There are a window of about 84 day to reply to the RFE, I was in the same situation before, and my lawyer said if you could not find a job we will send affidavit that your actively looking for job, and they may consider this in this economic situation, but that was 8 months ago, I was lucky to find a job and respond to RFE.
Your friend better check with a good lawyer if could not find a job.
Good luck