Help needed – CR-1 Chicago entry Passport not stamped

[paulfrederic 0]

My wife just finished her DCF in Frankfurt, and we entered to the USA through the Chicago airport.

They took her visa package, and sent us through customs, after which we just entered the country. Her passport was never stamped.

Since her SSN hasn't arrived (we did check that box in the DS-260, and we've been waiting for more than 3 weeks) we went to the SSN office, and they asked to see her Visa, at which point they noticed that it wasn't stamped, so it's technically "invalid"...

We don't have any kind of receipt from the visa package (they just took the whole thing), and we don't know who to contact regarding this problem.

Also, the people at the SSN office said that (at least here in Wisconsin), my wife is not going to receive the SSN just because we checked the box in the form ds-260, that we need to apply for it there no matter what.

Any tips on our situation? Who should we contact regarding her non-stamped passport? Should she just wait it out until the greencard arrives?

Thanks!!

[StrawberryKiss 170]

Yeah, a lot of the time you don't get an SSN assigned even if you checked the box on the DS-260 form, unfortunately.

Maybe you can get an infopass appointment at your nearest local USCIS office (though it might be difficult right now with the holidays coming up). Not sure whether they can give you that stamp or some CBP office, but they can at least assist you and are familiar with that issue. Yes, this dilemma you're in would finally be solved when she receives her green card, but that could still take weeks or even months.

Good luck! I hope the problem gets fixed quickly!

Edited December 18, 2014 by StrawberryKiss

[NikLR 13,232]

You need to go to your local CBP office (nearest major airport, preferably the one she entered at) and have them correct this information. She needs that visa stamped before it expires!

~~moved to general immigration from IR1/CR1 process and procedures as topic is about DCF but can affect a variety of visas~~

[JimmyHou 611]

My wife just finished her DCF in Frankfurt, and we entered to the USA through the Chicago airport.

They took her visa package, and sent us through customs, after which we just entered the country. Her passport was never stamped.

Since her SSN hasn't arrived (we did check that box in the DS-260, and we've been waiting for more than 3 weeks) we went to the SSN office, and they asked to see her Visa, at which point they noticed that it wasn't stamped, so it's technically "invalid"...

We don't have any kind of receipt from the visa package (they just took the whole thing), and we don't know who to contact regarding this problem.

Also, the people at the SSN office said that (at least here in Wisconsin), my wife is not going to receive the SSN just because we checked the box in the form ds-260, that we need to apply for it there no matter what.

Any tips on our situation? Who should we contact regarding her non-stamped passport? Should she just wait it out until the greencard arrives?

Thanks!!

You need to go to your local CBP office (nearest major airport, preferably the one she entered at) and have them correct this information. She needs that visa stamped before it expires!

~~moved to general immigration from IR1/CR1 process and procedures as topic is about DCF but can affect a variety of visas~~

NLR's suggestion is logical, but these things don't always work in a logical way... I don't know whether or not CBP will stamp the passport after the fact... they should be able to because they should have all the entry information on hand.

I do know that USCIS does have the ability to stamp passports... people who don't get their green cards in time can go to USCIS and get an extension stamp.

I would say that you should try both... start with USCIS and an Infopass appointment, but if there isn't anything available soon, try CBP.

Luckily, you're in New Berlin, and so the Milwaukee airport and Milwaukee USCIS office shouldn't be too far.

[paulfrederic 0]

Hey, thanks for all the replies.

We spoke on the phone to the USCIS, and they said that we need to get an infopass with the homeland security office in Milwaukee, and that they should take care of the issue.

Luckily there was open appointment for next Monday. So, we'll see how it goes. I'll keep you all posted on it.

I'm a little pissy about the airport people missing the stamp though... oh well

[NikLR 13,232]

Although it really sucks for you I'm glad you guys can get this fixed quickly. It's also a good reminder to everyone to double check their passports before leaving the CBP area. I know the officer showed me my stamp but that may not be a common occurrence.

[paulfrederic 0]

So... Here's the second part of the story.

The Waukesha SSA office told us to go to the Homeland Security Office in Milwaukee, we went there with an infopass appointment today, and they said that there is nothing they can do about the issue, (and that for some reason offices like Waukesha SSA tend to refer people to them for miscelaneous problems like this) So, they referred us to the CBP office for Milwaukee. We spoke on the phone with them, and they said that they cannot do anything about it either, and that we should probably go to the Chicago airport to see what they say.

At this point we were getting incredibly frustrated, so instead of pursuing this endless bureaucratic loop, we decided to go to another SSN office (in Milwaukee this time) where my wife successfully applied for a SSN despite the missing passport stamp (they said it wasn't a big deal).

So, lessons learned:

1- Always check that the other people handling your case are doing everything ok, and not missing any steps.

2- It's always better to deal with offices that handle large volume of cases (Waukesha SSN office didn't even know what a CR-1 visa is).

3- Even if you checked that box in the DS-260, your SS card is probably not going to arrive, and you're much better off going straight to SSA office.

Thanks for the prompt advice to everyone in the forum.

Regards,

[NikLR 13,232]

I'd say 80% or mpre of the people who check that box never get the card automatically.