The FY2014 RFE Thread

[aug152008]

I got my rfe response - evl and medical filed through fragomen last friday and status on uscis site is now initial review.. I had asked fragomen to send me a copy of what they submitted and i now see that the employment start date with my new company is not in the EVL .. We had filed an ac21 in march - even there , there is no start date mentioned in the evl. Is this going to be an issue!! Will i get another rde or can I ask fragomen to send another response ?! I've asked fragomen and am of course 'waiting to hear back'!

@imdeg - if u want to do sthg non touristy- go to west village and east village in nyc..

[nijor.deha]

Hi All,

Our GC is current for July 2014 visa bulletin.
We got a SMS that we got RFE 3 weeks back.
But we have still did not get the RFE copy yet.
We do not even know what is the rfe for .In this case what to do and how do I get the RFE copy so that we can respond

Thanks
Nija

[vizcard]

Question for folks who have gotten their medical exam done for the second time - what all needs to be repeated?

Everything. Its civil surgeon that decides and not you.

Basically its a repeat of the first process. If you have your previous 693, you can use that for proof of vaccinations. If you tested positive for TB in the skin test, your civil surgeon should tell you not to do that this time around and just go get the xray straight away (major time saver!). They will repeat the syphilis blood test and might also test to see if the levels of your anti-bodies are good even if you have had vaccinations before.

[thelongwait]

I got my rfe response - evl and medical filed through fragomen last friday and status on uscis site is now initial review.. I had asked fragomen to send me a copy of what they submitted and i now see that the employment start date with my new company is not in the EVL .. We had filed an ac21 in march - even there , there is no start date mentioned in the evl. Is this going to be an issue!! Will i get another rde or can I ask fragomen to send another response ?! I've asked fragomen and am of course 'waiting to hear back'!

@imdeg - if u want to do sthg non touristy- go to west village and east village in nyc..

Even the RFE response that was sent by my attorney had no start date for the new position I took in the same company. We will know in 60 days Whether we get another RFE or not.
Hopefully we get greened well before the 60 day period.

[RMS_V13]

My status changed from RFE response review to Initial Review in 2 days of sending the RFE response.

Now, my EVL says that I work for XXX formerly known as YYYY From 20xx and my salary and job responsibility.

I was not asked to file AC21 or nre I 140 etc. XXX letter head is used, but my start date and job title has not changed.

Could this be the reason for my status to be in Initial review?

I got my rfe response - evl and medical filed through fragomen last friday and status on uscis site is now initial review.. I had asked fragomen to send me a copy of what they submitted and i now see that the employment start date with my new company is not in the EVL .. We had filed an ac21 in march - even there , there is no start date mentioned in the evl. Is this going to be an issue!! Will i get another rde or can I ask fragomen to send another response ?! I've asked fragomen and am of course 'waiting to hear back'!

@imdeg - if u want to do sthg non touristy- go to west village and east village in nyc..

[vizcard]

Hi All,

Our GC is current for July 2014 visa bulletin.
We got a SMS that we got RFE 3 weeks back.
But we have still did not get the RFE copy yet.
We do not even know what is the rfe for .In this case what to do and how do I get the RFE copy so that we can respond

Thanks
Nija

Mods - please keep this up for the rest of the day before transferring to the RFE thread or until Nija confirms that he/she has gotten this whichever is earlier.

Nija - I would go ahead and get medicals done again and also reach out to your HR and get the employment verification letter started. Its almost certainly those 2 things. If there's anything else, you can respond when you get it. But get a headstart on these two things.

Also, call the USCIS and ask them what the RFE is for since you haven't got it yet and that its been 3 weeks. Confirm that your address with them is correct.

[vizcard]

My status changed from RFE response review to Initial Review in 2 days of sending the RFE response.

Now, my EVL says that I work for XXX formerly known as YYYY From 20xx and my salary and job responsibility.

I was not asked to file AC21 or nre I 140 etc. XXX letter head is used, but my start date and job title has not changed.

Could this be the reason for my status to be in Initial review?

A lot of people have seen that change.... and a lot of people haven't. I don't think the status change is any indication of the issue you are describing.

[venkat]

Something that i thought would be useful:

In the RFE letter there was this line

"Important: if you are no longer working for your original Form I-140 petitioner, submit a written explanation for the change. You may also submit evidence to show you remain eligible to adjust through visa portability under section 204O.................."

This is applicable for people who changed jobs. Not sure whether this is really important but anyway it may be useful for people who have not filed their response yet (i.e to include a covering letter signed by the applicant).

