Update:

I previously posted about being rejected by Los Angeles after 17 days pending document check because the system had deleted my middle name before submission.

I re-applied and, after about one week, received the following document requests:

"Other request documents: Business portfolio

Other request documents: Please upload a business registration of the company

Other request documents: Your recent tax return

Other request documents: Guarantee letter from the company implies that you work remotely

Other request documents: Employment contract or employment certificate from company"

—"Business portfolio":

It would sure be helpful if they explained what they mean by that. In my original application, I included links to two of my freelance portfolios where they can see dozens of pieces of work from the last couple of years. Should I print out hundreds of pages of work as the portfolio? My main current job is a large project that is not yet finished for them to see.

—"Business Registration":

Again, it would be helpful if they were a bit more explicit. The main foundation I work for has a prominent website. I Googled their "business registration" and all their information since 2001 is available on Propublica.com. I guess I will print that out and submit that?

—"Recent tax return":

That is clear enough. I didn't file this yet this year, but I will do that today.

—"Guarantee letter from the company implies that you work remotely":

This is funny because I am a literary translator and writer, so of course my work is remote, but my contract doesn't explicitly say that because it's obvious. I will request that from my main employer spelling it out.

—"Employment contract or employment certificate from company":

This is the most troubling because I already submitted a very thorough copy of my contract to them. So I am very confused as to why they are asking for it again.

Overall, it doesn't look very promising. At least they didn't ask me for more financial documentation. I will submit these docs and hope for the best, but I'm pretty discouraged by this opaque system with no recourse. If it fails again, I'll try to go through an agent, which is probably much more reliable.