I can’t figure out the terminology around RFE (Request for Evidence). What is meant by ‘case response’ — is it the decision that comes after you’ve sent the reply to the request?
Look, it’s simpler than it seems. An RFE is a request from USCIS for additional evidence — they send a letter that states exactly what they’re missing. You prepare a response and send it back, and then a decision comes — approval or denial. So a “case decision” (кейс-ответ) is most likely the final decision on the petition after the officer has reviewed your additional documents. The main thing is — read carefully what exactly they ask for in the RFE, because if there are many questions and they’re about different criteria, that’s a sign the case was poorly assembled from the start and you should take the response seriously, not just toss in a couple of papers.
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Don’t worry, it’s really confusing for everyone at first. Oleg laid everything out correctly above — an RFE (Request for Evidence) is just a request like “please send this”, and the decision comes after they review your response. The main thing is to calmly work out exactly what they’re asking and reply clearly; usually a proper response sorts everything out.
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When I received my first RFE (Request for Evidence), I was also terribly confused by these terms. The folks basically explained—decision is what comes after your response to the RFE, and it can be either an approval or a denial. The only thing I’ll add: read the RFE text itself very carefully, because if it asks about a bunch of different criteria at once, that’s a reason to wonder how strong the original case was.
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the terminology is really messy, because USCIS itself uses different wording in its letters — sometimes “notice”, sometimes “decision”, sometimes “response”. Roughly speaking the process is: you get an RFE (Request for Evidence), you send a response with documents, and then an officer issues a decision on the petition. If the RFE has one or two specific questions, that’s fine; but if there’s a separate request for each criterion, it’s worth taking a serious look at the original petition.
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By the way, if an RFE really has a lot of questions across different criteria, don’t hesitate to show the text to someone who knows this stuff before responding. I handled my first RFE myself and wrote the response myself, and ended up getting denied because I misunderstood about half of the questions. Also, if they’re specifically asking about membership in associations, there’s a thread on the forum with breakdowns of real RFEs — it’s useful to look at to understand the officer’s logic.
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Honestly, a lawyer later explained one thing to me that really helped — an RFE (Request for Evidence) isn’t an attack or criticism; it’s basically a hint about what the officer wants to see. Once I understood that, it became much easier to respond in the second round. So don’t take it as something scary; just take their questions and methodically address each point.
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Anyway, artemko, don’t stress about the terminology — what matters isn’t what it’s called but what you do with it. I once wasted so much time reading all kinds of guides about wording that I nearly missed the deadline to reply — and the deadline is the only thing that really matters not to miss.
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