When USPS loses your greencard

[greencardsuccess 11]

I know this is an old post, but replying because we just went through this with my husband. We were married a few years ago and he applied to have the conditions removed from his green card. We received a letter stating he was okay to be in the country for the next year and then a letter stating he was approved and we'd receive the card within 60 days.

Long story short the card did not arrive, but showed as 'Delivered' by USPS, USCIS told us we'd have to re-pay the fee because of that, even though it was never actually delivered.

Through tons of research (and no lawyers) we were able to both: travel internationally/re-enter the U.S. without the green card, and get a new green card without paying the $450 fee again. Here are those steps...

1. Know when your green card was supposed to arrive, get tracking from USCIS, you can call their number to request this once it has shipped.
2. If the tracking shows it should have been delivered and it has not - file a lost mail claim with USPS. You can do this online: https://www.usps.com/help/claims.htm Keep a copy of this claim#.
3. USPS should contact you back with an update on the claim - chances are they won't, continue to check back in on status of the claim, they will conduct an internal investigation and you should have an answer in 2-4 weeks. Pester them until they have finalized the investigation on the claim. Each time you speak with someone over the phone, make sure they make notes in the system about your discussion. You'll need those later. At this point we also got a cryptic call from our local USPS office which was useless. They also said they stopped by and our name wasn't posted on our mailbox, which is a lie, it has always been there.
4. When you do get a response on the final status of the claim, you can move onto the next step. Chances are USPS will say 'it was delivered, the post person said they delivered it' which makes you feel like steps 2 and 3 were a total waste of time, but they're necessary. Next you need to call the Postal Inspection Service (877-876-2455) and file another claim with them, for mail theft. You'll get another claim#, keep a copy of that. At this point there may be further investigation needed, if so follow up with them until you get an answer (that answer will likely be, 'we couldn't find it, case closed'). Make sure they note all the detail about the investigation in the claim, including the final findings that it wasn't found.
5. When your secondary claim is also closed, call the USPS Consumer Affairs office, you can find the contact info for your local office here: https://ribbs.usps.gov/locators/find-cam.cfm (You may be on hold for about an hour.) Tell them both of your claim numbers and that you need a copy of your claim mailed to you. They may tell you they can't, or that you have to call another department or your local post office, they can, and will, talk to a supervisor if you have to.
6. Now re-file your paperwork with USCIS, including all the necessary forms and a copy of the claim from USPS (also keep a copy for your own records). However check the box stating the the green card was lost or never delivered. Include a cover letter explaining the situation, and highlight key points, including the USPS confirming it wasn't delivered.
7. They should waive the fee, if they do not, you can contact your local senator's office, but in my experience it takes about 2-3 months for a response. The only thing this step helped us with is through them we got written confirmation from USCIS that if we could submit paperwork from USPS confirming it wasn't delivered (the 2 claims), then they would waive the fee. This is why ensuring notes are made in your claim is so important throughout the process.

At any point, if you need to travel abroad, if you have a letter stating you have legal status through whatever date (assuming it's at least 3-6 months int he future), this along with ID suffices to get back into the country. But call USCIS in advance of travel to confirm for your specific case. I also recommend bringing all key paperwork when traveling to be safe upon re-entry.

Also, you can re-file paperwork at any point in time with USCIS (knowing it will get denied until you have completed the steps above), but as long as your case shows 'open' you can then go to your local USCIS office and they will stamp your passport for free. In general they may do this for only 30-60 days in the future, but my husband was able to get his stamped for 5 months in the future due to pending travel.

Good luck!!

[IanChap 5]

After everything we have to go through, this would devastate me!! Subconsciously we just need the world to know how important this is to us, so please look after it and deliver post haste!! lol Mine has been sent out for delivery now, I will get a deck chair and sleeping bag and live by my mailbox!! lol

Edited October 17, 2015 by IanChap

[jeanieCZ 228]

Thank you for sharing this! I can't imagine how depressing that must be  If the USPS would lose my GC I would probably murder them 😜

[John&Julie 2]

They just lost ours and it sounds like we will be going through this process soon enough...

 

We are F#$@$ heartbroken. The USPS messed up twice and they are a complete disaster and sorry excuse for an organization. We live in an apartment building and THEY LET A COMPLETE STRANGER SIGN FOR MY WIFE'S GREEN CARD! How F'd up is that?! 

 

We cannot believe it.

[ultrasoul 56]

Given this topic is a sticky, I thought to share a recent 2020 I-90 filing experience for a USPS lost delivery of a green card.

 

Because I-90 application to replace a LPR card can now be filed online, there is an option to select "Missing card never received" as the reason for filing which will waive the I-90 fee.

 

Just be sure to include a detailed PDF written note explanation on the non-delivery as well as a  PDF copy of the USPS missing mail case investigation in the "Additional Documents" section of the online filing (see @greencardsuccess's original post on what documents you can include).

 

At least there's no more need to pay the I-90 replacement fee or worry if the USCIS would accept a fee waiver from a paper I-90 filing.

[Sergiyko 5]

We had same story, USPS lost daughter's green card. But it finished successfully finally, with help of newspaper's reporter and senator. USPS returned back $105.42 (delivery fee and insurance) and USCIS returned $575 paid for temporary entry permit. Story described there 

 

http://eteriosoft.azurewebsites.net/desc.html

 

https://www.fosters.com/news/20190721/missing-green-card-imperils-familys-immigration-quest