The FY2014 RFE Thread

[RMS_V13]

just wanted to understand if customer serice shares the status depending on particualr congressman

I had experience with senator who I don't think voted for CIR, but found out the status for me

anyways, for most of us there is no choice. Congressman has to be local to help you and we can't choose based on their voting history

Based in whr I live I would rather go to the senator than the house rep based on his political views. I am not saying they would not find the status or jeopardize. Just the comfort feeling.

[helpful_leo]

Skin test positive, X ray negative can be latent TB (Class B). It happened to me and there were no recommendations to health department.
My doctor was helpful and it seemed he had good grip of changing rules. He didn't include X ray report or RFE copy inside the 693 envelop.

It can be, but need not be.

For USCIS purposes, in an otherwise healthy person, it is latent TB (Class B) only if TST is >10mm (positive is defined >5mm) AND the person is recent arrival (<5 years) from high TB incidence country (India qualifies).
So, although I have >10mm skin test (and XRay negative), since I am in the US >5 years, my CS did NOT check 'Class B' for me.

Details here (esp. p19):
http://www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeeh...b-ti-civil.pdf

[geniusmag]

It can be, but need not be.

For USCIS purposes, in an otherwise healthy person, it is latent TB (Class B) only if TST is >10mm (positive is defined >5mm) AND the person is recent arrival (<5 years) from high TB incidence country (India qualifies).
So, although I have >10mm skin test (and XRay negative), since I am in the US >5 years, my CS did NOT check 'Class B' for me.

Details here (esp. p19):
http://www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeeh...b-ti-civil.pdf

Thats where the blood test comes into picture . I really dont understand why skin test is still used.
Blood test is simple , objective and gives a yes / no answer - negative clears you of any TB - active or latent, positive indicates atleast latent Tb ( could be active based on other conditions / x ray ). No more measuring redness , softness and worrying about if you took BCG and what not

[vizcard]

Thanks Bieber,
I have no immediate necessity at present , just for information sake. Still no border crossing for favorite congressman within the state right?

Short answer - no border crossing. You have the choice of 1 Congressman (from your district) and 2 Senators (your state). You can choose one or more of these based on who you are comfortable with. I live in NJ. Senator Menendez is a no-brainer for me.

[vyruss]

I am having a feeling that RFEs are not going to come anymore. There just haven't been any RFEs for 2008 folks since June.

Most porters have not seen RFEs either and some of them are being told that their cases are simply waiting for final adjudication. We will see if approvals happen for folks without RFEs.

While I am all for getting greened without an RFE, how equitable would it be if USCIS chooses to randomly apply an old protocol to a select few. Would they now open themselves for a litigation? Is that even possible? I definitely do not want to water down your hopes here but at the same time there is not much data to support the theory that some are being greened without an RFE.

The whole RFE episode seems to be an arbitrary execution of the protocol. With an established backlog like EB2I, it could have been better (wishful thinking, I guess).

[Spectator]

While I am all for getting greened without an RFE, how equitable would it be if USCIS chooses to randomly apply an old protocol to a select few. Would they now open themselves for a litigation? Is that even possible? I definitely do not want to water down your hopes here but at the same time there is not much data to support the theory that some are being greened without an RFE.

The whole RFE episode seems to be an arbitrary execution of the protocol. With an established backlog like EB2I, it could have been better (wishful thinking, I guess).

vyruss,

It's not going to happen.

The one year validity for I-693 after May 31, 2014 is a matter of USCIS policy and is binding on all adjudicators until different guidance is issued.

The new policy was developed in conjunction with CDC and I don't believe USCIS has the authority to modify the policy without consulting with the CDC first.

That is not going to happen within FY2014 IMO. I do hope that, at some point, the validity can be extended to at least 2 years. That would remove all the present problems in future years.

Currently there is zero evidence in Trackitt, for cases that have been updated, of any case being approved with an expired I-693.

Medical RFE
Pre Change -- 645
<1 Year ------ 78
Yes ---------- 86
No ------------ 0
Unknown ------- 9
Total ------- 818


I hope sportsfan receives the RFE as soon as possible.

[bieber]

Thanks Bieber,
I have no immediate necessity at present , just for information sake. Still no border crossing for favorite congressman within the state right?

I guess you can try, but they will ask to contact local congressman first and if there is no help then you can try to contact other reps. They have a question on the form to mention if you already contacted another congressman

[bieber]

Based in whr I live I would rather go to the senator than the house rep based on his political views. I am not saying they would not find the status or jeopardize. Just the comfort feeling.

I agree, that's the reason I went with Senator

[bieber]

It can be, but need not be.

For USCIS purposes, in an otherwise healthy person, it is latent TB (Class B) only if TST is >10mm (positive is defined >5mm) AND the person is recent arrival (<5 years) from high TB incidence country (India qualifies).
So, although I have >10mm skin test (and XRay negative), since I am in the US >5 years, my CS did NOT check 'Class B' for me.

