Time at VSC from when they receive RFE material to Approve

[phbryant]

I've seen a few comments on the site regarding the RFE before. Specifically, does anyone have some recent info on receiving an IMBRA RFE for sending in a request for waiver and when the approval was received from VSC? In my example, they received my material in Vermont and sent me the notification of receival on 2/2/09. I know the rhetoric of it can take up to 60 days, blah blah, I was wanting real world average timing. My fiance' is a little frustrated saying we've waited long enough, but in this case I thought the average time is maybe 4 wks for a reply. She implied I should call them and maybe call Congressman/Senator, but I think the USCIS person that answers will give some standard line, and I think the politician will give some empty promises, at the end, no change in when it will be approved. Any thoughts?

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

I've seen a few comments on the site regarding the RFE before. Specifically, does anyone have some recent info on receiving an IMBRA RFE for sending in a request for waiver and when the approval was received from VSC? In my example, they received my material in Vermont and sent me the notification of receival on 2/2/09. I know the rhetoric of it can take up to 60 days, blah blah, I was wanting real world average timing. My fiance' is a little frustrated saying we've waited long enough, but in this case I thought the average time is maybe 4 wks for a reply. She implied I should call them and maybe call Congressman/Senator, but I think the USCIS person that answers will give some standard line, and I think the politician will give some empty promises, at the end, no change in when it will be approved. Any thoughts?

 

It's always hard to determine how long it will take for the USCIS to handle anything. When it comes to RFEs however, they do seem to handle them pretty quickly; meaning with priority. Probably not much you can find out until you hear from them, and any agent you speak to will simply echo back the status that's posted online.

 

It's a tough time waiting for both of you. Do your best to continue being patient and reassure your fiancee that it won't take much longer and it will be worth it in the end.

 

Good luck...

 

Edited February 22, 2009 by ShaQuaNew (see edit history)

[RedKris]

In our case it took 60 days, and on that day they denied us.

 

What was interesting is that we did get a senator's office involved and they contacted the VSC liason at 1:30 pm on the 60th day and were told that it would be soon, and at 4:00 pm on the 60th day we were denied.

[phbryant]

In our case it took 60 days, and on that day they denied us.

 

What was interesting is that we did get a senator's office involved and they contacted the VSC liason at 1:30 pm on the 60th day and were told that it would be soon, and at 4:00 pm on the 60th day we were denied.

 

Why did they deny you?

[RedKris]

We misunderstood the difference between a notarized marriage certificate and a notarial certificate about the marriage certificate.

 

When we first sent in the I-130 we sent a copy of the marriage certificate main page and a notarized translation.

 

Then we got an RFE stating:

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is in receipt of the evidence you submitted on September 24, 2007, in support of your petition(s) filed on behalf of ***. It is noted however, that the marriage certificate submitted is not acceptable for Immigration purposes. Therefore, you are requested to comply with the following:

 

Submit the marriage certificate for the marriage of *** and ***. An appropriate civil authority should issue a marriage certificate. In order for the marriage to be considered valid for immigration purposes, it must have been registered with a civil authority from the location where the marriage took place. The document must contain the seal of the issuing office including the date of registration and signature of the registrar. Please note, a religious authority such as a priest, minister, or rabbi is not considered to be a civil authority.

 

¡­

 

You may submit either the original documents or legible photocopies of the originals, including copies of the front and back of each document. If you choose to submit original documents, they will not be returned to you.

After reading this, we thought it was clear we made a mistake by submitting only one page of our marriage certificate, the page that showed only the information relevant to the marriage itself. The RFE specifically stated that in order for the marriage to be considered valid, it must have been registered with a civil authority from the location where the marriage took place. Given that there were other pages in the marriage certificate booklet, including a page that had been stamped and dated by the official who issued the marriage certificate, we assumed this was the reason the original submission had been rejected.

 

There was a paragragh in the RFE quoted from the Foreign Affairs Manual that mentioned the term 'Notarial Certificate'. But in this context it came across as a reference on how to obtain notarized documents after the fact, where in our case we had what we thought was a notarized marriage certificate.

 

We made new copies of the entire marriage certificate and then had those pages translated and notarized.

 

Then we were denied on that 60th day.

