I-129F Denied

[robert_j 0]

Our I-129F was denied today. We just received the automated notification of the denial and that the written decision had been mailed.

But I believe that the basis of the denial can only be one thing; a failure to sufficiently answer their RFE that was titled "Age Requirement".

My finance is a 19 year old Filipina. The Philippines requires parental consent for this age group to marry in the Philippines. Of course there is no such requirement for a 19 year old to marry in any jurisdiction in the United States which is where we are marrying.

I replied to the RFE that there must be a misunderstanding, that we are not marrying in the Philippines but in the United States.

Of course we received the denial in response.

So now what? And I'm curious as to whether my rationale was legally correct. Does the USCIS have authority to require us to comply to laws of a foreign government as a basis for immigration here?

[thinkerlove0212 158]

At what stage where you denied? Yes it is a requirement for parental consent in Philippines and must be attained for anyone under age 24. This is needed at CFO and interview. It may be asked for and maybe not. If you have been denied before NOA2 there is a bigger problem with your packet and info.

Edited October 15, 2012 by Anne and Bret

[Thomas&Cleofe 358]

Neither USCIS or NVC has a requirement that the written parental consent be obtained at this point...

[Grant PDX 183]

What did the RFE say, other than "Age Requirement"? What was the full text of the RFE?

[robert_j 0]

Thank you both Anne & Bret and David & Goliath!

I don't know what "NOA2" is. To the best of our knowledge we submitted all of the required forms and evidence. Nothing more was asked of us other than the RFE that was titled "Age Requirement".

Perhaps the denial has nothing to do with the request for compliance to the Philippines Marriage Act. But if that's the case why would they have asked for only this and then send the denial... because if we were denied for something else they certainly would have sent a written request first.

We're very confused and frustrated. Further, we understand that to appeal will cost $630.

At what stage where you denied? Yes it is a requirement for parental consent in Philippines and must be attained for anyone under age 24. This is needed at CFO and interview. It may be asked for and maybe not. If you have been denied before NOA2 there is a bigger problem with your packet and info.

[QueenE 173]

You should of just sent the parental consent. Sorry about your denial

[robert_j 0]

Grant,

I'm embarrassed to say that I did not save the RFE. I know that's foolish because it is a legal document but it never occurred to us that we'd be in this situation.

I do have a copy of my reply to it that quotes some of the phrases in the RFE. I'll post that next.

What did the RFE say, other than "Age Requirement"? What was the full text of the RFE?

[robert_j 0]

To all who are interested the below is my reply to the USCIS's RFE which was titled "Age Requirement". Their reply to the below letter was a denial.

Yes, maybe I pissed them off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To whom it may concern,

We received a Notice of Action requesting evidence of compliance to foreign laws (Age Requirement).

It appears that there is a misunderstanding. We are not marrying in the Philippines, but in the United States and our marriage will be compliant to all laws in every jurisdiction in the United States. Specifically, Ms. XXXXXXXX is an adult so we are confounded as to this just-received requirement (we filed 7 months ago) by the United States government for the consent of her two parents for us to marry in the U.S. -- citing Philippine family law statutes and requiring the document to be filed in the Philippines!

Among the phrases in the request for evidence letter:

- "According to the Family Code of the Philippines..."

- "Please provide a local civil registered parental consent stating that the beneficiary is free to marry according to Philippines laws."

- "If they do not obtain parental advice the marriage license shall not be issued..." Note: We are not marrying in the Philippines.

Further, in the Philippine Family Law Statute cited in Form I-797E (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 209, THE FAMILY CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES July 6, 1987) Art. 20 states, "The license shall be valid in any part of the Philippines for a period of one hundred twenty days from the date of issue..." So why would this be required for our marriage in the United States? Are there any domestic jurisdictions that would accept a Philippine marriage license?

Art. 28 of the above statute would seem to allow us to marry without a Philippine marriage license that the RFE seems to be demanding; "If the residence of either party is so located that there is no means of transportation to enable such party to appear personally before the local civil registrar, the marriage may be solemnized without necessity of a marriage license."

Another inconsistency is divorce, which is illegal in the Philippines. How does the USCIS reconcile this if we are required to adhere to both foreign and domestic laws?

Dowry, which is often compared to slavery, is legal in Uganda (it was upheld by their Supreme Court in 2010). Does the USCIS require dowry or bride price for approval of an I-129F for a Ugandan fiancée? And there are many countries that legalize polygamy. Does the USCIS allow multiple fiancées per petition from these countries?

We seem to have fully complied with the Form I-129F. In fact the instructions for the form (see attached) instruct; "If either of you is of an age that requires special consent or permission for you to marry in the jurisdiction where your marriage will occur, give proof of that consent or permission".

