485 RFE question

S

sarasota

Registered Users (C)
I got an RFE on my 485 regarding my medical exam. Apparently the Doctor forgot to mark in one of the items on the form I-693.

Now my question

If I had a lawyer for initial filing, do I still need to use the lawyer services to respond to RFE?

What are the options?

Thanks for you reply
 
sarasota said:
I got an RFE on my 485 regarding my medical exam. Apparently the Doctor forgot to mark in one of the items on the form I-693.

Now my question

If I had a lawyer for initial filing, do I still need to use the lawyer services to respond to RFE?

What are the options?

Thanks for you reply
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. You can submit RFE on your own without lawyer.
 
Have yet to receive the RFE. Called lawyer today, and they have not received it, either. However, according to my US Congressman who called the USCIS on my behalf yesterday and then e-mailed me was told that the RFE is not for me but for my wife. I mentioned this to my lawyer this morning on the phone and he believes it is the TB test that needs to be completed by my wife - my wife was pregnant when taking the medical and did NOT complete the TB test, and according to my lawyer the USCIS has a standard practice to issue RFEs in such cases. If that's the case, it's a piece of cake to get done quickly on a walk-in basis at the USCIS approved civil surgeon we went to for the initial medical. I'll post it on this forum as soon as I know what the RFE is.
 
my RFE

My RFE is about the medical report. In Form 693, the Physician missed to mark on one of the test results. (Moral: check the copy the clinic gives you!) Moreover, I had to take vaccination shots and they were looking for evidence that I took those shots.

I have sent these two documents to my lawyer since there were no extra charges for filing this RFE.

Now the waiting resumes!

Thanks.
 
bjorn said:
Have yet to receive the RFE. Called lawyer today, and they have not received it, either. However, according to my US Congressman who called the USCIS on my behalf yesterday and then e-mailed me was told that the RFE is not for me but for my wife. I mentioned this to my lawyer this morning on the phone and he believes it is the TB test that needs to be completed by my wife - my wife was pregnant when taking the medical and did NOT complete the TB test, and according to my lawyer the USCIS has a standard practice to issue RFEs in such cases. If that's the case, it's a piece of cake to get done quickly on a walk-in basis at the USCIS approved civil surgeon we went to for the initial medical. I'll post it on this forum as soon as I know what the RFE is.
Click to expand...


Good luck, Bjorn. Looks like mail from VSC is really slow these days...been like 10 days since you mentioned the RFE message.

I got "cards mailed" message on the 15th (Nov). I am still waiting for the approval notices mailed on 11/10/05.

Do we need to get the I-551 on our passports?
 
anxious_one
Yes, it seems to take forever to receive the letter. I cannot call to check until Wednesday 11/23 according to the 14 day rule the USCIS has. Really annoying. Yes, I understand that you need the opassport stamp in order to be able to travel., but I don't know much about this.
 
bjorn said:
anxious_one
Yes, it seems to take forever to receive the letter. I cannot call to check until Wednesday 11/23 according to the 14 day rule the USCIS has. Really annoying. Yes, I understand that you need the opassport stamp in order to be able to travel., but I don't know much about this.
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bjorn:

got our cards today....wishing yourself and spouse the same...soonest.

cheers!
 
anxious_one
Congrats and enjoy!!! You are now a free man!!!
My laywer just e-mailed me that they have received the RFE from the USCIS, but he did not tell me what the RFE is about but would come back with that shortly. I guess it's Friday PM and he wants to go home for the weekend and deal with the RFE Monday. Patience is a virtue...
 
bjorn said:
anxious_one
Congrats and enjoy!!! You are now a free man!!!
My laywer just e-mailed me that they have received the RFE from the USCIS, but he did not tell me what the RFE is about but would come back with that shortly. I guess it's Friday PM and he wants to go home for the weekend and deal with the RFE Monday. Patience is a virtue...
Click to expand...


yup...patience is a virtue. The GCs arrived one day before 1485 approval notices...:) says nothing about stamping the passport tho. I think the 551 stamp is like a temp GC that folks get while waiting for the plastic thingy. I will try to find out more. Will contact my attorney, tho I suspect he may want to charge me for additional questions :)

