How to Handle the Request For Evidence in the Green Card Process

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How to Handle the Request For Evidence in the Green Card Process?

Hi William,

I received Request for Evidence (RFE) from USCIS for my green card application. How to handle the obstacle in the green card process?

Answer,

Noone looks forward to getting a Request for Evidence (RFE) from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). RFEs come without warning and usually give the recipient an unpleasant feeling. An RFE is a written request for more information and documentation that USCIS mails out, if they believe that they do not yet have enough evidence to approve or deny a given application.

USCIS officers have clear guidance on how to review an application for a green card and other immigration applications. The USCIS Policy Manual, in addition to outlining general eligibility requirements, has charts and checklists that officers can use while reviewing applications. These guidance materials define the situations where issuing an RFE is appropriate.

You should know that an RFE generally is not written from scratch. There are RFE templates that give USCIS officers a starting point, then they can customize these templates to request more information and documents for individual applications. Typically, an RFE will have an introductory paragraph or two about the original application. The introduction will state the type of application, the date that USCIS received it, and which office is currently processing it.

USCIS does not follow the mailbox rule, which means that the date you received your response in the mailbox does not matter. You must make sure that USCIS receives your response by the deadline stated in the RFE. Overall, while RFEs can be scary, they are also your last best chance to provide the evidence that USCIS needs to hopefully approve your application.

Please visit http://www.greencardapply.com/rfe.htm and http://www.greencardapply.com/rfe/rfe_package.htm to learn more about the RFE, and how to response it.

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