RFEs and Certain Fees
Posted Sep 24, 2004
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) submitted two proposed rules to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on September 13, 2004. One of these may change the appeal and motion-to-reopen / reconsider (MTR) fees charged by USCIS. The second proposed rule may alter the timeframes for processing Requests for Evidence (RFEs). We do not yet know the details of these proposed rules.
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It is possible the RFE proposed rule will seek to decrease the time for the petitioner or applicant to respond to an RFE from the current 12 weeks or 84 days routinely granted or allowed. We are not clear how much the USCIS wants to increase the MTR or appeal fees.
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What is a Proposed Rule?
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A proposed rule is one on which the agency will receive public comments before issuing a final rule and implementing it. We will not know the full details of either proposed rule until OMB has cleared the rules for publication in the Federal Register and the DHS takes the step of publishing the proposed rules. The OMB is required to make their recommendation on the proposed rules within 90 days. In some cases the agency may request extensions, as has happened with PERM.
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Time Needed for RFEs
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At The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C., we certainly hope that the 12-week timeframe will remain in place. While many RFEs can be addressed in less time than the 12 weeks or 84 days granted, complex RFEs often require extensive work and need additional documentation from abroad. Obtaining, reviewing, and synthesizing the information in the necessary additional documents and preparing a proper response to obtain an approval may, in some instances, take the full 12 weeks. If, in fact, the proposed rule seeks to reduce the time to respond to RFEs, then we believe that those who have filed cases and, in many instances, waited for years for USCIS adjudication, should be granted ample time to supplement and argue their cases.