I797 Left at customs?!

[TennantFamily 5]

Our K1 visa was approved in December; my fiancé (now husband) moved here in March and we are now married. We are almost done with his adjustment of status application - we have an I797c (receipt notice from last year when I 29F was received), but not the I797 for the visa. 

We both believe he handed it over with the other paperwork at LAX Border/customs and was not given it back. 

 

1. Has anyone experienced this? Were you able to get it back from the airport? Do they just trash it?

2. I understand the process to apply for a copy; is there any way to get around the huge fee? 

3. Should we submit the adjustment of status anyway with an explanation of the above? 

 

Thanks for any and all help here! 

 

[Scandi 4,166]

5 minutes ago, TennantFamily said:

Our K1 visa was approved in December; my fiancé (now husband) moved here in March and we are now married. We are almost done with his adjustment of status application - we have an I797c (receipt notice from last year when I 29F was received), but not the I797 for the visa. 

We both believe he handed it over with the other paperwork at LAX Border/customs and was not given it back. 

 

1. Has anyone experienced this? Were you able to get it back from the airport? Do they just trash it?

2. I understand the process to apply for a copy; is there any way to get around the huge fee? 

3. Should we submit the adjustment of status anyway with an explanation of the above? 

 

Thanks for any and all help here! 

 

The petitioner, meaning the US citizen, is the one who received the i-797 approval notice for the i-129f. So likely your foreign fiancé never even saw that paper because you have it somewhere.

Edited May 1, 2019 by Scandi

[TennantFamily 5]

Mmm that doesn’t sound right. The only notice I have received was that I129F was received. Fiance got the package in the mail in December saying application was approved, so I797 must have been in there. I am diligent about mail so no way I could have missed it. 

[Khallaf 650]

10 minutes ago, TennantFamily said:

Mmm that doesn’t sound right. The only notice I have received was that I129F was received. Fiance got the package in the mail in December saying application was approved, so I797 must have been in there. I am diligent about mail so no way I could have missed it. 

it would have been sent to the petitioner in the USA, and you might be delinquent about the mail as I am, I signed up for informed delivery my husbands notice for I-90 to correct his green card was on the informed delivery report but never showed up at my home, IE the mail system sucks at time, there is a chance it was sent and you never got it.

[TennantFamily 5]

17 minutes ago, Scandi said:

The petitioner, meaning the US citizen, is the one who received the i-797 approval notice for the i-129f. So likely your foreign fiancé never even saw that paper because you have it somewhere.

Also, he could have made or gone to his interview without an approval notice, so it doesn’t make sense that I would have it, not known about it, and he shows up at his visa interview without an approval notice?? 

[TennantFamily 5]

1 minute ago, Khallaf said:

it would have been sent to the petitioner in the USA, and you might be delinquent about the mail as I am, I signed up for informed delivery my husbands notice for I-90 to correct his green card was on the informed delivery report but never showed up at my home, IE the mail system sucks at time, there is a chance it was sent and you never got it.

Ok - still very confused how he got a package, interview, visa and was able to come to the US all without showing anyone an approval notice....

[Khallaf 650]

4 minutes ago, TennantFamily said:

Also, he could have made or gone to his interview without an approval notice, so it doesn’t make sense that I would have it, not known about it, and he shows up at his visa interview without an approval notice?? 

he would have gotten a welcome letter from NVC with a case # I assume you put the package together, in there would have been your email also.

 

how did you know he got to USA if you were not informed? I assume he had been notified by someone somehow.

[Scandi 4,166]

Alrighty then, believe what you want. Don't  listen to those who know better, up to you.

[Scandi 4,166]

The i-129f petition is the petitioner's petition. Obviously. That's why the petitioner gets the approval notice. The beneficiary does not receive the approval notice because the petition isn't his, only the Visa part is his.

 

Our embassy in Sweden (and many others) doesn't require the approval notice, the embassy receives the package straight from NVC so any approval notice from the applicant isn't needed.

Edited May 1, 2019 by Scandi

[TennantFamily 5]

19 minutes ago, Scandi said:

Alrighty then, believe what you want. Don't  listen to those who know better, up to you.

Not trying to argue, just saying I never got anything other than I797c and am not understanding how we could have made it this far without the I797. 

[payxibka 10,045]

5 minutes ago, TennantFamily said:

Not trying to argue, just saying I never got anything other than I797c and am not understanding how we could have made it this far without the I797. 

Because up until now, the I-797 approval notice was not required for anything.  More importantly, what is it needed for now?

Edited May 1, 2019 by payxibka

[Scandi 4,166]

Yeah, not sure why you think the approval notice was needed for anything in the K-1 process? I know I sent a copy of ours with the AOS package, but we never used it for anything to get the K-1 visa.

[payxibka 10,045]

4 minutes ago, Scandi said:

 I know I sent a copy of ours with the AOS package

Not even needed for that

[Scandi 4,166]

Just now, payxibka said:

Not even needed for that

Likely not, it's not like USCIS doesn't know you were approved anyway.

[TennantFamily 5]

6 minutes ago, payxibka said:

Not even needed for that

 

6 minutes ago, payxibka said:

Not even needed for that

Ok, so we are thinking we need it for the AOS package- you are saying we don’t?? Which would make sense because obviously we were approved, he moved, and we married within 90 days. I feel like everything I’m reading says we have to send in a copy of I797 approval notice with his AOS application; hence the freak out