Immigration News  |
| Changes in immigration that impact your life. |
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| USCIS to issue RFEs for over 10,000 Fiancé(e) petitions |
| June 15, 2006 |
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that in order to comply
with provisions of the International Marriage Brokers Regulation Act of 2005 (IMBRA),
it will need to issue “Requests for Evidence” for more than 10,000
Alien Fiancé(e) Petitions (Form I-129F) currently being held at USCIS Service
Centers. USCIS will begin immediately to issue RFEs to affected petitioners using
an RFE template that has been approved and cleared by the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB).
All petitions filed on or after March 6 must be supplemented with additional information
to satisfy the new evidentiary requirements established by IMBRA. To adjudicate
the petitions that are being held as quickly and efficiently as possible, USCIS
is issuing “Requests for Evidence” (RFEs) asking petitioners to provide
the additional information including data pertaining to a petitioner’s criminal
history (if any).
Details on the waiver process for those affected by the new limitation for filings
of I-129Fs are also provided in the RFE. A new Form I-129F that incorporates these
changes should become available later in June. In certain circumstances, USCIS
may need to issue a second RFE to some petitioners later in the process if it
is determined that other required information was not provided in the initial
filing.
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and Department of Justice Reauthorization
Act of 2005, of which IMBRA is a part, are designed to continue Congress’s
efforts to prevent domestic violence and spousal abuse. Immigrants who have been
victims of domestic violence have long benefited from VAWA immigration provisions,
which allow abused spouses and children to self-petition for lawful immigration
status. Under IMBRA, Congress has further extended those protections by regulating
more closely the international marriage broker market and by requiring disclosure
of violent criminal history, such as domestic abuse, rape, or murder, of which
a fiancé(e) may be unaware.
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