Check with your attorney - that's important

[aug152008]

Even the RFE response that was sent by my attorney had no start date for the new position I took in the same company. We will know in 60 days Whether we get another RFE or not.
Hopefully we get greened well before the 60 day period.

Fragomen got back saying the attorney double checked my response before sending and they are sure there wont be an rfe.. 7 years of waiting (because the labor etc starts before the priority date gets set) and now few more weeks

some of the things I saw that they sent - that may be useful for others

- they did put it in a letter explaining the change - essentially they just said its AC21 and greater than 180 days of filing ..

- they quoted the AC 21 letter in the evl they sent ( I heard somewhere that smoeone got an rfe for not quoting)

[zenmaster]

Something that i thought would be useful:

In the RFE letter there was this line

"Important: if you are no longer working for your original Form I-140 petitioner, submit a written explanation for the change. You may also submit evidence to show you remain eligible to adjust through visa portability under section 204O.................."

This is applicable for people who changed jobs. Not sure whether this is really important but anyway it may be useful for people who have not filed their response yet (i.e to include a covering letter signed by the applicant).

Check with your attorney - that's important

Thanks Venkat.
I was planning to self file the response, so this is helpful.

[PD2008AUG25]

I haven't seen any updates to my case in USCIS portal since 2012. I received RFE and also replied few days back. There were no emails or alerts. What, if anything, I could do about it?

Anyone is same boat?

[vizcard]

I haven't seen any updates to my case in USCIS portal since 2012. I received RFE and also replied few days back. There were no emails or alerts. What, if anything, I could do about it?

Anyone is same boat?

Dont worry about it. I didn't get any electronic notifications before the RFE but did get them after I submitted the response. But their system is very unreliable. If you are concerned call them up on Friday and ask them if they have got it.

[thelongwait]

Fragomen got back saying the attorney double checked my response before sending and they are sure there wont be an rfe.. 7 years of waiting (because the labor etc starts before the priority date gets set) and now few more weeks

some of the things I saw that they sent - that may be useful for others

- they did put it in a letter explaining the change - essentially they just said its AC21 and greater than 180 days of filing ..

- they quoted the AC 21 letter in the evl they sent ( I heard somewhere that smoeone got an rfe for not quoting)

Good to know.
Did the status change when you filed your AC21? It didn't change for me.

[vyruss]

This is what I got from my lawyer. It makes sense to me and see if it works for you. Couple of important points on when the clock for the medicals is reset is included. I posted a similar question earlier and I believe Q responded saying there could be two clocks at play. But my lawyer says only one clock which is the day you send it to USCIS. Hopefully it helps others using this forum.

Below is the message from my lawyer:

**

We have received a request for evidence regarding your adjustment applications. The request is for updated medical exams. The policy of USCIS had been that exams must be current when submitted, and then the exams would be valid until the application was adjudicated. However, the policy changed on May 31, 2014, and now the medical exams are only valid for one year after they are submitted. Since your application has been pending more than one year, the RFE requests new exams.

Your priority date is May, 2009. For July, the Visa Bulletin has advanced the EB-2 (India) cut-off date to September 1, 2008. This means that the Visa Bulletin must advance at least 10 months before your application can be approved. There is a risk that we will submit the medical exams, and another year will pass before the priority date comes current. USCIS has advised us that they do not send the RFE unless they think that the priority date will be reached within the next year, but they also caution that priority date movement is uncertain and there are no guarantees. The goal is to have the case ready for adjudication when the date does become current. So there is also a risk that if we do not submit the exam, the date will become current, and the application will not be ready for adjudication. We must balance these two risks.

My advice is that you and *****(spouse) should have the exams completed at your convenience. There is no rush, but I would do it within the next couple of weeks. However, I would also suggest that we not submit the exams right away. The RFE is due on September 5 2014. While the application must be adjudicated within one year of the date the exam is submitted, the exam is valid for one year for submission from the date it is administered. Thus, if you have the exams now, but we submit them on August 20, 2014, the exam will remain valid until August 20, 2015. This gives us the maximum time for your priority date to become current. If the dates move faster, and there is some indication in the August or September Visa Bulletin (published mid July and August, respectively) that the dates will move faster, we will be in a position to return the exam immediately.

It is not necessary to return to the same physician, but you may do so if the physician is still on the approved list. The approved list of physicians can be found on the USCIS website.

https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?ac...ffice_type=CIV

As soon as you have the exams completed, please forward them in the sealed envelope to our office. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks.

[qesehmk]

I posted a similar question earlier and I believe Q responded saying there could be two clocks at play.

Must be Spec or Kanmani or somebody else may be Viz.