 

My favorite part of the denial letter was:

Your response on September 18, 2008, included the following:

 

An original marriage certificate cover.

An original marriage certificate, Page 1.

An original marriage certificate, Page 2.

An original marriage certificate, Page 3.

A notarized translation of the marriage certificate.

 

It is noted however, the marriage certificate your submitted is not acceptable documentation to show proof of a valid marriage for immigration purposes.

(Which was funny in a sick, angering sort of way.)

 

And then the jewel...

All Chinese documentation to be used abroad is processed through the notary offices and issued in the form of notarial certificates.

...Which would have been helpful had it come in the original RFE instead of what I quoted above.

 

In the end we filed an appeal, got a notarial certificate, had to pay some more money, and the appeal was accepted and our case reopened in 7 weeks. Then accepted in 1 more week.

 

Now we are embroiled in the NVC process.

Edited February 23, 2009 by RedKris (see edit history)

[phbryant]

We misunderstood the difference between a notarized marriage certificate and a notarial certificate about the marriage certificate.

 

When we first sent in the I-130 we sent a copy of the marriage certificate main page and a notarized translation.

 

Then we got an RFE stating:

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is in receipt of the evidence you submitted on September 24, 2007, in support of your petition(s) filed on behalf of ***. It is noted however, that the marriage certificate submitted is not acceptable for Immigration purposes. Therefore, you are requested to comply with the following:

 

Submit the marriage certificate for the marriage of *** and ***. An appropriate civil authority should issue a marriage certificate. In order for the marriage to be considered valid for immigration purposes, it must have been registered with a civil authority from the location where the marriage took place. The document must contain the seal of the issuing office including the date of registration and signature of the registrar. Please note, a religious authority such as a priest, minister, or rabbi is not considered to be a civil authority.

 

¡­

 

You may submit either the original documents or legible photocopies of the originals, including copies of the front and back of each document. If you choose to submit original documents, they will not be returned to you.

After reading this, we thought it was clear we made a mistake by submitting only one page of our marriage certificate, the page that showed only the information relevant to the marriage itself. The RFE specifically stated that in order for the marriage to be considered valid, it must have been registered with a civil authority from the location where the marriage took place. Given that there were other pages in the marriage certificate booklet, including a page that had been stamped and dated by the official who issued the marriage certificate, we assumed this was the reason the original submission had been rejected.

 

There was a paragragh in the RFE quoted from the Foreign Affairs Manual that mentioned the term 'Notarial Certificate'. But in this context it came across as a reference on how to obtain notarized documents after the fact, where in our case we had what we thought was a notarized marriage certificate.

 

We made new copies of the entire marriage certificate and then had those pages translated and notarized.

 

Then we were denied on that 60th day.

 

My favorite part of the denial letter was:

Your response on September 18, 2008, included the following:

 

An original marriage certificate cover.

An original marriage certificate, Page 1.

An original marriage certificate, Page 2.

An original marriage certificate, Page 3.

A notarized translation of the marriage certificate.

 

It is noted however, the marriage certificate your submitted is not acceptable documentation to show proof of a valid marriage for immigration purposes.

(Which was funny in a sick, angering sort of way.)

 

And then the jewel...

All Chinese documentation to be used abroad is processed through the notary offices and issued in the form of notarial certificates.

...Which would have been helpful had it come in the original RFE instead of what I quoted above.

 

In the end we filed an appeal, got a notarial certificate, had to pay some more money, and the appeal was accepted and our case reopened in 7 weeks. Then accepted in 1 more week.

 

Now we are embroiled in the NVC process.

 

Wow, man that sooooo sucks. I bet you are really upset, but you must feel better that there's some resolution now. I would thing the NVC will be easy for you. I'm glad you shared that.

[RedKris]

Wow, man that sooooo sucks. I bet you are really upset, but you must feel better that there's some resolution now. I would thing the NVC will be easy for you. I'm glad you shared that.

It was especially upsetting that the RFE came a full year after we started the process and then they waited the entire 60 days before denying us... while at the same time watching people that met AFTER we had been married for over a year fly through the system and get their visas.

 

In the end it took us a full 16 months just to get our petition accepted. If we are lucky my wife will be here 2 years from the start date.