The FY2014 RFE Thread

An update on what many of you may already know:

There has been a spate of approvals from TSC on trackitt for those who got current in August!

Several Sept 08 PDs, few Dec 08 PDs and 1 Jan 09 PD got approved.
From what I could discern, there is no particular pattern in how they are sorting the August current cases for approval - not by PD, RD or RFER dates.

Also the total # of TSC approvals has almost caught up with NSC #s. Hopefully, the trend continues..

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Originally Posted by ksur23

Thanks a lot for the response Viz. I really hope you and others in your boat get the GC asap - I know life isn't fair but it should be some of the time. All the best.

Sports, thanks a lot for detailed response, appreciate it. I hope your frustrations disappear soon with some EO magic soon. There was a time when I used to feel like an animal caged wrt to my job. But I have come to realize, although I relapse every now and then, that life is better than 90-95% of people in the world. It's hard to think on these terms all the time but this kind of framing has helped me a bit.

btw - why is G28 necessary if I get GC?

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Originally Posted by sportsfan33

Thanks for the wishes. My frustrations were over when we got EADs back in 2012. All things are relative though, I agree to that.

The point about G28 is this: Since you are leaving the employer, you want to handle your own case now. That's why you need to file G28. But then again, since you are now only waiting for approval, just don't disturb the hornet's nest. You only need to worry if the USCIS sent you another RFE or something crazy like that which sometimes goes only to the lawyer...but for a GC, it will come straight to your mailbox. At this point, I wouldn't file a G28 but I would closely monitor the case.

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A G28 is only if you do want a 3rd party to represent you. If you are representing yourself you SHOULD NOT and DO NOT need to file a G28. you need to send a letter to the USCIS informing them you will be representing yourself and send a copy to the lawyers.

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Originally Posted by sportsfan33

Viz, I might be missing something here. How exactly do you send a letter to the USCIS? I thought G28 was for exactly that: to inform the USCIS of a change in legal ownership of your case. I filled the G28 online for both of my cases and I just put my name in both forms. I am assuming the USCIS is no longer sending any RFE copies to my previous lawyer.

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Sportsfan, Form-G28 is for lawyers who are representing on behalf of the petitioners. You must not fill your name on that unless you are a member of the bar council.

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Originally Posted by sportsfan33

Fantastic. I am getting an uneasy feeling about this now. Worst case, they might bombard me with another RFE. Is there an end to this nightmare?

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I'd call the USCIS help desk and ask them the right address to send it to. Also make sure you include the 485 receipt number and your A number in the letter. I wouldn't worry about it. You can also talk to your lawyers and let them know that you are doing this but there might be a chance they will get the docs and to forward them to you or atleast inform you that they got them.

Sportsfan, Don't worry about it. I-485 is open to self-filing, and after all we are rookies. USCIS come across all these in their routine, there is a great chance to ignore them.

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Originally Posted by sportsfan33

When I talked to the USCIS multiple times over the last month or two, they had my correct mailing address on file. I am wondering if I need to really touch the hornet's nest at this time when my case has been sitting in RRERR for the last few days. The possible cases according to in this situation are:
1) My previous lawyer gets the documents and ignores them
2) My previous lawyer gets the document but informs the USCIS that he is not representing me which induces the USCIS to send me another RFE
3) My previous lawyer gets the documents and informs the USCIS but the USCIS ignores it
4) My previous lawyer no longer gets the documents but the USCIS does something crazy like deny my 485 because I filled G28 when I was not supposed to
5) My previous lawyer no longer gets the documents and the USCIS ignores the G28 mishap.

Is the possibility 4 real and can it happen? If so, I do not mind taking a corrective action. Just wanted to ask the Gurus.

EDIT: ****aguely remember while doing this online that I chose to represent myself. I don't remember how the online structure of the form G28 was. I will check again by backtracing the steps. I don't know honestly if I should be worrying and if I have to, how much.

