IR-1 sealed packet returned to hubby on POE, HELP!!!

[Isa&Sam 50]

Hello all. MY husband was approved on 1/29/2018 in San Salvador embassy. We returned to the US through Los Angeles airport 2/9/2018 and everything went smoothly, us customs sealed his passport with the alien number and didnt ask him hardly any questions. They did not keep the sealed yellow envelope that says DO NOT OPEN which includes all of his visa information. Hubby says he asked the Customs agent if he needed the package after the agent returned his sealed passport and the agent told him that he did not need it. Im worried. His cousin went through the process in 2015 and entered through utah and he says that US customs kept the packet. Now we are worried this will interfere with him receiving his green card.  What should we do?? 

[Californiansunset 336]

44 minutes ago, Isa&Sam said:

Hello all. MY husband was approved on 1/29/2018 in San Salvador embassy. We returned to the US through Los Angeles airport 2/9/2018 and everything went smoothly, us customs sealed his passport with the alien number and didnt ask him hardly any questions. They did not keep the sealed yellow envelope that says DO NOT OPEN which includes all of his visa information. Hubby says he asked the Customs agent if he needed the package after the agent returned his sealed passport and the agent told him that he did not need it. Im worried. His cousin went through the process in 2015 and entered through utah and he says that US customs kept the packet. Now we are worried this will interfere with him receiving his green card.  What should we do?? 

Oh wow, yes they were supposed to keep that. You must've gotten a very poorly trained CBP agent... If I were you I'd make an infopass at your local USCIS office and go there with your passport and stamps and the sealed envelope and hopefully they'll know how to take care of the package. It needs to go to the USCIS Service Center.

[Isa&Sam 50]

25 minutes ago, Californiansunset said:

Oh wow, yes they were supposed to keep that. You must've gotten a very poorly trained CBP agent... If I were you I'd make an infopass at your local USCIS office and go there with your passport and stamps and the sealed envelope and hopefully they'll know how to take care of the package. It needs to go to the USCIS Service Center.

 the thing is that I opened the packet when we got home. I did not know that they were suppose to keep it to send off to USCIS so now i am praying that they wont make him return all the way to El Salvador just to get everything resealed

[Californiansunset 336]

1 hour ago, Isa&Sam said:

 the thing is that I opened the packet when we got home. I did not know that they were suppose to keep it to send off to USCIS so now i am praying that they wont make him return all the way to El Salvador just to get everything resealed

So the CBP agent didn't even open the package? WOW 

Yeah this is a pretty big mess you're in now that you even opened it.. now they have to assume that you tempered with it. There's not much more you can do except for going to your local office and ask them what to do. They will know best. It's a rare case but I'm sure you are not the first one this happened to. Although it was a bit thoughtless to open the envelope before researching what's in it if it says "Do not open" in big letters on it.... also on a side note, they tell every K1 and Cr1 applicant at the embassy that they will receive this envelope in the mail with their passport and that they are under no circumstances allowed to open it unless it's authorized personnel at the border (and that you have to hand it over at the POE and thus have to carry it in your carry-on). It's a procedure they go over with every single applicant at the interview (usually they explain it when you hand in the documents at the first window). Your husband should've known better... oh well nothing you can do about it now. 

 

[Ryan H 3,812]

Moved from Progress Reports to Process & Procedures.

[bakphx1 789]

My hunch in reading the change in POE reviews from years ago till now (along with my husband's experience)  is that most of the salient information is already entered into the CBP system without the packet.  Waiting for POE entry to trigger the green card, but also electronic. 

 

The only issue is will it hold up the green card.  Check the online status. You can see if it's processing. 

 

I don't think it's the end of the world if a problem at all.  If CBP showed he entered that may be all that is necessary, but I wouldn't count on it.  If you prepaid the fee it may already be in proces as of POE entry.  Let us know.  Maybe this is going the way of the chest x-ray they tell you to hand carry so it can be looked at by no one. 

[pushbrk 12,908]

The solution is to visit the nearest CBP station, take the packet with you and explain what happened.  Same thing happened to me in 2006.  The local station chief had seen this mistake before and knew what to do.  In our case, we were a thousand miles from the POE before I knew we still had the packet.

[Isa&Sam 50]

On 2/15/2018 at 3:38 PM, Californiansunset said:

So the CBP agent didn't even open the package? WOW 

Yeah this is a pretty big mess you're in now that you even opened it.. now they have to assume that you tempered with it. There's not much more you can do except for going to your local office and ask them what to do. They will know best. It's a rare case but I'm sure you are not the first one this happened to. Although it was a bit thoughtless to open the envelope before researching what's in it if it says "Do not open" in big letters on it.... also on a side note, they tell every K1 and Cr1 applicant at the embassy that they will receive this envelope in the mail with their passport and that they are under no circumstances allowed to open it unless it's authorized personnel at the border (and that you have to hand it over at the POE and thus have to carry it in your carry-on). It's a procedure they go over with every single applicant at the interview (usually they explain it when you hand in the documents at the first window). Your husband should've known better... oh well nothing you can do about it now. 

 

Yes of course if we would have known that the packet is suppose to stay with US customs then we would of made sure that it did so. No one said anything about the packet staying with customs at all. It is our first time going through this process so we didnt know. My husband did ask customs if they had to keep the packet and customs said no so therefore whose fault is it?  So no my husband didnt know any better and neither did I because we have never gone through this process before.

[Isa&Sam 50]

On 2/18/2018 at 7:23 PM, bakphx1@aol.com said:

My hunch in reading the change in POE reviews from years ago till now (along with my husband's experience)  is that most of the salient information is already entered into the CBP system without the packet.  Waiting for POE entry to trigger the green card, but also electronic. 

 

The only issue is will it hold up the green card.  Check the online status. You can see if it's processing. 

 

I don't think it's the end of the world if a problem at all.  If CBP showed he entered that may be all that is necessary, but I wouldn't count on it.  If you prepaid the fee it may already be in proces as of POE entry.  Let us know.  Maybe this is going the way of the chest x-ray they tell you to hand carry so it can be looked at by no one. 

 

On 2/18/2018 at 8:27 PM, pushbrk said:

The solution is to visit the nearest CBP station, take the packet with you and explain what happened.  Same thing happened to me in 2006.  The local station chief had seen this mistake before and knew what to do.  In our case, we were a thousand miles from the POE before I knew we still had the packet.

Thanks for your replies!!!! After posting on this forum I called Us customs at my local airport and the office told me to go to the federal building which houses US Customs in my city. Thank God they accepted the packet and they mailed it off to USCIS. Thanks again for all your replies, it is appreciated !

[mindthegap 2,590]

Good that you got it sorted...although crazy that they gave it back to you in the first place!

 

 

That envelope contains the originals of your entire immigration file to date - you will be seeing it again (at your I-751 interview if applicable, and again at your N-400 interview).

 

Edited February 27, 2018 by mindthegap