Bibi and Beebti

Find yourself lucky, I waited 9 months before i got a RFE for new fingerprints except instead of a new Bio appointment they made me go get one from my local fingerprint place (50 dollars later).

I just put in a service request on friday and it seems I was approved after 5 weeks.

Hi there, thanks for your quick response. I just want to make sure I understand what happened with you....you mean you were approved within 5 weeks of submitting your I-751 and your first set of fingerprints.......but never knew about it and instead got another notice to get your biometrics done

What is a service request by the way ?

Hi everyone,

We applied for removal of conditions (I-751) in late January 2013, and within days got an NOA Extension letter for 1 year. Then I went to get my biometrics done in mid-February 2013 I haven't heard from USCIS since, but I knew my fingerprints had failed, as they sometimes do at the USCIS (surprisingly not at other departments).

Now- 5 months after my last biometrics appointment I received an NOA to go back for a 2nd biometrics appointment in mid-August. Has anyone been through this during their removal of conditions ?

We have planned travels to see my family in October, and I'm worried that if they require us to come in for an interview we'll miss it. I'm curious if others had to wait this long for a 2nd biometrics appointment, and if so how much longer did you wait for your interview or green card ?

Thanks!

Thanks Dave, you're right. It really all comes down to the IO's perception and personal judgement there's nothing standard about it. We're hoping for the best, but I will keep your story in mind as it's definitely encouraging. I think most people leave a denial and don't bother trying again.

Unfortunately at the consulate in Jordan, you submit an online application (can't upload/submit any docs)- and then are prompted to answer questions such as- level of education/ career/countries visited in last 5 years etc and I think they base your 'eligibility' on such criteria.

Ive seen officers ask for paperwork and others not. My question really was just about wether a letter would harm or not and I got my answer. I think it's silly that they make a decision long before an interview as there's no way for an applicant to bring forward their evidence of anything. You don't submit documents with your online application so I dont see how officers can make a judgement based on the few answered questions or brief pieces of info provided in the application. But oh well will keep people posted. Thanks

Aslamualaikum,

I think an invitation letter does not necessarily work against the application if the applicant has relatives living in US. But if the applicant is on a low salary, posseses no assets or bank balance, then YES it could be problematic since strong ties can not be established. In my case I was on a good salary but did not own any asset while I was residing in London but my friend who was on good salary plus he owned an asset worked in his favour and he was granted the visa. In short send him the invitation

Jazak Allah

Thanks, I agree I don't think it works against him. In some cases it could actually help establish more explicitly his reason for visiting us, as he's coming for Eid-time and staying another week. Wether the officer chooses to look at his prepared paperwork or not is another story, but it doesn't hurt to have more than less.

Will give an update on his interview and status. thanks everyone!

actually the fact that he has a sister living here, works against him. Having family in the US gives him immigrant in the eyes of the embassy. best not to send any letter in my opinion

I have to disagree. Wether I send it or not, its established that he has his sister residing in the US- since it explicitly asks in the application if you have family living in the US- well he's not going to lie about that is he, and it also asks for an address while you're in the US- he'll be providing my address of course.

So given that he HAS to provide those 2 pieces of information on his application, it would help to also establish the reason for his visit: hence a letter from us inviting him to stay with us for a short known duration( couple weeks) of the summer holiday. His visit would be too open to interpretation if we didnt just send a simple letter stating the what/when/where/why. With all his others docs showing his ties, and means I still don't see why this would harm.

Ok thanks everyone, I do understand that he gets approved based on his own merits and of course he has his own documents as evidence of strong ties - but I guess it won't harm either way to have a letter from your sister wanting you to visit. That is the reason he's visiting after all so I would consider that just providing extra info for reason of visit. Some officers who will look at your papers and others won't. Helps to have more info than less in all cases.

HI everyone,

My brother is planning to visit me from Jordan end of summer for 3 weeks. He's 34, has solid financials- high paid job/position, owns assets/properties, savings and cares for our elderly father- so has very strong ties to Jordan and absolutely no reason to stay, beyond visiting us. He also lived in the UK, got an MBA from there.

Is there any reason he would be denied ? is there a way he can be 'more prepared'?

Finally I'm wondering if providing a personal 'letter of invitation' would help or harm his application. He has the means and financial stability as well as business to return to, but I thought a letter that he'll be staying with us would help? but I've heard otherwise and am confused as to why it may harm his application.