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sports .. I think you are getting anxious unnecessarily .. USCIS will most likely just ignore the G28 misstep .. You are at a stage where you are just waiting for the GC to come along .. it won't go to the lawyer anyways regardless of what G28 is active .. if there are any documents to be sent to you (unfortunately) .. they will probably go to you and your lawyer both .. what the lawyer does after that is not USCIS's concern .. Remember, you will always get a copy of all the I485 related correspondence delivered directly to you ..

I know it is difficult to do so .. but if you can, just calm down and don't think too much about the overall GC stuff .. most likely .. you will have it within next 2 weeks .. Viz is probably going to get in before you though :p

This is just my gut feeling .. nothing more !

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Originally Posted by sportsfan33

When I talked to the USCIS multiple times over the last month or two, they had my correct mailing address on file. I am wondering if I need to really touch the hornet's nest at this time when my case has been sitting in RRERR for the last few days. The possible cases according to in this situation are:
1) My previous lawyer gets the documents and ignores them
2) My previous lawyer gets the document but informs the USCIS that he is not representing me which induces the USCIS to send me another RFE
3) My previous lawyer gets the documents and informs the USCIS but the USCIS ignores it
4) My previous lawyer no longer gets the documents but the USCIS does something crazy like deny my 485 because I filled G28 when I was not supposed to
5) My previous lawyer no longer gets the documents and the USCIS ignores the G28 mishap.

Is the possibility 4 real and can it happen? If so, I do not mind taking a corrective action. Just wanted to ask the Gurus.

EDIT: ****aguely remember while doing this online that I chose to represent myself. I don't remember how the online structure of the form G28 was. I will check again by backtracing the steps. I don't know honestly if I should be worrying and if I have to, how much.

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Sports you can do the following

- File AR-11 form electronically at the end they ask for your pending petitions this should set your address correctly, it is important that the address is correct so that you get the RFE information, cards and notices.

- To remove the lawyer you just need to blank out his / her name from the G28 Form.

On the I485 you are the applicant so you would by default get all communication.

Sportsfan - they won't deny your 485 for a G28 issue. All communications will come to you and since you have validated your address with the USCIS is correct, you don't need to worry. Respond to anything that comes your way. I'm 100% sure that the G28 won't cause any problems.

Also, talk to your old law firm and ask them what their protocol is in case they get communication related to your case in the future. They will provide clear direction on "ways of working" either with them or with the USCIS.

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Originally Posted by vizcard

Sportsfan - they won't deny your 485 for a G28 issue. All communications will come to you and since you have validated your address with the USCIS is correct, you don't need to worry. Respond to anything that comes your way. I'm 100% sure that the G28 won't cause any problems.

Also, talk to your old law firm and ask them what their protocol is in case they get communication related to your case in the future. They will provide clear direction on "ways of working" either with them or with the USCIS.

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Viz,

Can you remind us what your RD & RFER dates were. Also, what steps had you taken to hasten the approval?

Did you get any sense why your approval was a little delayed and what, if any, may have finally triggered it?

Just trying to moderate my anxiety level which is finally going up, now that I see a bunch of Dec 08 PDs with RD & RFER dates after me getting approved!

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Originally Posted by helpful_leo

Viz,

Can you remind us what your RD & RFER dates were. Also, what steps had you taken to hasten the approval?

Did you get any sense why your approval was a little delayed and what, if any, may have finally triggered it?

Just trying to moderate my anxiety level which is finally going up, now that I see a bunch of Dec 08 PDs with RD & RFER dates after me getting approved!

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RD-1/30/12
RFERR - 6/12/14
I opened a SR and contacted my Senator but I'm not sure if any of those worked.

I will add this though, opening a SR is as close as a direct contact to the approving officer as you'll get. So its not a bad idea to do that. I actually got an email reply from the SR today afternoon giving me the latest status (but it was after the approval).

