Request for Initial Evidence questions

[brecchi]

Hello, my wife is currently waiting on the AOS/EAD/AP which was received on January 9th, a couple of weeks after we were married in the States. I'm form the USA, she is from Nicaragua and we had a smooth K-1 process to facilitate the marriage. I wish I could say the same for the AOS. The timeline is as follows:

1/9/2018 - AOS/AP/EAD Application received by USCIS
1/19/2018 - Biometrics appointment notice
2/5/2018 - Biometrics appointment completed
5/15/2018(!) - Received Request for Initial Evidence for the AOS
7/13/2018 - Evidence mailed to Lee Summit, MO

We are actually more concerned with the AP document than the EAD or the AOS. Meaning that we don't mind waiting for the green card, (although not being able to work is really tough). However, these pale in comparison to the fact that my wife can't travel back home. Her country is in pretty bad turmoil (similar to what Venezuela is going through) and its basically in her best interest to spend some time there with her family. In fact we were counting on this before the country went to hell for other reasons.

The general consensus from what I have read is that an RFE pauses the clock but an RFIE restarts it. And because everything was sent in as one package, what happens to one application affects the other 2. I know that it used to take 2-3 months to get an EAD/AP card but now it seems to be more like 4-5 months. So, the USCIS waited 5 MONTHS from the receipt of our initial application to ask for evidence which will now be resetting everything back to where we were at the very beginning of the year (1/9/2018)? There is a 2 month gap between us receiving the RFIE and me mailing in the evidence, but that couldn't be helped and had to do with tax information I was waiting on.

So, say they receive the evidence in a few days, the middle of July. Are we looking at a 4-5 month wait again for the EAD/AP card, and well over a year from now for the green card? It seems that this worst case scenario is a likely possibility which would be a pretty big burden for the reasons I mentioned above, and a few personal ones I haven't. I know that emergency AP cards can be issued but I have read that they are pretty impossible to get.

I've done as much research as I could but its pretty hard to find the latest information. Any help you guys can give will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
brecchi

[Tezza]

Hello, my wife is currently waiting on the AOS/EAD/AP which was received on January 9th, a couple of weeks after we were married in the States. I'm form the USA, she is from Nicaragua and we had a smooth K-1 process to facilitate the marriage. I wish I could say the same for the AOS. The timeline is as follows:

1/9/2018 - AOS/AP/EAD Application received by USCIS
1/19/2018 - Biometrics appointment notice
2/5/2018 - Biometrics appointment completed
5/15/2018(!) - Received Request for Initial Evidence for the AOS
7/13/2018 - Evidence mailed to Lee Summit, MO

We are actually more concerned with the AP document than the EAD or the AOS. Meaning that we don't mind waiting for the green card, (although not being able to work is really tough). However, these pale in comparison to the fact that my wife can't travel back home. Her country is in pretty bad turmoil (similar to what Venezuela is going through) and its basically in her best interest to spend some time there with her family. In fact we were counting on this before the country went to hell for other reasons.

The general consensus from what I have read is that an RFE pauses the clock but an RFIE restarts it. And because everything was sent in as one package, what happens to one application affects the other 2. I know that it used to take 2-3 months to get an EAD/AP card but now it seems to be more like 4-5 months. So, the USCIS waited 5 MONTHS from the receipt of our initial application to ask for evidence which will now be resetting everything back to where we were at the very beginning of the year (1/9/2018)? There is a 2 month gap between us receiving the RFIE and me mailing in the evidence, but that couldn't be helped and had to do with tax information I was waiting on.

So, say they receive the evidence in a few days, the middle of July. Are we looking at a 4-5 month wait again for the EAD/AP card, and well over a year from now for the green card? It seems that this worst case scenario is a likely possibility which would be a pretty big burden for the reasons I mentioned above, and a few personal ones I haven't. I know that emergency AP cards can be issued but I have read that they are pretty impossible to get.

I've done as much research as I could but its pretty hard to find the latest information. Any help you guys can give will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
brecchi

USCIS generally responds to these within 60-90 days, but there isn't a set processing time, so technically it could be a week or 12 weeks, it really depends how busy they are.

There's no set rule that an RFIE will for sure reset the clock, although this does happen a lot, it all depends. I've seen stories of people having just a short pause on an RFIE while others had a couple of months wait. It's hard to tell unfortunately, especially with the current immigration climate, USCIS are under even more pressure. The processing time for NBC is 4-6 months right now, but some of the other service centers are 4.5-6.5 months.