[vyruss]

I believe it was either you (Q) or Spec. Tried to look at past posts but could not find it. With all the ambiguity, there could in fact be two sets of clocks. But not sure. And also thanks for all the great work you all do.

[Spectator]

vyruss,

Your attorney mentions the 2 clocks in the reply to you.

While the application must be adjudicated within one year of the date the exam is submitted, the exam is valid for one year for submission from the date it is administered.

Clock 1 - the exam is valid for one year for submission (to USCIS) from the date it is administered (by the Civil Surgeon).

[22] USCIS will use the date the Form I-693 was signed by the civil surgeon (including blanket-designated health departments and military physicians) to determine whether the report was submitted less than one year after completion of the examination.

Clock 2 - the application must be adjudicated within one year of the date the exam is submitted (to USCIS)

[24] USCIS will use the date that USCIS received the Form I-693 to determine whether the medical examination report is more than one year old at time of adjudication of the benefit application. Although the medical examination report is generally valid for adjudicatory purposes up to one year after filing, the officer may order an additional immigration medical examination at any time if he or she has concerns as to an applicant’s inadmissibility on health-related grounds. For more information, see Chapter 11, Inadmissibility Determination, Section C, Other Information.

http://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HT...-Chapter4.html

[Sreeji]

Hi,

My pd is 12/30/2008 and i have my EAD. Last year i moved to new address and filed AR-11 at that time.

Last month when dates are moving i realized my I485 Application had the old address. I just went ahead and submitted the new address in USCIS website and till yesterday my case was showing as initial review for change of address. Today status chanaged to "RFE".

Not sure if i would have left with out applying for a change of address. This doesn't seem to be a good news for me. Experts plz..share your views/thoughts!!

[vizcard]

This is what I got from my lawyer. It makes sense to me and see if it works for you. Couple of important points on when the clock for the medicals is reset is included. I posted a similar question earlier and I believe Q responded saying there could be two clocks at play. But my lawyer says only one clock which is the day you send it to USCIS. Hopefully it helps others using this forum.

Below is the message from my lawyer:

**

We have received a request for evidence regarding your adjustment applications. The request is for updated medical exams. The policy of USCIS had been that exams must be current when submitted, and then the exams would be valid until the application was adjudicated. However, the policy changed on May 31, 2014, and now the medical exams are only valid for one year after they are submitted. Since your application has been pending more than one year, the RFE requests new exams.

Your priority date is May, 2009. For July, the Visa Bulletin has advanced the EB-2 (India) cut-off date to September 1, 2008. This means that the Visa Bulletin must advance at least 10 months before your application can be approved. There is a risk that we will submit the medical exams, and another year will pass before the priority date comes current. USCIS has advised us that they do not send the RFE unless they think that the priority date will be reached within the next year, but they also caution that priority date movement is uncertain and there are no guarantees. The goal is to have the case ready for adjudication when the date does become current. So there is also a risk that if we do not submit the exam, the date will become current, and the application will not be ready for adjudication. We must balance these two risks.

My advice is that you and *****(spouse) should have the exams completed at your convenience. There is no rush, but I would do it within the next couple of weeks. However, I would also suggest that we not submit the exams right away. The RFE is due on September 5 2014. While the application must be adjudicated within one year of the date the exam is submitted, the exam is valid for one year for submission from the date it is administered. Thus, if you have the exams now, but we submit them on August 20, 2014, the exam will remain valid until August 20, 2015. This gives us the maximum time for your priority date to become current. If the dates move faster, and there is some indication in the August or September Visa Bulletin (published mid July and August, respectively) that the dates will move faster, we will be in a position to return the exam immediately.

It is not necessary to return to the same physician, but you may do so if the physician is still on the approved list. The approved list of physicians can be found on the USCIS website.

https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?ac...ffice_type=CIV

As soon as you have the exams completed, please forward them in the sealed envelope to our office. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks.

Must be Spec or Kanmani or somebody else may be Viz.

Spec had actually responded saying that there were 2 clocks. Theoretically yes but in practice only one comes in to play. Basically you have to submit the results within 1 yr of the tests being conducted and the tests are valid 1 yr from when the USCIS gets it.
http://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HT...er4.html#S-C-4

[qesehmk]

I am seeing all these topics for first time. Sorry for being out of touch.

But if I understand what Spec and your attorney are saying ... it looks like they both are saying the same thing. Which is:

A medical exam is valid for 1 year in terms of ability to submit to USCIS.

You can submit a valid medical exam on 364th day since you had it first!! And that's ok.

Then USCIS will not ask for an exam 1 year until after the day you submit it.

Thus your attorney is advising that instead of rushing in to submit it ... wait the max you can and then submit it.