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Originally Posted by vizcard

RD-1/30/12
RFERR - 6/12/14
I opened a SR and contacted my Senator but I'm not sure if any of those worked.

I will add this though, opening a SR is as close as a direct contact to the approving officer as you'll get. So its not a bad idea to do that. I actually got an email reply from the SR today afternoon giving me the latest status (but it was after the approval).

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Viz,

What was the response to your SR as I got wait for 30 days as it is with adjudicating officer so wanted to see what is the response for you as you already got approved.

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Originally Posted by vizcard

RD-1/30/12
RFERR - 6/12/14
I opened a SR and contacted my Senator but I'm not sure if any of those worked.

I will add this though, opening a SR is as close as a direct contact to the approving officer as you'll get. So its not a bad idea to do that. I actually got an email reply from the SR today afternoon giving me the latest status (but it was after the approval).

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Thank you!

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Originally Posted by wolverine82

Viz,

What was the response to your SR as I got wait for 30 days as it is with adjudicating officer so wanted to see what is the response for you as you already got approved.

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Same thing but I got the response from the adjudicating officer in 12 days.

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Originally Posted by vizcard

Same thing but I got the response from the adjudicating officer in 12 days.

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Sorry I didn't put my question properly I got reply back to my SR in 15 days with below message
"We have received your service request and researched the status of your case. We have had to perform additional review and this has caused a delay in processing time. Your case is currently with an adjudicating officer. You should receive a decision or notice of further action within 30 days."

so was wondering if you got the same message or something else. just trying to analyze even though each case is different as I have hit my 60 days RFERR today.

Hello Guys,

Is there anyone left from PD June 2008, It seems like USCIS has mostly cleared the cases until August 2008 but not sure what happened to my file :(?

My 60 days of RFE response gets over on 30th Aug....Any advise on the next steps if I still don't hear anything from USCIS this week?

My case details:
TSC
PD: June 30 3008
RFE RR: June 30 2014

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Originally Posted by wolverine82

Sorry I didn't put my question properly I got reply back to my SR in 15 days with below message
"We have received your service request and researched the status of your case. We have had to perform additional review and this has caused a delay in processing time. Your case is currently with an adjudicating officer. You should receive a decision or notice of further action within 30 days."

so was wondering if you got the same message or something else. just trying to analyze even though each case is different as I have hit my 60 days RFERR today.

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Don't mean to butt in but the way I read Viz's response is: 1/ He got the same/ similar reply as yours, i.e. wait for 30 days; 2/ Despite what the response said (i.e. wait for 30 days), his GC was approved within 12 days.

I may be wrong and he can correct me.

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Originally Posted by helpful_leo

Don't mean to butt in but the way I read Viz's response is: 1/ He got the same/ similar reply as yours, i.e. wait for 30 days; 2/ Despite what the response said (i.e. wait for 30 days), his GC was approved within 12 days.

I may be wrong and he can correct me.

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Yup. Spot on.

So i got a 2nd set of CPO emails today ... now they really want to give me GCs :)

any idea what this means or if that is just an oversight ?

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Originally Posted by vizcard

Yup. Spot on.

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Thanks Leo and Vizcard.. let me see if I am also equally lucky :)

Ignore any emails or updates except for the one which has card USPS Tracking number :D! We received 3 welcome letters and then the card in hand within 1 week of CPO Email.

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Originally Posted by vizcard

So i got a 2nd set of CPO emails today ... now they really want to give me GCs :)

any idea what this means or if that is just an oversight ?

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Easier said than done, but hang in there buddy you will see the end of the tunnel soon :)!

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Originally Posted by wolverine82

Thanks Leo and Vizcard.. let me see if I am also equally lucky :)

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What a mess TSC has been!!!!!