I'm just kindly asking the visa officer to consider his application to come visit us for 3 weeks. he will be staying with us not at a hotel.

Letter of invitation- has anyone used it, has it been helpful ...or should we just skip it ?

I'm travelling to Paris for work I'd like to bring my wife (who is Jordanian) along with me. I understand getting her a visa would take two weeks. I also noticed there's an employment requirement, but unfortunately she has not yet been able to find a job. Would my own documents (bank statements etc) suffice ?

thank you in advance !

You can call as well. I called and was able to receive some simple information without any forms to be filled out etc. Why wait 3 weeks? If you're past the processing deadline and they have made errors, then I would call.

thanks, a call sounds more encouraging than waiting for email responses-I might just do that. We've sent police reports to USCIS, they were delivered today, so we're going to see if we receive any updates this week or early next based on that. If not I'm definitely going to call my congressman's office, as it's become an unnecessarily stupid waiting game.

Thanks for the continuing information.

There is no mention on the letter specifying that foreign countries are to be included, but it states that a report/letter from the Fresno PD and any other local law enforcement from a city that my wife resided in for the past 5 years are to be included, which would include London. I don't see the logic either, given that it is a 3 year based application with the obvious conclusion that sometime in the past 5 years, the applicant would be in their former home country!?!?! But then again, that logic is restricted to normal people...

My wife can order the London letter, and the Fresno one is a visit to the counter to get the letter (and some money of course), but the NJ letter is worrying. She called and has to call back in 2 hours for the person in charge of that stuff.

I have the letter from London from back when she filed to immigrate to this country and I have a letter from NJ which was issued one day before we left NJ. But knowing how USCIS works, they want them hot off the printer. Utterly irritating.

I will wait and see how her interview goes. If the person is a real annoyance, I may very well take up calling the Congressperson. But we'll see.

I just want this fingerprint nightmare over with...it has been a pain every step of the way.

Thanks again for the info. Additional information is certainly welcome.

Hey, it's been over a month since your issue with the fingerprinting/police clearance ? have you guys managed to take care of this. I wanted to follow up because I sense we're going to be going through this again too.

My wife had to get her biometrics doine twice, both times fingerprinting failure, then after our interview they sent us and RFE to send police clearances for the last 5 years. which was Jordan, UK and US for my wife.

I'm dreading having to go through this again, and I agree it makes no sense after the initial AOS process to bring police certificates from abroad. Have you managed to find more accurate information about this ? thanks

thanks to you both! We'll be ready to resort to this if need be We sure hope not to go that route. 3 more weeks is all we're giving it!

We're nearing our 7 month of waiting due to USCIS not being able to process my wife's fingerprints twice. We've filed everything perfectly, yet our officer had less knowledge about procedures (e.g. validity of K1 medical) than we did and we were required to present some documents (police clearances) all over again within a dreadful deadline. it's been truly stressful. but we've complied with everything anyway.

Our RFE (regarding documents we had already sent in) documents will be delivered on Monday, however I would still like to get in touch with our congressman or senator for support, as the further USCIS delays us unnecessarily, the more RFE's (e.g. expired medical, 2010 tax returns)become a probability, and frankly a nightmare that is not our fault but theirs.

How does one appropriately get in touch with their congressman/senator for support? by mail, telephone, an office visit ? what have been your experiences if you've resorted to this type of action?

As some of you know, we recieved an RFE regarding police certificates AFTER our interview, due to problems with fingerprinting my wife, and not missed documents. they gave us 15 days to reply. We'be done everything we can to reply within the time frame given and hopefully we will (+ couple of days which we were told should be ok).

My question is how long does it generally take for RFEs to be processed once they're at the local field office level ?

we've basically done everything and all is in order...really should've had her GC by now. but due to their stupidity, the wait continues....

any experiences or thoughts ?

Asking for PCCs for AOS seems weird, you would've thought that it would've been cleared during the K-1 stage.

Yeh, she actually gave those in already. I would assume they are in her A file with the USCIS. I don't understand why they're requesting these AGAIN. But I believe it has to do with her fingerprints.

any thoughts on the letter ?

Hey folks, some of you know we've received an RFE to obtain police certificates for my wife from every jurisdiction she's lived in. We drafted up this letter to respond to them prior to furnishing these documents, and to explain that 15 DAYS is not enough time. please give us your thoughts on this, any advice would be much appreciated.

