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The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may issue an RFE when they require additional documentation before they can proceed with adjudicating the case. When an RFE is issued by the government, a notice is mailed to the legal team at CIP who prepared the case so they can review the request and prepare a response. There is typically a deadline provided by the government by which a response must be sent so government processing can resume.
If the legal team requires information from the sponsoring employer or employee, action items will be added to Envoy Global to be completed. It is critical that action items be completed quickly to ensure CIP has adequate time to prepare the response.
Responding to an RFE
CIP will review the RFE notice once it has been issued to determine what additional documentation is required for the response. RFEs can vary depending on the nature of the case.
After the legal team completes their review, they will add action items to the case for the applicable party to provide. Depending on the type of case, it is common that the employer is the only party required to provide more information.
The legal team will send the RFE response once they’ve confirmed they have the necessary information to provide a strong response. Each RFE will vary depending on the complexity. Some only require a few documents, while others may require more substantial evidence.
It is common for the legal team to use the full amount of time granted by USCIS to respond to the RFE. Timelines will also vary based on the amount of time that you and your sponsoring employer are able to gather and provide the supporting documentation.
RFE responses are sent to USCIS with overnight shipping. Once received, then government processing will resume.
Premium processing for RFEs
If premium processing was added in the initial filing before the RFE is issued, you will not be required to resubmit a premium processing request. USCIS will uphold the 15 business day processing time once the RFE response has been received.