I've had similar reply for my SR since July 31st saying i'll get a decision in 30 days, but no updates as of yet! I've not even got any RFE for Medicals yet and my last RFE back in May 2012 is still showing under Response Review!!! After bunch of calls, there have been 0 updates

On the flip side, my spouse got an RFE in May 22nd which never got to our place or the lawyer!! We just happened to find out about it in July (mind you after 3 calls in June, and July) that RFE was sent out in May that never made through. We'd them resend it back twice and either of them got to our address, where as we get all other mail okay!! Neither did our lawyer get any RFE!! Finally on Aug 21st (90 days, and expired RFE response) they agreed to Fax the RFE. Luckily it was just Medicals that we'd prepared in advance in anticipation and sent it back the same day!!! Now her status is RFE Response as well!!!!! Alas!!! The wait continues!!!

Our PD dates are July 29 2008!!!!

Does anyone know of any case that was approved with expired Medicals from TSC?? Coz if not, i probably am losing any faith in getting greened this year!!

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Originally Posted by GCHopes

What a mess TSC has been!!!!!

I've had similar reply for my SR since July 31st saying i'll get a decision in 30 days, but no updates as of yet! I've not even got any RFE for Medicals yet and my last RFE back in May 2012 is still showing under Response Review!!! After bunch of calls, there have been 0 updates

On the flip side, my spouse got an RFE in May 22nd which never got to our place or the lawyer!! We just happened to find out about it in July (mind you after 3 calls in June, and July) that RFE was sent out in May that never made through. We'd them resend it back twice and either of them got to our address, where as we get all other mail okay!! Neither did our lawyer get any RFE!! Finally on Aug 21st (90 days, and expired RFE response) they agreed to Fax the RFE. Luckily it was just Medicals that we'd prepared in advance in anticipation and sent it back the same day!!! Now her status is RFE Response as well!!!!! Alas!!! The wait continues!!!

Our PD dates are July 29 2008!!!!

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Go the Senator/Congressman route...ideally meet with him/her in person rather than go through the office. Also call up the 800 number. When you do speak with someone, ask for a L2 rep because the L1 process (the service request) didn't result in anything. You can be a little rude with the L1s because they have "read only" access to your file.

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Originally Posted by GCHopes

What a mess TSC has been!!!!!

I've had similar reply for my SR since July 31st saying i'll get a decision in 30 days, but no updates as of yet! I've not even got any RFE for Medicals yet and my last RFE back in May 2012 is still showing under Response Review!!! After bunch of calls, there have been 0 updates

On the flip side, my spouse got an RFE in May 22nd which never got to our place or the lawyer!! We just happened to find out about it in July (mind you after 3 calls in June, and July) that RFE was sent out in May that never made through. We'd them resend it back twice and either of them got to our address, where as we get all other mail okay!! Neither did our lawyer get any RFE!! Finally on Aug 21st (90 days, and expired RFE response) they agreed to Fax the RFE. Luckily it was just Medicals that we'd prepared in advance in anticipation and sent it back the same day!!! Now her status is RFE Response as well!!!!! Alas!!! The wait continues!!!

Our PD dates are July 29 2008!!!!

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I can understand. I had the situation where they sent my wife's RFEs to a mixed up address (literally - a perfect combination of old & new address : ) This was despite L1s and L2s reading off the correct address on the phone when I had inquired earlier. It didn't matter for the RFE itself as we responded to the copy sent to the lawyer. But, when the RFE sent to our mixed-up address got returned by USPS after 3 weeks, they re-sent the RFE again and changed our status from RFER back to RFE! This 2nd RFE was also presumably sent to the wrong address again, as we didn't get it even the second time around.

Long calls to L2 has apparently ensured that they acknowledged our status is RFER, and they changed status from RFE to IR.

Still a bit anxious, let's see how this pans out. The level of incompetence you see makes you wonder if their bonuses are tied to how stupid they can be : )

:D

USCIS is a Govt agency - in case you didn't notice. But compared to similar agency (do we have one?) where I came from (IN***), they are pretty awesome!

