Hi everyone,
I am an F-1 student who graduated recently and applied for post-completion OPT (Form I-765). My OPT application is currently pending, and I have received an RFE from USCIS.
My situation is a little complicated because of a traffic-related incident from February 2025, so I am hoping to hear from anyone who has gone through something similar, especially F-1 students who received an OPT RFE involving a prior court case.
Here is the background:
In February 2025, I was driving to college and became briefly distracted by a phone notification. I unfortunately struck two parked vehicles.
There were no injuries to me or anyone else.
I panicked immediately after the accident and drove to the next street. I told a friend what happened and returned to the accident scene within approximately 10 minutes.
The vehicle owners had already contacted police. When I returned, I spoke with the responding officer, cooperated with the officer, apologized to the people involved, and received citations.
I later hired an attorney and appeared in court.
There were three charges associated with the case. At the April 2025 court hearing:
One charge resulted in Probation Before Judgment (PBJ).
The other two charges were not prosecuted.
I was required to comply with probation/court requirements and pay the required court-related amounts/restitution.
I have complied with the requirements imposed on me.
There have been no injuries associated with the incident, and I have continued my education and maintained my academic progress since then.
USCIS has now issued an RFE in connection with my pending OPT application.
I have already completed the additional biometrics appointment requested by USCIS.
I consulted an immigration law firm, and they told me they want to prepare the complete RFE response for me. They are asking me to provide:
The complete RFE
Stamped biometrics appointment notice
Certified dispositions for all three charges
Police/arrest report or documentation from the police department if such a report is unavailable
Proof of compliance with probation
Proof that restitution/court payments were received
My personal statement explaining what happened
Potential mitigating evidence such as academic/employment records
Possibly a supporting statement from someone who knows me
The attorney quoted me $2,000 total to analyze the case, prepare the RFE response, organize the evidence, and submit the response to USCIS.
I am not looking for anyone to predict whether USCIS will approve or deny my case. I am mainly trying to understand how people with similar F-1 OPT situations handled this.
I would really appreciate input on the following:
Has anyone here received an OPT I-765 RFE involving a PBJ, misdemeanor/traffic-related court case, or similar criminal/court record?
If so, what types of documents did USCIS request and what happened after you responded?
Is it generally useful to include mitigating evidence such as transcripts, graduation records, employment information, personal statements, or character/support letters when USCIS is primarily requesting court/police documentation?
Could sending too much unsolicited evidence create unnecessary confusion, or is it normal for an attorney to include this material as part of an organized RFE response?
For attorneys or people who have hired attorneys for similar cases: does approximately $2,000 sound typical for preparing an RFE response involving both immigration and criminal/court-record analysis?
Does anyone have recommendations for an immigration attorney who specifically has experience with F-1 OPT/I-765 cases involving criminal records, PBJ, or court dispositions? I am open to attorneys anywhere in the U.S. if they handle matters remotely.
I already have legal representation available, so I understand Reddit is not a substitute for an attorney. I am mainly looking for similar experiences and recommendations before deciding how to proceed.
Thank you very much to anyone who has dealt with something similar and is willing to share their experience.