What is a USCIS RFE?
I’ve been out of status for 10 years. I’m now going through the paperwork process after marrying a U.S. citizen, but partway through, I received something called an RFE from USCIS.
I’d like to know what this means, and I’ve heard I suddenly need to prepare documents from 5 years ago — do I really need documents that old?
I’m worried this could cause a problem for my green card.
An RFE (Request for Evidence) is a notice from USCIS asking you to submit additional documents during a change of status or immigration process. It would be ideal to pass in one shot and get your result, but if this request comes, don’t panic — just do your best to submit the additional documents properly.
When working with an immigration attorney, they can often anticipate in advance when an RFE is likely to come. Generally, from a foreign national’s perspective, roughly 1 in 3 people receive an RFE from USCIS, so this isn’t something unexpected or alarming.
Also, document preparation can sometimes be genuinely difficult — especially if you’ve been in the U.S. a long time, you might be asked for documents from 5 to 10 years ago, so please prepare thoroughly.