USPS lost my greencard

[MandEJ 46]

This is a repeat from what I posted in the August 2016 thread, but this may be of use for someone so I figured I would share!

 

Background: my AOS was approved end of March (yay!), card was mailed out by USCIS and scheduled to arrive on April 1st (hah!!) - except it never did. I was tracking it and someone was home ALL day waiting for that card to arrive. Well, nothing came. And then at 11pm that night the status changed from 'out for delivery' to 'delivery was attempted, notice was left' which was a lie on both counts: no one attempted to deliver anything AND no notice was left. 

 

I contacted my local post office (which happens to be the worst in NYC so that was great), consumer affairs, the inspector general, a senator, USCIS. One common theme throughout was that no one seemed that worried about the fact that someone random person may be in possession of my card? Like, surely that should be a thing that worries USCIS, but apparently not.... 

 

So after A LOT of back and forth with USPS and the supervising manager at Consumer Affairs, USPS wrote me an official letter admitting this was their fault and apologizing. I filed an i-90 online and picked the option that waives the fee - I was a bit worried afterward reading I should have filed the 'lost or stolen' option and filed a waiver at the same time, but I attached the USPS letter alongside my other paperwork and it was accepted! I filed on April 16th (btw filing online is super easy and I wish they did it for everything!!), it was accepted on April 17th and I printed off my notice (so now I can go and get my passport stamped, have an infopass appointment on Wednesday) and on April 21st they advised they will be reusing my biometrics from October and I do not have to go and get it redone (good because my job isn't very flexible and taking a day off on short notice would have been a pain). 

 

So now, I wait... my case is being processed by the potomac center. As of February 2017 they were processing July 2016 i-90 requests so really, really hoping they move a bit faster than this!! I'm glad that I am on the road back to getting the card in hand though, and at least I have the peace of mind knowing that I am a (conditional) permanent resident. At least there is that! 

 

I joked to my husband that to celebrate getting my passport stamped next week, we should go away to Canada haha! Cross the border just for the hell of it. It's been a really tense and emotional month. The frustration of having something like this happen to you doesn't hit until you actually go through it. It was like I was at the end of the tunnel, could see the light, and then a door just shut straight on my toes! My husband was getting a little bit frustrated with me, because that's ALL I could think/talk about, but unless you personally experience it firsthand, it's really difficult to understand. 

 

Initially when USPS were being REALLY slow, I contacted my senator. She took 2 weeks to respond, in which time things actually got sorted. But it's nice to know that someone else knows of the situation and possibly can help further down the line if ever needed.

 

[BigDaddy28 228]

With the issues that USPS are having and how they don't want to take responsibility for their mistake, I think USCIS should change to UPS or Fedex. UPS uses a GPS system to where if in case of loss it can be proved where it was delivered and attempts to recover are made and sometimes refund is made. 

With USPS you can't even speak to a human except in the office. 

[MandEJ 46]

2 hours ago, silkafi88 said:

With the issues that USPS are having and how they don't want to take responsibility for their mistake, I think USCIS should change to UPS or Fedex. UPS uses a GPS system to where if in case of loss it can be proved where it was delivered and attempts to recover are made and sometimes refund is made. 

With USPS you can't even speak to a human except in the office. 

I totally agree. I would also consider picking it up from a USCIS location... 

 

What do they use for passports here? They should use the same service.... 

 

I only got to speak to a real person because I kept pushing and filed every complaint I could under the sun. And I know I was lucky to get what I did. But it's not really good enough that they just 'don't know what happened to it or where it went'. They're not even pretending they delivered it. And it's not been sent back to sender. So, seriously, where on earth did it go?? 

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

On 4/30/2017 at 2:50 PM, MandEJ said:

I totally agree. I would also consider picking it up from a USCIS location... 

 

What do they use for passports here? They should use the same service.... 

 

I only got to speak to a real person because I kept pushing and filed every complaint I could under the sun. And I know I was lucky to get what I did. But it's not really good enough that they just 'don't know what happened to it or where it went'. They're not even pretending they delivered it. And it's not been sent back to sender. So, seriously, where on earth did it go?? 

Option 1 - postman threw it to end their run early or cause they couldn't find the place.

Option 2 - Someone got payed

 

Just my thoughts ; )

[MandEJ 46]

17 hours ago, Suss&Camm said:

Option 1 - postman threw it to end their run early or cause they couldn't find the place.

Option 2 - Someone got payed

 

Just my thoughts ; )

Oh, I am pretty convinced it was stolen, the issue is they're refusing to look into that possibility...... we got other mail, and they told me the tracking code had been manually entered, not even scanned as apparently it should have been. But somehow, I have to believe there is no foul play? Hmmmm

 

but at least I am getting a new one, and I can get the stamp in my passport tomorrow! 

[Russell&Maria 13]

We had the same issue. My wife's conditional PR card (she came on a K1 visa) was mailed out on January 4 and arrived at our local post office on January 7. No delivery attempt was ever made. Unfortunately USCIS forgot to send us the tracking number so by the time we got the tracking number 1 month later, her card was long gone. We suspect it was stolen before it was ever sorted with our mail. The notice says to allow 30 days before inquiring about the card so we never called  USCIS to get the tracking number (our mistake) which would have prompted us to begin inquiring sooner. Our local post office failed to take responsibility. They claimed to do a thorough search of the facility but of course they weren't going to find it over a month later. USCIS told us our only course was to reapply for a new card but we were told we had to pay the $540.00 and have a new biometrics done. The online filing was super easy though but unfortunately the website still shows as of today that they are processing applications from July 2016 . At this point, by the time she receives the card it will be time to file for removal of conditions and she will be eligible to file for citizenship in 2 years.

 

I'm hoping that the delay is due to the fact that they just rolled out the new green card design on May 1 and are transitioning over to the new design. Hopefully the website will update soon.

[MandEJ 46]

15 minutes ago, Russell&Maria said:

We had the same issue. My wife's conditional PR card (she came on a K1 visa) was mailed out on January 4 and arrived at our local post office on January 7. No delivery attempt was ever made. Unfortunately USCIS forgot to send us the tracking number so by the time we got the tracking number 1 month later, her card was long gone. We suspect it was stolen before it was ever sorted with our mail. The notice says to allow 30 days before inquiring about the card so we never called  USCIS to get the tracking number (our mistake) which would have prompted us to begin inquiring sooner. Our local post office failed to take responsibility. They claimed to do a thorough search of the facility but of course they weren't going to find it over a month later. USCIS told us our only course was to reapply for a new card but we were told we had to pay the $540.00 and have a new biometrics done. The online filing was super easy though but unfortunately the website still shows as of today that they are processing applications from July 2016 . At this point, by the time she receives the card it will be time to file for removal of conditions and she will be eligible to file for citizenship in 2 years.

 

I'm hoping that the delay is due to the fact that they just rolled out the new green card design on May 1 and are transitioning over to the new design. Hopefully the website will update soon.

Yeah..... I only got somewhere because I pushed so hard. I got my senator involved as well and now there is a congressional inquiry into the matter. I got a phone call from the head of USPS New York, apologizing and saying as soon as the congresswoman made the inquiry, things started moving very seriously and "heads will roll" 

 

I really hope they process this fast, but it's so frustrating to have to wait again.... and yes as you say, they seem to be processing last year still!