Details here (esp. p19):
http://www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeeh...b-ti-civil.pdf

Thanks. Now I understand why he marked mine as Class B. I got 13mm reaction and traveled to India recently

[vyruss]

The one year validity for I-693 after May 31, 2014 is a matter of USCIS policy and is binding on all adjudicators until different guidance is issued.

The new policy was developed in conjunction with CDC and I don't believe USCIS has the authority to modify the policy without consulting with the CDC first.

Currently there is zero evidence in Trackitt, for cases that have been updated, of any case being approved with an expired I-693.
.

That is what I thought. On the policy issue, is this not an old policy that is just being enforced now. It was probably glossed over in the past and now merely being enforced. It would just be prudent to suck it up, spend the money on the medicals now and wait for the "inevitable" RFE. But I would be really mad if I fall into PWMB category just because USCIS muddled the RFE issuing process.

[Kanmani]

I guess you can try, but they will ask to contact local congressman first and if there is no help then you can try to contact other reps. They have a question on the form to mention if you already contacted another congressman

Thanks 'B'.

[reachkash]

How long USCIS takes to update the status to "Request for Evidence Response Review" once we send the RFE response? Will there be some delay?

[ramaka02]

^Mine got updated the day after TSC received the docs.

[bieber]

How long USCIS takes to update the status to "Request for Evidence Response Review" once we send the RFE response? Will there be some delay?

24-48 hours (business days)

[helpful_leo]

I have an elementary Q, reg. answer on my senator inquiry / privacy form (for EB2-I):

1/ Under "Information about you", it asks "Are you the petitioner?"

2/ In a separate section, it asks "Info about beneficiary or foreign visitor".

I am a little confused. Am I the I-485 petitioner or beneficiary, or both?

Thanks

[vizcard]

I have an elementary Q, reg. answer on my senator inquiry / privacy form (for EB2-I):

1/ Under "Information about you", it asks "Are you the petitioner?"

2/ In a separate section, it asks "Info about beneficiary or foreign visitor".

I am a little confused. Am I the I-485 petitioner or beneficiary, or both?

Thanks

For the 485 you are both. Your spouse would be only a beneficiary. Its probably a generic form that might apply to H1B or I140 cases too in which case the company is the petitioner and you are the beneficiary.

[imdeng]

NSC usually updated within 1 day of receiving. They usually run a batch update around 10PM.

How long USCIS takes to update the status to "Request for Evidence Response Review" once we send the RFE response? Will there be some delay?

[helpful_leo]

For the 485 you are both. Your spouse would be only a beneficiary. Its probably a generic form that might apply to H1B or I140 cases too in which case the company is the petitioner and you are the beneficiary.

Thanks viz. Yes, that makes sense.

And it is a generic form that is applicable to other applications.

[reachkash]

NSC usually updated within 1 day of receiving. They usually run a batch update around 10PM.

Mine is TSC. Just now I received SMS alert, case status updated to RERR. It took 36 Hrs for the status to reflect after it is delivered by USPS.

[RMS_V13]

Sports fan, Just for my future reference. Did you talk to the congress man, write, or fax or email or face to face?

Did you represent yourself or both you and your wife? My spouse will not indulge in these conversations. So, I will have to fight this battle. Will they need primary or can the derivative appeal their case?,

Spec, I definitely do not doubt the accuracy of your information.

However, it still doesn't explain an abrupt cutoff in the RFEs around end of June. Very few people have received RFEs in July and a good chunk of people simply don't have them.

If memory serves me right, last year too, it was the same thing. Not everyone received RFEs.

Although "technically", we should all receive medical RFEs, I am still wondering if there is an internal memo/flexibility afforded to adjudicators to send them at their own discretion afterall. We will know by August 10 when the September bulletin comes out. If it moves to accommodate everyone who received RFEs (up to November 2009), then yes, you are 100% right and I will press the panic button (for my own case if it's still in the same state). However if it doesn't move that far, I seriously doubt that all the late 2009 folks who git RFEs will be again told to go through that 1 year from now.

There has to be some sort of flexibility at some point. Could it already be in place now without us knowing? It's possible. I agree that there is no anecdotal evidence yet, but consider that TSC has not approved many folks to begin with. NSC has on the other hand sent RFEs diligently and has approved at a healthy place.

It's a coin toss. Fortunately, I have a very strong support from local congressman who actually told me that they will go above and beyond to ensure my case is processed in a timely manner. I am less worried as a result at least now.

[JJcalifornian]

Mine is TSC. Just now I received SMS alert, case status updated to RERR. It took 36 Hrs for the status to reflect after it is delivered by USPS.

mine is with TSC for the last 18 days and no update at all.

[sreddy]

Early responders to RFE should have completed 60 days wait already (based on response receipt date), any of them created case/enquiry with TSC?

[vizcard]

NSC has started approving people who got current in Aug.

[ramaka02]

NSC has started approving people who got current in Aug.

Are we (GC pending applicants at TSC) really out of luck, with no options? Is there really no way to get in touch with TSC folks and get an explanation on WTF is happening there?

[PD2008AUG25]

Things are getting little better at TSC. 14 approvals in 4 days at TSC vs 11 at NSC. Let's hope it keeps accelerating.