Our jurisdiction, anywhere in the United States, does not require parental consent yet it appears that this is being required of us.

[C-ma'am 684]

It's not that you pissed them off. You simply did not comply with what they required from you.

[robert_j 0]

Yeah, I know. Now.

But they sure seem to have exceeded their statutory authority. This is what happens when you take a stand.

You should of just sent the parental consent. Sorry about your denial

[robert_j 0]

Yes.

But they were requiring us to comply with laws of a foreign government. Further, as I cited in the response, the Philippines law to which they required us to comply itself has an exemption under which we qualified. So this is what happens, that now we're making legal arguments in the United States about a Philippines law.

It's not that you pissed them off. You simply did not comply with what they required from you.

[Bumbero 130]

To all who are interested the below is my reply to the USCIS's RFE which was titled "Age Requirement". Their reply to the below letter was a denial.

Yes, maybe I pissed them off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To whom it may concern,

We received a Notice of Action requesting evidence of compliance to foreign laws (Age Requirement).

It appears that there is a misunderstanding. We are not marrying in the Philippines, but in the United States and our marriage will be compliant to all laws in every jurisdiction in the United States. Specifically, Ms. XXXXXXXX is an adult so we are confounded as to this just-received requirement (we filed 7 months ago) by the United States government for the consent of her two parents for us to marry in the U.S. -- citing Philippine family law statutes and requiring the document to be filed in the Philippines!

Among the phrases in the request for evidence letter:

- "According to the Family Code of the Philippines..."

- "Please provide a local civil registered parental consent stating that the beneficiary is free to marry according to Philippines laws."

- "If they do not obtain parental advice the marriage license shall not be issued..." Note: We are not marrying in the Philippines.

Further, in the Philippine Family Law Statute cited in Form I-797E (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 209, THE FAMILY CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES July 6, 1987) Art. 20 states, "The license shall be valid in any part of the Philippines for a period of one hundred twenty days from the date of issue..." So why would this be required for our marriage in the United States? Are there any domestic jurisdictions that would accept a Philippine marriage license?

Art. 28 of the above statute would seem to allow us to marry without a Philippine marriage license that the RFE seems to be demanding; "If the residence of either party is so located that there is no means of transportation to enable such party to appear personally before the local civil registrar, the marriage may be solemnized without necessity of a marriage license."

Another inconsistency is divorce, which is illegal in the Philippines. How does the USCIS reconcile this if we are required to adhere to both foreign and domestic laws?

Dowry, which is often compared to slavery, is legal in Uganda (it was upheld by their Supreme Court in 2010). Does the USCIS require dowry or bride price for approval of an I-129F for a Ugandan fiancée? And there are many countries that legalize polygamy. Does the USCIS allow multiple fiancées per petition from these countries?

We seem to have fully complied with the Form I-129F. In fact the instructions for the form (see attached) instruct; "If either of you is of an age that requires special consent or permission for you to marry in the jurisdiction where your marriage will occur, give proof of that consent or permission".

Our jurisdiction, anywhere in the United States, does not require parental consent yet it appears that this is being required of us.

WOW! Just by reading the response to the RFE letter, it sounds like the were actually asking for the letter of consent! This is the first post I have read where this has been asked for. It is a little disturbing to say the least. I hope there is more to this RFE then what he is posting and not what it appears to be. I guess USCIS can ask for anything they want though. Like I said, I just hope there is more to this story/denial.

I am sorry this happened to you and hope that you can figure this mess out!

[thinkerlove0212 158]

[robert_j 0]

I assure you that I have posted everything that I can and have done my best to characterize the situation and exchanges.

And yes, this is disturbing. Further, we HAD complied to the instructions for the I-129F. It was the RFE from the CSC which required something different from the official instructions.

So it seems this will have to be appealed. When that happens I will request a copy of that RFE and post it here.

WOW! Just by reading the response to the RFE letter, it sounds like the were actually asking for the letter of consent! This is the first post I have read where this has been asked for. It is a little disturbing to say the least. I hope there is more to this RFE then what he is posting and not what it appears to be. I guess USCIS can ask for anything they want though. Like I said, I just hope there is more to this story/denial.

I am sorry this happened to you and hope that you can figure this mess out!

[JohnNJean 2]

Well you have never stated your age just your Fiancee, It's hard to ASSUME anything now days. My Fiancee was 20 when we applied and on Oct 3 she turned 21 and had her Interview on Oct 12th and was approved.

As was stated earlier the Letter of Consent or Letter of Advice is Not needed until she goes to the CFO seminar.

I think you over reacted and got denied simply because you didn't/couldn't supply the info they were seeking.

IMO

Hope you can get this straightened out if it's meant to be.

Best Of Luck!