Since you received an RFIE it's pretty much out of your hands as they have no set time period to respond, so it's sadly a waiting game.

[brecchi]

USCIS generally responds to these within 60-90 days, but there isn't a set processing time, so technically it could be a week or 12 weeks, it really depends how busy they are.

There's no set rule that an RFIE will for sure reset the clock, although this does happen a lot, it all depends. I've seen stories of people having just a short pause on an RFIE while others had a couple of months wait. It's hard to tell unfortunately, especially with the current immigration climate, USCIS are under even more pressure. The processing time for NBC is 4-6 months right now, but some of the other service centers are 4.5-6.5 months.

Since you received an RFIE it's pretty much out of your hands as they have no set time period to respond, so it's sadly a waiting game.

Thanks for the info, that all makes sense.

The thing that is weird to me is that I received the RFIE so late in the process. From what I've read, people usually receive them much closer to the filing date which makes a lot more sense. I don't know what to make of getting a RFIE (emphasis on "Initial") 5 months after filing. Or if that extremely late request would make them more prone to just pause rather than reset once the evidence is received. But you are right, it seems like Im just trying to make sense of what's essentially a waiting game with no set rules.

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

Hello, my wife is currently waiting on the AOS/EAD/AP which was received on January 9th, a couple of weeks after we were married in the States. I'm form the USA, she is from Nicaragua and we had a smooth K-1 process to facilitate the marriage. I wish I could say the same for the AOS. The timeline is as follows:

1/9/2018 - AOS/AP/EAD Application received by USCIS
1/19/2018 - Biometrics appointment notice
2/5/2018 - Biometrics appointment completed
5/15/2018(!) - Received Request for Initial Evidence for the AOS
7/13/2018 - Evidence mailed to Lee Summit, MO

We are actually more concerned with the AP document than the EAD or the AOS. Meaning that we don't mind waiting for the green card, (although not being able to work is really tough). However, these pale in comparison to the fact that my wife can't travel back home. Her country is in pretty bad turmoil (similar to what Venezuela is going through) and its basically in her best interest to spend some time there with her family. In fact we were counting on this before the country went to hell for other reasons.

The general consensus from what I have read is that an RFE pauses the clock but an RFIE restarts it. And because everything was sent in as one package, what happens to one application affects the other 2. I know that it used to take 2-3 months to get an EAD/AP card but now it seems to be more like 4-5 months. So, the USCIS waited 5 MONTHS from the receipt of our initial application to ask for evidence which will now be resetting everything back to where we were at the very beginning of the year (1/9/2018)? There is a 2 month gap between us receiving the RFIE and me mailing in the evidence, but that couldn't be helped and had to do with tax information I was waiting on.

So, say they receive the evidence in a few days, the middle of July. Are we looking at a 4-5 month wait again for the EAD/AP card, and well over a year from now for the green card? It seems that this worst case scenario is a likely possibility which would be a pretty big burden for the reasons I mentioned above, and a few personal ones I haven't. I know that emergency AP cards can be issued but I have read that they are pretty impossible to get.

I've done as much research as I could but its pretty hard to find the latest information. Any help you guys can give will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
brecchi

The NBC stages cases for adjudication, and preps them before sending them to the field office. They were probably going to schedule you for interview and noticed something was missing. What is your field office? Typically k-1 applicants have a faster AOS process.

You can find your field office here. https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-.../field-offices

There is also another site where the majority of members are k-1. vis@journey

What was the RFE for?

[rasous]

Thanks for the info, that all makes sense.

The thing that is weird to me is that I received the RFIE so late in the process. From what I've read, people usually receive them much closer to the filing date which makes a lot more sense. I don't know what to make of getting a RFIE (emphasis on "Initial") 5 months after filing. Or if that extremely late request would make them more prone to just pause rather than reset once the evidence is received. But you are right, it seems like Im just trying to make sense of what's essentially a waiting game with no set rules.

It's rather unfortunate that USCIS sent you the RFIE after 5 months. According to a lawyer, the RIFE is issued when your file is at initial review. The RFIE will ONLY put your case on-hold, once they receive your response, the file will move to the next level of review.

Who knows, you may be schedule for interview once they receive you response. Good luck

[AngelaPhelan]

Thanks for the info, that all makes sense.

