We Procrastinated, and now it's lost

[Nik+Heather 121]

OK, so it appears the USPS has lost our removal of conditions packet. It left a sort facility on March 3rd, and hasn't checked in since (not showing as arrived to local office nor delivered). The expected delivery date is March 3rd. Check has not cleared the bank, no email or texts from the notification form, etc. It has not arrived. So, now what?

What I have done:

- Posted certified mail, I have the receipt with post mark.

- I have initiated with the USPS an investigation into it (they should get back to me tomorrow, the 8th)

- Today we will work on creating a replacement packet. This is pretty much a matter of re-printing, except for getting the affidavits again.

My Concerns:

- We have 10 days until the GC expires, and 30 days before we go on vacation out of the country. (Don't harangue me about this, or I will just skip your post, thanks!)

- What if I send a second package, and they double charge me? $590 is nothing to sneeze at, and double that is...hard on the pocketbook.

What I need to know:

1. If I wait until the USPS declares the package lost and consequently miss the filing deadline, is my certified receipt enough evidence to file (say a week) late?

2. What has happened to others with lost and/or duplicate packages?

Please address in your responses my concerns and my questions on how to proceed. Other helpful comments also welcome.

I figure I can hold out until Monday March 12th at the latest to try to get the second package in...

Critical Dates:

First package mailed March 1st

Nik's Green card runs out on March 17th.

We are scheduled to go on vacation April 8th.

Edited March 7, 2012 by Nik+Heather

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Another member had his K-1 package go missing, so he sent a second one and stopped payment on the first check. This was a BIG MISTAKE. They found the first package (quickly too) and then months later rejected both because one had no payment (stop payment) and the other was a duplicate and it was a huge mess. What I learned from that is to be patient. They will find the package, hopefully soon. It's possible it's sitting in the USCIS mailroom but didn't get scanned as arrived or anything. It does take at least a week to get NOA1.

I don't know what to say about upcoming vacation (maybe try for a I-551 stamp) but I would advise to be patient about the package and not send another.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

USCIS may have the packet, and not processed it yet. You should contact the USCIS in order to make sure you don't time out.

[Dave&Roza 748]

OK, so it appears the USPS has lost our removal of conditions packet. It left a sort facility on March 3rd, and hasn't checked in since (not showing as arrived to local office nor delivered). The expected delivery date is March 3rd. Check has not cleared the bank, no email or texts from the notification form, etc. It has not arrived. So, now what?

What I have done:

- Posted certified mail, I have the receipt with post mark.

- I have initiated with the USPS an investigation into it (they should get back to me tomorrow, the 8th)

- Today we will work on creating a replacement packet. This is pretty much a matter of re-printing, except for getting the affidavits again.

My Concerns:

- We have 10 days until the GC expires, and 30 days before we go on vacation out of the country. (Don't harangue me about this, or I will just skip your post, thanks!)

- What if I send a second package, and they double charge me? $590 is nothing to sneeze at, and double that is...hard on the pocketbook.

What I need to know:

1. If I wait until the USPS declares the package lost and consequently miss the filing deadline, is my certified receipt enough evidence to file (say a week) late?

2. What has happened to others with lost and/or duplicate packages?

Please address in your responses my concerns and my questions on how to proceed. Other helpful comments also welcome.

I figure I can hold out until Monday March 12th at the latest to try to get the second package in...

Critical Dates:

First package mailed March 1st

Nik's Green card runs out on March 17th.

We are scheduled to go on vacation April 8th.

I would also schedule an INFOPASS appointment ASAP to discuss with the USCIS that the postoffice has "lost" your packet. Sending in another packet right now could royally screw things up. There is another thread where this person's packet was "lost" so he sent in another one cancelling the check and then it was delivered and they demanded payment and somehow both applications were rejected. I would see if you can get the USPS to "Find" it. I had a letter to the IRS in Odgen, UT end up in Topeka, KS for about a week. Scheduled delivery was the 8th of February. I receive the return receipt on the 22nd of February. So it can be found and delivered.

