it, but you don't have to be snarky, that's all... I guess sometimes we just want to hear/see things on our own to grasp/validate them sometimes.

Happy holidays and I hope you get to spend it with someone special.

Or maybe just stick with saying "Tourism" can he do that? But then they will likely ask who he's staying with an who I am. He's staying with me in my apartment btw.

Hello,

I know this questions been asked before, but I'm wondering if there are more recent experiences about this from users here. I want to try to get my bf to come visit in the US by visitors visa for him to come visit me for 2 weeks this December for the Xmas holiday. I am a female US citizen and my bf is from El Salvador. We are both in our mid 20's. We have been together about 3 years. <3 I have visited him 3x in El Sal, but I want him to come meet my family and my town. We would like to go for K-1 visa eventually, but this Dec trip is very important for us.

Well here's the tricky part you've heard before, does he say that he's visiting a "friend" or a girlfriend? I'm just terrified that if we say that he's visiting a "friend" and even that gets through, it will have some consequence later?

My visit's to El Sal were pretty smooth. I only stated that I was there for tourism and volunteerism, which wasn't a lie. I went to volunteer at a school but also visited him...I was never asked at POE who I stayed with at all. But there is no opportunity for my bf to say something of the same nature unfortunately.

We have no intentions of marrying on this trip, and understand that the most important part is to have ties for him to return to El Sal.

These are the only ties we can think of:

-He's been to the USA before, not to visit me, but with his brother to participate in a worldwide gaming tournament. He got in no issues at that time as it was an actual event I guess.

-Has a good job he's been at about 3 years. ( a good, full time office job )

-No property or car in his name, but he will finish up university in Dec/Jan and will have a graduation ceremony early next year.

-He has some school debt, but he's faithfully been paying that back. (Is this a pro or a con to mention this?)

-His family there.

-He has a round trip ticket back home.

*I also have an invitation letter stating that I will cover most of his expenses, but I only referred to him as my "guest". I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing to use that vague terminology...?

Does he say that he's visiting a "friend" or be upfront about me, his girlfriend?

So yeah...just hoping there might be some advice. I know it likely won't be anything new but there's no rule that you can't repeat questions right?

Anyway, thank you!