New Process - no sealed packet received?

[Pryme57 6]

I have petitioned my mother to come to the US (From Canada).  She has already gone to the Consulate in Montreal and was approved.  She received the visa in her passport by courier but there was no sealed packet as mentioned on the website.  Instead, there is a paper that states her immigration packet of supporting documents is entirely electronic, and she just needs to present her passport with the visa to the border for processing.  Has anyone else seen this?  I've made a few calls to CBP and they all appear to be expecting a sealed packet.

 

 

[bakphx1 789]

Yes, this is the second time I’ve heard this and it seems brand new.  My husband came in December and he had a packet, but upon opening, they gave him attitude that it was missing all kinds of documentation until they realized that the information they planned to input was in the system already.  That would be great, but...whether airlines or all CBP is aware is the question.  @TBoneTX, here’s what I referred to ca couple of days ago.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

Someone else on VJ reported they had this a few weeks or even months back.

47 minutes ago, bakphx1 said:

That would be great, but...whether airlines or all CBP is aware is the question.  

? Airline wasn't interested in our packets, just our visas.

[bakphx1 789]

16 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Someone else on VJ reported they had this a few weeks or even months back.

? Airline wasn't interested in our packets, just our visas.

They asked to see that my husband had his packet.  They knew not to open it, but they did know he’d need it.

[Pryme57 6]

Interesting, this process does make more sense.  The visa actually states all IV docs in CCD, which I am assuming is a database the consulate uses.  I told my mother to head over to the US Border, tell the CBP agent that she never received the packet, and that she was told everything was online.  I'll post an update whenever she heads over.

 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

CCD = consular consolidated database 

[bakphx1 789]

34 minutes ago, Pryme57 said:

Interesting, this process does make more sense.  The visa actually states all IV docs in CCD, which I am assuming is a database the consulate uses.  I told my mother to head over to the US Border, tell the CBP agent that she never received the packet, and that she was told everything was online.  I'll post an update whenever she heads over.

 

Tells her to bring the letter for sure.  Just telling the CBP agent she doesn’t need a packet may not be enough.  

[NikLR 13,227]

The CBP will have the packet.  She will have to notify them of her travel plans (where she intends to enter) and they will send the info there. 

[Pryme57 6]

UPDATE: Mother drove to the border today (she did not notify anyone at the consulate of plan to travel) with my sister.  She'll be flying next week, but wanted to try this out to identify if there were any issues with her paperwork so we could address before her flight from Toronto.

 

Once at the border, the CBP agent in the booth asked for the packet, and my sister stated they didn't get a separate packet, just the passport.  They were told to go inside and deal with them at the desk.

 

Once inside, the CBP agents asked for the sealed packet, where they explained that they didn't receive a packet.  Mother had all the supporting papers anyway, CBP went through it.  Mother also showed them the blue letter from the consulate that stated everything was now online.  The CBP agent went to a back office with the blue paper, discussed with another agent, who shook his head.  The other agent came out, looked something up on the computer, then stamped the passport and said welcome to America!

 

Original CBP agent from booth came into the office and asked if everything was settled, told him everything was good, gave her a high five!  

 

Total Processing time at CBP: 20 minutes

 

It appears that this really is a new process and that it hasn't been communicated to all CBP agents.  I would still keep a copy of your supporting documents, with you just in case, but overall this seems to be a more secure and efficient method for handling the final IV Packet.  Thanks for all the replies!

 

Edited July 1, 2018 by Pryme57

[bakphx1 789]

Thanks for the information and update!  This could result in unnecessary denials at CBP if this hasn’t been communicated well.

[bakphx1 789]

4 hours ago, NikLR said:

The CBP will have the packet.  She will have to notify them of her travel plans (where she intends to enter) and they will send the info there. 

I don’t think that’s correct.  It’s about making it entirely electronic.  Available at all POE.

[Sukie 1,460]

I wonder if this is only for Canada entrants.  It's a great thing, though!

 

Sukie in NY

[bakphx1 789]

45 minutes ago, Sukie said:

I wonder if this is only for Canada entrants.  It's a great thing, though!

 

Sukie in NY

I don’t think so.  As I mentioned, my husband (from Honduras) came and CBP first thought his packet was very incomplete until they discovered the “missing” paper info was already present in the system.

 

In reading POE reviews, I noticed that was a pattern lately.  

Edited July 1, 2018 by bakphx1

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

I think it’s a great development, remember feeling very stressed in case we lost or damaged our packets!

[NikLR 13,227]

There is a push with the Montreal consulate to make this electronic. Thus far Canadian beneficiaries have had to state which POE they will be using.  The packet is sent electronically.  If it's still available if you use a different POE I'm not sure.