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Originally Posted by helpful_leo

I can understand. I had the situation where they sent my wife's RFEs to a mixed up address (literally - a perfect combination of old & new address : ) This was despite L1s and L2s reading off the correct address on the phone when I had inquired earlier. It didn't matter for the RFE itself as we responded to the copy sent to the lawyer. But, when the RFE sent to our mixed-up address got returned by USPS after 3 weeks, they re-sent the RFE again and changed our status from RFER back to RFE! This 2nd RFE was also presumably sent to the wrong address again, as we didn't get it even the second time around.

Long calls to L2 has apparently ensured that they acknowledged our status is RFER, and they changed status from RFE to IR.

Still a bit anxious, let's see how this pans out. The level of incompetence you see makes you wonder if their bonuses are tied to how stupid they can be : )

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I am getting ready to reply to my spouse's RFE, the lawyer is getting ready to reply to my RFE. Can I go ahead and send her reply before the lawyer sends mine? I am the primary applicant.
I think I should be ok, but if some body can confirm this, that would be great. Thanks

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Originally Posted by shekhar_kuruk

I am getting ready to reply to my spouse's RFE, the lawyer is getting ready to reply to my RFE. Can I go ahead and send her reply before the lawyer sends mine? I am the primary applicant.
I think I should be ok, but if some body can confirm this, that would be great. Thanks

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Perfectly fine. Just put the bar coded cover sheet that came with her RFE and you are good to go.

Thanks Helpful_Leo & VizCard for your replies!

Exactly, the level of incompetency is just mind boggling! I attempted to send a letter to my local congress, and they requested i get an approval from my current firm that i was working at. Since i switched jobs last year, and didn't file AC21 until it was necessary (to let the visa process work out without any more flags) - i was not able to get them all the necessary documentation - so they can send the request to USCIS!

It's been a very frustrating ride so far since July! Anyone here know of cases where Medicals from 2012 were considered, and weren't issued any RFE's? If there was no such case i should forget about my GC this year, and focus on getting AC21, and other activities started instead since my EAD will be expiring in 2015!

Thanks again for all your help!

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Originally Posted by GCHopes

It's been a very frustrating ride so far since July! Anyone here know of cases where Medicals from 2012 were considered, and weren't issued any RFE's? If there was no such case i should forget about my GC this year, and focus on getting AC21, and other activities started instead since my EAD will be expiring in 2015!

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I am not be the competent authority on this but I think the answer, unfortunately, is no. I follow trackitt pretty closely and my sense is nobody there has been approved with a >1 year old medical. It would be a good idea to search trackitt for "expired medicals" or something - there may be some threads or posts I have missed.

I think sportsfan here will have a better sense as he was waiting for his RFEs the longest time and will have researched the issue better.

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Originally Posted by vizcard

So i got a 2nd set of CPO emails today ... now they really want to give me GCs :)

any idea what this means or if that is just an oversight ?

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Oh nice. Congratulations. You will get CPO, then Decision then CPO and then Decision.

In all 2 welcome notices. When you get the first welcome notice delivered, you will get 2nd CPo with tracking number and then another welcome notice. I really did not bother reading the second welcome notice lol

Spec has been keeping count on his trackitt data page and IIRC the data shows that there has not been any approvals with an expired medical.

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Originally Posted by helpful_leo

I am not be the competent authority on this but I think the answer, unfortunately, is no. I follow trackitt pretty closely and my sense is nobody there has been approved with a >1 year old medical. It would be a good idea to search trackitt for "expired medicals" or something - there may be some threads or posts I have missed.

I think sportsfan here will have a better sense as he was waiting for his RFEs the longest time and will have researched the issue better.