The thing that is weird to me is that I received the RFIE so late in the process. From what I've read, people usually receive them much closer to the filing date which makes a lot more sense. I don't know what to make of getting a RFIE (emphasis on "Initial") 5 months after filing. Or if that extremely late request would make them more prone to just pause rather than reset once the evidence is received. But you are right, it seems like Im just trying to make sense of what's essentially a waiting game with no set rules.

Same here! I filed the whole package at the beginning of March 2018, and received an Request for initial evidence exactly 4 months after filing. They said my husband wasn't making enough money to be my only sponsor cos they only looked at tax returns from when he was a graduate student! (He got a full time job after he graduated and is making pretty good money) They didn't look at all the pay stubs and employment verification letter at all. So I asked my MIL to be my joint sponsor, and submitted all the things they need on 7/12/2018. I freaked out, now fingers crossed..... I'm anxiously waiting for my EAD and going to lose my job if I can't go back to work soon (

[brecchi]

The NBC stages cases for adjudication, and preps them before sending them to the field office. They were probably going to schedule you for interview and noticed something was missing. What is your field office? Typically k-1 applicants have a faster AOS process.

You can find your field office here. https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-.../field-offices

There is also another site where the majority of members are k-1. vis@journey

What was the RFE for?

My field office is Baltimore, MD. If the K-1 application is usually faster, it certainly hasn't been in our case as noted in my first post.

My case status currently states that "On January 10, 2018, we accepted the fingerprint fee for your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status." That's the very last pieces of information available online. I'm not allowed to start a case inquiry yet, it says I'm still within the normal processing wait time.

The RFIE was for too low of an income. It was a misunderstanding, as my tax return needs to be read in a particular way as the owner of an LLC. Also, they didn't seem to consider my cash assets which by their own formula, would have made up the difference many times over. In any case, they asked for my most current tax returns which have since been completed after the initial filing and my income is well above the poverty line no matter which way it is read. I explained all of this in detail when I mailed back the RFIE with the required evidence.

[boogiewoogie]

Same here! I filed the whole package at the beginning of March 2018, and received an Request for initial evidence exactly 4 months after filing. They said my husband wasn't making enough money to be my only sponsor cos they only looked at tax returns from when he was a graduate student! (He got a full time job after he graduated and is making pretty good money) They didn't look at all the pay stubs and employment verification letter at all. So I asked my MIL to be my joint sponsor, and submitted all the things they need on 7/12/2018. I freaked out, now fingers crossed..... I'm anxiously waiting for my EAD and going to lose my job if I can't go back to work soon (

I dont know your entire situation but if you had a job yourself you could also sponsor yourself so to say.

My field office is Baltimore, MD. If the K-1 application is usually faster, it certainly hasn't been in our case as noted in my first post.

My case status currently states that "On January 10, 2018, we accepted the fingerprint fee for your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status." That's the very last pieces of information available online. I'm not allowed to start a case inquiry yet, it says I'm still within the normal processing wait time.

The RFIE was for too low of an income. It was a misunderstanding, as my tax return needs to be read in a particular way as the owner of an LLC. Also, they didn't seem to consider my cash assets which by their own formula, would have made up the difference many times over. In any case, they asked for my most current tax returns which have since been completed after the initial filing and my income is well above the poverty line no matter which way it is read. I explained all of this in detail when I mailed back the RFIE with the required evidence.

This seems to be pretty much standard delay tactics. Once you're close to filing or having filed a new tax return, USCIS wants their hands on it. It makes sense as a lot of things can change in a year, good or bad.

[brecchi]

Just received this notification 6 days after mailing the RFIE:

"On July 19, 2018, we received your response to our Request for Evidence for your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, Receipt Number MSC1890xxxxxx. Our National Benefits Center office will begin working on your case again. We will mail you a decision or notify you if we need something from you."

This has been the only update I've ever received online since the original notification of the application back on January 9th. There was no change at all even when they mailed be out the RFIE 5 months later. The EAD and AP applications haven't been updated at all.

I saw that the National Benefits Center has an average processing time of 4.5 - 6.5 months. I have no idea where I might be at in this process though.

[brecchi]

Just an update that I was finally allowed to submit a case inquiry for the AP. I got an email saying I;d have some kind of answer by 8/23. I suppose I won't learn too much but at least its something. I was going to set up an Infopass appointment for the same reason although I've heard its mostly a waste of time.

-Ben

[brecchi]

Received EAD/AP combo card on 8/25/2018.