Now that advice may or not be good .... we certainly don't want your 485 held back just because USCIS is waiting on some stupid medical exam!! Right ??

So make your own decision. But simply speaking medical exam has 1 year validity and then USCIS starts its own 1 year clock after you submit the exam results.

vyruss,

Your attorney mentions the 2 clocks in the reply to you.



Clock 1 - the exam is valid for one year for submission (to USCIS) from the date it is administered (by the Civil Surgeon).

Clock 2 - the application must be adjudicated within one year of the date the exam is submitted (to USCIS)

p.s. Vyruss thanks to you for posting attorney correspondence which kind of confirms what Spec said.

[vyruss]

I am seeing all these topics for first time. Sorry for being out of touch.

But if I understand what Spec and your attorney are saying ... it looks like they both are saying the same thing. Which is:

A medical exam is valid for 1 year in terms of ability to submit to USCIS.

You can submit a valid medical exam on 364th day since you had it first!! And that's ok.

Then USCIS will not ask for an exam 1 year until after the day you submit it.

Thus your attorney is advising that instead of rushing in to submit it ... wait the max you can and then submit it.

Now that advice may or not be good .... we certainly don't want your 485 held back just because USCIS is waiting on some stupid medical exam!! Right ??

So make your own decision. But simply speaking medical exam has 1 year validity and then USCIS starts its own 1 year clock after you submit the exam results.



p.s. Vyruss thanks to you for posting attorney correspondence which kind of confirms what Spec said.

No thank you (Q, Spec, Kanmani, Viz and all the old timers......if I have not read your posts) for bringing clarity to this mess.

[qesehmk]

Hi,

My pd is 12/30/2008 and i have my EAD. Last year i moved to new address and filed AR-11 at that time.

Last month when dates are moving i realized my I485 Application had the old address. I just went ahead and submitted the new address in USCIS website and till yesterday my case was showing as initial review for change of address. Today status chanaged to "RFE".

Not sure if i would have left with out applying for a change of address. This doesn't seem to be a good news for me. Experts plz..share your views/thoughts!!

sreeji

do not fret over an RFE. Most of the times they are harmless. Basically and RFE is a question from USCIS because they don't understand something about your application. I am sure you are going to be just fine. You did a good thing by filing change of address.

[helpful_leo]

Q for vizcard and others regarding EVL:

When the 2008 PERM application was submitted, the job title was "senior business analyst". After 6 years with in-line promotions, the title is now "associate director".
The job duties & description are essentially the same, with no significant changes.
The base salary has gone up by ~30K, about 25-30% since 2008.

The HR/lawyer letter drafted and shown to us today is truthfully saying the above things. This is a well known / regarded company.

My understanding is that the above should not cause any concern regarding the EVL or position, and comes within what is allowed by USCIS.

Is there any reason to be worried, and/or ask the HR to write a slightly different letter? (still truthful, but without several of the un-requested details they are providing now)

Thanks!

[vizcard]

Q for vizcard and others regarding EVL:

When the 2008 PERM application was submitted, the job title was "senior business analyst". After 6 years with in-line promotions, the title is now "associate director".
The job duties & description are essentially the same, with no significant changes.
The base salary has gone up by ~30K, about 25-30% since 2008.

The HR/lawyer letter drafted and shown to us today is truthfully saying the above things. This is a well known / regarded company.

My understanding is that the above should not cause any concern regarding the EVL or position, and comes within what is allowed by USCIS.

Is there any reason to be worried, and/or ask the HR to write a slightly different letter? (still truthful, but without several of the un-requested details they are providing now)

Thanks!

Its perfectly fine. Take a look at the EVL that my company (Big 4 management consulting) sent to Fragomen on my behalf. I feel like between the 2 of those organizations, they have a lot of experience with GC apps.

http://www.qesehmk.org/forums/showth...7211#post47211


PS: 10 yrs same company ..so promotions along the way.

[helpful_leo]

Its perfectly fine. Take a look at the EVL that my company (Big 4 management consulting) sent to Fragomen on my behalf. I feel like between the 2 of those organizations, they have a lot of experience with GC apps.

http://www.qesehmk.org/forums/showth...7211#post47211


PS: 10 yrs same company ..so promotions along the way.

Thanks. That is also what I thought.

I was only concerned if the ~30% salary difference would create issues. I would have preferred if they had used something like what your EVL mentioned (at least $ 'PERM amount'). After being here for 12 years, I don't want to miss GC because of some trivial issue like this.

Any idea how much of a salary increase is allowed before USCIS gets concerned about significant change in job duties?