I wish you luck with this (and you have given me another reason to not use the USPS when we fill our ROC),

Dave

Edited March 7, 2012 by Dave&Roza

[Nik+Heather 121]

Thanks Harpa,

That's what I was mostly afraid of - that they would find it later and make everything worse. I guess we will hold off. The April trip puts a real snarl into things.

Edited March 7, 2012 by Nik+Heather

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Here is the thread I was talking about. http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/350304-lost-petition-found-and-delivered-problem/

Dave also read it so you can see the outcome. It is a bunch of merged threads with various stages of the story, but what happened in the end is both were rejected. The OP here only waited 10 days before deciding it was lost, which seems too short.

Edited March 7, 2012 by Harpa Timsah

[Nik+Heather 121]

Hmm, Dave's idea of sending in the second and stopping payment on the first JUST to get an NOA1 and sorting it out later is tempting to me. A headache, but not as big a headache as missing the SIL's wedding....

Difficulty is if we try to enter with an NOA 1 on an application which gets rejected while we are out of the country! Hah.

I guess I should do more research on filing "late" It seems as though a lost package would be a good enough reason...

Edited March 7, 2012 by Nik+Heather

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Hmm, Dave's idea of sending in the second and stopping payment on the first JUST to get an NOA1 and sorting it out later is tempting to me. A headache, but not as big a headache as missing the SIL's wedding....

Difficulty is if we try to enter with an NOA 1 on an application which gets rejected while we are out of the country! Hah.

Postpone the trip.

[Nik+Heather 121]

Postpone the trip.

That's a defcon 5 maneuver. I think we are at defcon 2 right now.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

An Noa1 takes usually at least a week, so I see personally no time saved in that approach. I'd try for INFOPASS for I-551 stamp and patience. You have a month for the package to show up and to receive the NOA1 from the "lost" one.

Edit: I'd like to add that your package has a barcode on it and it is somewhere in a mailroom or mail facility. It's not in a ditch or in the trash. Some mail employee will find it soon and it will get sent on to the right place. It could already be there, maybe just the "arrival" scan didn't happen, but it's in the right place.

Edited March 7, 2012 by Harpa Timsah

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

What I have done:

- Posted certified mail, I have the receipt with post mark.

- I have initiated with the USPS an investigation into it (they should get back to me tomorrow, the 8th)

When sending something this important Certified Mail just isn't good enough. Spend a few bucks more and send it in a flat rate Priority Mail Envelope. Priority Mail seems to be scanned more often and thus tracked better. I've had First Class Certified letters that basically only show an initial scan after it's in the Post Office's hands and then nothing until it's delivered whereas my Priority Mail items always show just about every leg of the journey.

[AmberOctober 25]

If it was processed on the 3rd and today is only the 7th, I don't see any reasons to panic... yet. Count in Sunday, that's minus one day.

USPS might not update tracking info (trust me... I sell online and send out a lot of packages, 15% of them don't ever track or don't get scanned on the way). Sometimes they "forget" packages and they lay in the post office for a few days - or until you kick their tails (which you've already done) on the phone and they start searching for it.

USCIS might cash checks only once or twice a week in bulk, I read it somewhere on VJ.

Even though your panic is understandable, I'd give it a couple of more days.

[Nik+Heather 121]

Harpa, Amber, Thank you - Reason. This is what I need. <3 You're probably right. They will call me tomorrow and let me know.

Bob, I guess I'll know better next time - I did ask the USPS person what was the best way to send important documents and that I was willing to pay a bit more and certified is what was recommended. So many different ways to send mail! Argh!

Edited March 7, 2012 by Nik+Heather

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

March 3, huh?

That was just a few days before yesterday, wasn't it?

[EasternDE 35]

Nothing to worry about.

As long as it was processed, I would say you're good.

If by saturday the status has not changed, then yes you can start putting up another package.

The shipment seems late but nothing else.

I do customer support and often have to deal with shipment issues, I start considering a package lost after 10 business days with no tracking event.

I'm pretty sure the package will get there before the end of the week and so you can enjoy a nice week-end.

Next time use Fed Ex, or any other conveyor with a better tracking system. ^^