JCraigFong

Now that USCIS is chewing on thousands of H-1 applications -- and because the economic downturn has caused USCIS to even more closely scrutinize L-1s -- I am wondering: Has anyone had any RECENT experience receiving horrendous, voluminous, burdensome Requests for Evidence (RFE)? Often for information or documentation that was ALREADY included in the original application packet. If you (or counsel) has received such an RFE, what has the response been like from USCIS?

Thanks!

--J Craig Fong
Los Angeles, CA

skydivingisfun

Hi

I just a couple of months ago got an RFE, my original application sent by my employer was about 12 pages long and had been used in countless L1 applications in the past

However my RFE was almost 3000 pages and about 3 inches thick, USCIS asked for some for some bizzare information about the company i work for and the attorney acting for me said that she had never seen anything like it

We also paid for premium proccessing however USCIS did not complete the work in the given time so ended up giving us our $1000 back

Hope this helps

Steve

memiek

The RFE for my husbands L1 petitions was in August last year so not really recent but yes. They asked for a lot of info already submitted in the original petition. According to the lawyer and company, the RFE was almost 7 inches thick, don't know how many pages that will be but I guess a lot.
Eventually the USCIS denied the petition as they did not understand the kind of job my husband is doing (poor job done by the company not being able to explain for non-geeks what his job entails).

ITsWhatIDo

I'm about to apply for a GC, I am an L-1A currently. I am concerned with some of the recent posts where by detailed RFE's have been sent out.

My company has > 2000 employess in the US and a turnover of >$200m so it'll be interesting to see what happens.

JCraigFong

You have good cause to be nervous; however, with >2000 employees and very good cash flow, I suspect you'll be OK. Larger companies which are clearly doing lots of business -- which have executives with well-defined job descriptions -- should be less vulnerable to the unreasonable fishing expedition.

Having said that, make sure that your company's immigration attorney is taking nothing for granted!

--J

carlfarey

Why the upturn in RFE's? have they got new rules or just new staff?

Carl.

UKinNYC

i had an RFE for a l1 extension. A lot of what they asked was in the orginal data we sent. It was denied with a "boiler plate" denial notice. I was told that more RFEs and denials are being issued because there is a lot of fraud in the l1 category and they are trying to clamp down on it and one way is to deny anything in sight.

i have replied under non=premioum processing hoping to bury it under paperwork for as long as possible.

carlfarey

Do you have a Green card application in as well?

Carl.

UKinNYC

Carl if this question is directed at me the answer is: no. i have an h1b approved for oct 1st.

Steve23

Hi Guys,

Last week received an RFE for my L1A. bitterly dissapointed as I'm sure you can imagine. After trawling trough the ouble speak the RFE mentions areas:

• My duties not described adequately as per 101(a)(44)
• Need to prove that busiess is functioning at a level to support (justify I guess) my role
• Submit evidence of staffing, roles titles etc
• Describe the scope of the business

Second point I agree is something that I can see why they need additional information. Request is rather vague and may need some additional clarity.

However; I am 100% positive that I submitted the other pieces of information in great detail, or at least my lawyers did as they are centtral and obviously core items. I wonder if the new missive re the USCIS has actually made it much harder for guys like me to get a break?

Any one else had similar experiences lately???

JCraigFong

"Lately?" Frankly, this is the story of an immigration lawyer's life.

It is extremely common for USCIS to ask for documents that were already submitted to them. For example, regardless of the jaundiced view some posters here have of attorneys, I think most could agree that in an L application, business formation documents should be and are submitted. And I can not think of an attorney who would NOT do so. However, USCIS is well known for then sending an RFE requesting "articles of incorporation, partnership agreements, or other documents demonstrating the company's qualification to do business in the United States."

I have long suspected that USCIS does this for the purpose of slowing down the process. If they are overworked, it's easier to issue and RFE to reset the clock.

By the way, for those who are wondering, it is generally thought more expeditious to PROVIDE the duplicative content RATHER THAN fighting with USCIS about whether the document was in the original packet of documents in the first place. USCIS will never admit to "losing" the document; instead, they will insist the attorney erred and did not include it.

--J

Steve23

Dear JC,

Once again, many thanks for your reply. Reading through the threads posted, I am alarmed at the size of some of the RFE's requested. Some run to the order of several thousand of pages?!

My RFE is a single page and has the below mentioned RFE's (asking for the same Docs more than once even in the Fax!).

My concern now is that they have not asked for enough evidence, and nothing extremely specific. Maybe its the paranoia, of the umpteenth coffee I've had since getting the RFE, but should I worry about the lack of explicit detail requested ny the USCIS?

I know it sounds like I'm not very trusting of my lawyers, but this couldn't be further from the truth. I've found them very accesible. Guess it now down to the caffine fuelling my worst-case-scenario lobe.

Thanka again in advance,

Best

Steve

JCraigFong

Steve:

No, actually, if the RFE is very short, then I suspect -- and it is only a suspicion -- that USCIS is just clearing away a few doubts or reassuring itself of what they already believe to be the case. Maybe just an org chart, maybe just a bank statement, or the articles of incorporation. Without speaking out of turn, and without more knowledge, I would make a wild guess that the application would probably be approved once you submit the dox requested. If the application was in trouble, they'd be asking for MUCH more.

Best of luck.

--J

Folinskyinla

Hi J:

I was just consulted on a boilerplate RFE regarding an I-130 family petition -- the petitioner had failed to provide proof that she was married to the beneficiary -- to wit, a marriage certificate.

Inasmuch as this was an I-130 for the petitioner's FATHER, this has to be the classic "black lagoon" RFE.

Steve23

Regarding the RFE black Lagoon, is there any where that provides any statistics on the % of RFE's that end iin success or denial? I know it's a "how long is a piece of string question" as every petitioner has a different story to tell, but either my Googling skills are severly deficient (something I'll be sure to leave out of my RFE) or there just doesn't seem to be many data available?

Additionally - Are there any resources that lists sample RFE's and their rebuttles?

Thanks a million to anyone with any assistance,

Steve