I remember when I got my H1-B after a complicated transition from J-1 that he charged an arm and leg for. His paralegal tells me he wanted to see me to explain to me what the H1B status meant, etc. I foolishly went to see him. Then I got a bill in the mail for about $400 for consultation fee, and for mailing my original receipt to me by FedEx (my office is 15 mins away from his, and I could have picked it up myself). I was pissed, but what could I do? Thank God this is over! :D :D :D :D

I'll keep checking the forums for your progress. All the very best. I really appreciate your advice and support.
 
anxious_one
So once you get the plastic card, is that what you use when ravelling to get through customs??? In other words, do you show your foreign passport AND the plastic card??? Prior to my company officially starting my GC case using their hot-shot NYC law firm, I went to a local lawyer to ask some questions and paid the consultation fee we agreed on. Following that consultation, the lawyer initiated some e-mails to me that I responded to, thinking it was just follow-up, as the lawyer initiated them. Guess what, I then received a bill charging me for all the e-mails EVEN THOUGH the lawyer initiated all of them. Apparently, it was a way for the lawyer to get more $$$ out of me as I clearly explained that I would NOT use that lawyer for the actual case, but only for one consultation to learn about the entire GC process prior to my company involving the NYC firm. Last, whomever came up with the "patience is a virtue" saying never went through immigration...
 
Bjorn:

The info that came with the GC says "you do not have to do anything further at this time". I think the 551 stamp is for cases like:
1. you get approved via interview, and that is the only way to prove your new status pending the time you get your plastic card (remember, some folks used to get their plastic cards like 6 months after approval).

2. Some EB cases get approved without interview, but need to have their passports stamped because biometrics were not done prior to I485 approval. In this case, having the biometrics done and waiting for the GC could take a while, so the stamp would be appropriate. This happened to some co-workers years ago. In fact, the current I-485 approval notice still has a sentence about making an appt for biometrics for GC.

3. Consular processing for immigrant visa. Immigrant visa holders have to get stamp 551 @ the port of entry.My younger brother went through this as a DV winner aerly this year. He traveled with this stamp the firts time, and just yesterday, I was with him @ the airport and his GC +passport was sufficient.

I will get back to you when I know for sure.
 
Once you receive your plastic card there is no need for the passport stamp. People get their passport stamped if they had an approved I-485 and and they had to leave the US before they received the plastic card. The stamp acts as proof of permanent residency.

Enjoy your card and stop being anxious Mr. Anxious-one. I guess you are living up to your name :D
 
Thanks anxious_one and Mr. Green,
I think the reason why we get kind of nervious about this is that if/when we finally get our green cards, we are so used to everything being so complicated while on H-1B or during the AOS perios tht we expect things to remain complicated when getting the actual GC. It's getting used to the idea of working and travelling with no restrictions, but we are still paranoid that there is something holding us back. That's why I am trying to get the travel issue straightened out now proir to GC aproval so when I finally get it I can top worrying and enjoy my "new" life.
 
Mr. Green said:
Once you receive your plastic card there is no need for the passport stamp. People get their passport stamped if they had an approved I-485 and and they had to leave the US before they received the plastic card. The stamp acts as proof of permanent residency.

Enjoy your card and stop being anxious Mr. Anxious-one. I guess you are living up to your name :D
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thanks, Mr Green.

like Bjorn said, we are so used to having to do one thing or the other...for me, especially confusing as the GC arrived before the I-485 approval notice :D :D :D . Dint pick the name "anxious-one" for nothing.......
 
anxious_one
Got the RFE info. today from lawyer, and it was what I suspected - wife's TB test (she was pregnant during medical so the doctor did not perform TB test due to risks to baby). I know that my I-485 can still get approved prior to hers without her TB test done. However, every single approval (EAD, AP), LUD changes, and status changes have been on the very same date for us with no exception. I assume that this RFE is the very last step prior to approval. My guess is that the USCIS process us as a "package deal" so they will wait for my wife's TB result and then approve us both at the same time. We should get the RFE response to the USCIS by in a week, as she already went to the civil surgeon and applied the TB test and will go back Wednesday for the follow-up and signing of the documents returned by the USCIS along with the RFE. So, I am hoping for a very merry Xmas in terms of potential GC approval and arrival...
 
bjorn...

I have a friend who was almost in the exactly same boat as you: "a package deal" and wife receiving RFE due to a lack of TB test during pregnancy. But still, my friend's case was approved without having to wait for his wife's RFE. So, it's still possible that you'll get yours much earlier than your wife's. Good luck!
 
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