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We were in similar situation as yours. Our RFEs were issued on Jun 5th 2014 and while my wife's RFE letter reached the attorney on Jun 13th, there was no sign of my RFE letter. After constant follow-ups and requests they sent two more letters which neither me nor the attorney received. Then on Jul 3rd (to ruin my long weekend) they updated that my RFE letters have been returned un-delivered (despite the fact that both L1 and L2 confirmed the correct address for me as well as attorney). On Jul 7th the L2 submitted a request to re-send the letter to the specific addresses mentioned and finally on Jul 14th the attorney received it. There is still no sign of a letter at my address.

Contact your Senator/Congressman and see if they can help!

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Originally Posted by GCHopes

Thanks Helpful_Leo & VizCard for your replies!

Exactly, the level of incompetency is just mind boggling! I attempted to send a letter to my local congress, and they requested i get an approval from my current firm that i was working at. Since i switched jobs last year, and didn't file AC21 until it was necessary (to let the visa process work out without any more flags) - i was not able to get them all the necessary documentation - so they can send the request to USCIS!

It's been a very frustrating ride so far since July! Anyone here know of cases where Medicals from 2012 were considered, and weren't issued any RFE's? If there was no such case i should forget about my GC this year, and focus on getting AC21, and other activities started instead since my EAD will be expiring in 2015!

Thanks again for all your help!

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Is the concept of officer ID true ? Give me logical reason if you believe so.

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Originally Posted by edisonguy

Is the concept of officer ID true ? Give me logical reason if you believe so.

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I have wondered about this myself. I saw a post on trackitt that a InfoPass officer told somebody that it is NOT officer id but stands for "exemption #" or something.

Not sure myself.

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Originally Posted by la_2002_ch

We were in similar situation as yours. Our RFEs were issued on Jun 5th 2014 and while my wife's RFE letter reached the attorney on Jun 13th, there was no sign of my RFE letter. After constant follow-ups and requests they sent two more letters which neither me nor the attorney received. Then on Jul 3rd (to ruin my long weekend) they updated that my RFE letters have been returned un-delivered (despite the fact that both L1 and L2 confirmed the correct address for me as well as attorney). On Jul 7th the L2 submitted a request to re-send the letter to the specific addresses mentioned and finally on Jul 14th the attorney received it. There is still no sign of a letter at my address.

Contact your Senator/Congressman and see if they can help!

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That is similar to my situation (except the letters reached my attorney on time, so we were able to respond to RFE on time).

We too didn't get the 2nd RFE letter (which the attorney got again) and were worried that when the letter is returned, our status will got back to RFE. But it is almost 6 weeks since it was sent and we are less worried about that now.

Btw, what is your RFER date and your current status?

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Originally Posted by ramaka02

Ignore any emails or updates except for the one which has card USPS Tracking number :D! We received 3 welcome letters and then the card in hand within 1 week of CPO Email.

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Ramaka- How long after the CPO emails did you ge the tracking numbers?

6 days, Viz.

12AUG-CPO Email/SMS
18AUG-CPO Mailed with USPS Tracking
19AUG-Card received.

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Originally Posted by vizcard

Ramaka- How long after the CPO emails did you ge the tracking numbers?

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My RFERR was Jul 23rd. Just posted in the other thread about my CPO mail today.

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Originally Posted by helpful_leo

That is similar to my situation (except the letters reached my attorney on time, so we were able to respond to RFE on time).

We too didn't get the 2nd RFE letter (which the attorney got again) and were worried that when the letter is returned, our status will got back to RFE. But it is almost 6 weeks since it was sent and we are less worried about that now.

Btw, what is your RFER date and your current status?

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Hi la_2002_ch,

I have same exact priority date as you 09/29/2008 with NSC, me and my wife have got Medical RFE's on Jun 3rd, we responded to RFE's and got RFER on July 3rd. I am still waiting after opening SR for about a week, is there anything you did like approaching senator/congressman to expedite your case?

Thanks for your time.

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Originally Posted by la_2002_ch

My RFERR was Jul 23rd. Just posted in the other thread about my CPO mail today.

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