Mark Anthony

1888 SW 8nd Avenue

Apt. 888

Miami, FL, 88888

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing this letter on behalf of my Jordanian wife Jennifer Lopez (a petitioner for I-485 receipt no. MSC88-888-888888. A#888 888 888) and in response to a notice we received by mail from the USCIS Miami field office on March 10th regarding a Request for Evidence (copy attached). The request for Evidence notice is dated March 8th 2011.

The notice requests verbatim the following evidence:

- A certified police clearance from all jurisdictions, where you have been residing from August 2004 to the Present.

The deadline suggested for providing this evidence is 15 days. We received the notice on March 10th 2011. Unfortunately, this presents us with grave difficulties in presenting our evidence on time. Because the required documents have to be obtained internationally, there is a probability we may not be able to meet this deadline. Since 2004 until present, my wife has lived in the UK, Jordan and the US. In our efforts to address the request for evidence however, we have done the following:

• Contacted the American embassy in Amman to obtain copies of the police reports presented for her K1 visa process, which should also be in her A file with the USCIS.

• Contacted USCIS by telephone and were advised to send in this certified letter in response to the RFE to explain our circumstances.

• Mailed a UK police clearance application yesterday by courier to the UK Police (ACRO). A photocopy of the receipt for this courier service to the UK is attached.

• We have contacted her family members in Jordan to obtain her Jordanian police clearances which will also require certifying before these documents can be used abroad.

• Visited a Miami local police department yesterday (March 11th 2011) to do a background check and obtain her police clearance here in the US. Attached is a Miami-Dade Police certificate showing a clean record. We will resend this when her other documents arrive.

We trust that we have provided a satisfactory explanation and evidence to demonstrate that we have done the best we can to address your request for evidence within a timely fashion. We hope you can understand that beyond this point it will simply require the regular processing times of authorities abroad. We will furnish these documents by next-day mail when we receive them.

Thank you for your time and patience.

any thoughts on the language, content ? are we being too blunt, too soft... thanks

Here are some topics on the same thing. They might be for USC or ROC but it's still fingerprint error:

- http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/296170-the-uscis-screw-last-minute-unclassified-fingerprints/

- http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/287373-received-rfe-police-clearance/

I really don't think they meant clearances from other countries. I think they've made a mistake and I think, unfortunately, that you just paid for certificates you don't need.

I don't know how close your local office is but I would be making the drive... there's gotta be a way to get an URGENT appointment. I would call the 1800 number first and ask to speak to an immigration officer and ask for an URGENT appointment given the insane 15 day deadline.

Hi Vanessa, yeh its all been quite frustrating for us honestly,but we thought we'd better be safe than sorry. the 15 days is just outrageous and we're really not sure what to think of it.

The notice did request certificates from all jurisdictions she's lived in since 2004. Which obviously we provided before through her K1 visa. We also got a police certificate yesterday from the Miami-dade police operations bureau- all clean of course. so hopefully this record will be a sufficient document for now.

We did drop by the field office uninvited, because there was no appointments available until Thursday 17th (which we booked anyway). The officer was not there and no one could tell us anything about who we could talk to. When we tried to explain our situation, they simply agreed that the deadline presented was tight, but that it cannot be changed, and advised that we do the best we can to obtain things in the time-frame required, AND also send in a certified letter explaining our situation. We are currently drafting this- wondering if we should send it in ASAP. We are also thinking of sending with it the current police certificate obtained from Miami-dade police, and copies of receipts to obtain other certificates from abroad.

We also called USCIS, got through to two different people, and both told us exactly as above- and that they can't do anything because it's the Miami field office's decision to extend RFE deadline or not.

at this point we really have done the best we can. Once we finalize this letter we'll post it here for any advice from folks as to wording, content etc...

and we'll still pass by our next appointment on Thursday- what's left to do, really... ! We're losing sleep over this, its such an unfortunate situation we've been put it- doing this running around for no valid reason and completely unfair, irresponsible processing.

We passed by today and no one would speak to us. we made the fastest infopass appointment we could find which unfortunately is next thursday !!! we're screwed.

In the mean time we are sending stuff to the UK today (requested fastest possible clearance, payed $250 and we may still not make the deadline) and have contacted her family members in Jordan to get things done. at this point we've really done all we can.

We'll still go to our infopass appointment on thursday, and have receipts for courier tracking etc. but should we do anything else? someone suggested a 'certified letter' explaining this mess and our process in addressing it ?

Also Vanessa&Tony, yes we can hardly believe they gave us 15 DAYS either! and yes it def. has to do with non-readable fingerprints. How does one get an FBI clearance ?

Do you not have a copy of those police clearances she turned in for the K-1? I would think you could send that and not need to get new ones within 15 days.

True, but it says 'certified' copies, not sure what exactly that means. also unfortunately we do not have copies as we did our K1 process through a lawyer, which I'm sure has our entire file filed away somewhere. Emailed them today to see if they can send us though copies. waiting for reply.

If this works, do you think we can send in the copies ? and what does 'certified' mean though- and original seal on a photocopy

this all would be a peice of cake if we only had more time. THAT'S what im worrying about. it says if we don't send in the information with the 15 day time-frame our application will be denied?? and thats just crazy

please, we are really desperate and distressed right now. If anyone knows how someone can delay an RFE deadline, we would appreciate your thoughts on this.

We were given only 15 days to respond and there's no way we can provide this documentation within the requested deadline. an extra week even would be most helpful. but the deadline was so vague, it simply says within 15 days, no mention of date of letter, or date of receipt, or whether that's 15 WORKING days. and it seems quite cruel that they would only provide us that time-frame when what they're requesting cannot be accomplished in the US in 15 days let alone abroad.

Did you not get police certificates for your K-1?

We did. She provided all her police clearances right before arriving. But I believe this has to do with her biometrics, because her fingerprints were not scanned properly. She had to go in for her biometrics twice, and I'm assuming the 2nd time didn't work either. So now THIS ?

No not for the USA. You only need for places that are not USA.

do you know if there is any way one can request a slight postponement for the RFE response deadline ? I mena 15 days is really really tight . I've never heard on these boards of such short notice for an RFE response.

We recieved a letter from USCIS TODAY... and they're giving us FIFTEEN (15) days to collect police certificate for my wife from all her previous places of residences since 2004 untill present. That means JORDAN, UK, and USA !!??

are they serious ? it takes weeks to get a police certificate in the US alone ...is there anyway one can delay the deadline ?

OK, this is starting to get rediculous! We HAD our interview two weeks back, officer originally had issues with our medical (due to her ignorance) although it was completed as required, said she'll contact us back regarding it or we'd receive my wife's GC.

I received a phone call two days ago from USCIS, which I couldn't answer and no one left a voice mail. To be on the safe side, we make an infopass and pass by the place (yesterday) and the person who we talked to had nothing to tell us except "wait for 5 months before coming back" ...useless!

Then today we recieve an RFE that has NOTHING TO DO with the officer's orirginal 'concern' . this is what they request:

- A certified police clearance from all the jurisdictions, where you have been residing from August 2004.

My wife arrived on a K1 and these were submitted previously through the embassy in Jordan, were they required again? whats going wrong here ?? why didn't we ever receive these RFE's before our interview date?

To make matters worse, my wife can't travel to obtain anything from abroad because the officer took her AP, and the RFE suggests we get hold of these documents in 15 DAYS??? are they serious ?? that would be impossible

Im starting to get quite frustrated and angry...any suggestions? advice? previous experiences with something similar to this, I really don't know what to do at this point and would appreciate some sound advice.

Also would she require police certificates in the US ??? coz that takes 12 weeks. this whole thing is driving me crazy. somebody? anybody ?

OK, this is starting to get rediculous! We HAD our interview two weeks back, officer originally had issues with our medical (due to her ignorance) although it was completed as required, said she'll contact us back regarding it or we'd receive my wife's GC.

I received a phone call two days ago from USCIS, which I couldn't answer and no one left a voice mail. To be on the safe side, we make an infopass and pass by the place (yesterday) and the person who we talked to had nothing to tell us except "wait for 5 months before coming back" ...useless!

Then today we recieve an RFE that has NOTHING TO DO with the officer's orirginal 'concern' . this is what they request:

- A certified police clearance from all the jurisdictions, where you have been residing from August 2004.

My wife arrived on a K1 and these were submitted previously through the embassy in Jordan, were they required again? whats going wrong here ?? why didn't we ever receive these RFE's before our interview date?

To make matters worse, my wife can't travel to obtain anything from abroad because the officer took her AP, and the RFE suggests we get hold of these documents in 15 DAYS??? are they serious ?? that would be impossible

Im starting to get quite frustrated and angry...any suggestions? advice? previous experiences with something similar to this, I really don't know what to do at this point and would appreciate some sound advice.