Unknowingly checked the wrong box in our form.

[PlumBloom 1]

Hey, everyone. My fiance and I thought we had gotten everything right on our I-129F form but after reading the instructions for another form, realized we might have made a mistake. 

 

There's an item that asks, "Has your beneficiary ever visited the United States?" and we checked "no", because I have never been to the US as an immigrant or tourist or anything of the sort. Except 15 years ago I had a layover in the US (I was 10 years old) and we have read that it counts as a visit, but didn't know when filling out the form. 

 

What can we do now? Is that grounds for an RFE or straight up denial? We have received a notification via text that they have received our form, so I don't know if it's too late to do anything about it. 

 

I have read that it's possible to call USCIS to correct mistakes. Is that true?

Edited May 27, 2020 by PlumBloom

[Duke & Marie 1,389]

I’m pretty sure Layovers depend on if you went through customs and were admitted to the country or not.. e.g. landing at LAX and switching to a connecting international flight a couple of hours later without going through customs is one thing, leaving the airport, going to a hotel overnight and then catching a connecting international flight the next day is another.. 

 

either way, if it counts, I wouldn’t worry too much about not disclosing it at this stage, you were ten years old at the time and will get the opportunity to disclose it at interview, but highly doubt there will be any negative impacts because of it. 

[PlumBloom 1]

9 minutes ago, Duke & Marie said:

I’m pretty sure Layovers depend on if you went through customs and were admitted to the country or not.. e.g. landing at LAX and switching to a connecting international flight a couple of hours later without going through customs is one thing, leaving the airport, going to a hotel overnight and then catching a connecting international flight the next day is another.. 

 

either way, if it counts, I wouldn’t worry too much about not disclosing it at this stage, you were ten years old at the time and will get the opportunity to disclose it at interview, but highly doubt there will be any negative impacts because of it. 

I never left the airport and after a few hours connected to another international flight to Brazil, but I checked and there are 2 stamps on my passport that say "admitted" — one for each trip to and from Brazil to my country of residence, Japan.

 

So I'm not sure exactly if that counts as a visit and we made a mistake. It was a very long time ago and I was a child so I never thought it would count as a visit until the paranoia hit now.

 

Do you think it'll be fine if I just fill it out correctly on my DS-160 form when times comes and then rectify it at the interview? 

 

Thank you!

Edited May 27, 2020 by PlumBloom

[Duke & Marie 1,389]

1 minute ago, PlumBloom said:

I never left the airport and after a few hours connected to another international flight to Brazil, but I checked and there are 2 stamps on my passport that say "admitted" — one for each trip to and from Brazil to my country of residence, Japan.

 

So I'm not sure exactly if that counts as a visit and we made a mistake. It was a very long time ago and I was a child so I never thought it would count as a "visit". 

 

Do you think if it's fine if I just fill it out correctly on my DS-160 form when times comes and then rectify it at the interview? 

Likely a transit visa or something attached... just up date them at interview, say you were ten and remembered after submitting, you should be fine.. 

 

[Sparkle Sparkle 914]

Yes I agree with @Duke & Marieif an RFE comes your way, you will well you already know what the issue is... I know you said it's 10 years ago so most likely I-94 is no longer available for that admission. However when filling out your DS - 160 you should answer yes to have you been to the states before.... I doubt it will be a big deal

[PlumBloom 1]

29 minutes ago, Sparkle Sparkle said:

Yes I agree with @Duke & Marieif an RFE comes your way, you will well you already know what the issue is... I know you said it's 10 years ago so most likely I-94 is no longer available for that admission. However when filling out your DS - 160 you should answer yes to have you been to the states before.... I doubt it will be a big deal

Thank you for the info!

 

I am not aware of ever having received an I-94, and I just checked on the official website and it says "no record found for traveler". The Class and Valid Until fields on my passport stamps aren't filled out with any information either.

[Sparkle Sparkle 914]

28 minutes ago, PlumBloom said:

Thank you for the info!

 

I am not aware of ever having received an I-94, and I just checked on the official website and it says "no record found for traveler". The Class and Valid Until fields on my passport stamps aren't filled out with any information either.

Did you try with the passport number you had back then? 

[Loren Y 2,755]

The United States is probably the only country that actually requires you to go thru customs when you arrive on a layover, They may be others, but most other countries when you transit thru the airport you do not enter the country as long as you stay in the Transfer area of the airport. If you came thru any US airport, you were required to clear customs, it's how they do it here. I wouldn't worry about it though, as others have said if it comes up ( I doubt it will) you can mention it at the interview. I have seen I94 records go back a long way, but back then I don't thing they were electronic like now. You can probably file a FOIA record request with your passport number back then, and they would find the record that way, but not worth it in my opinion.

[SalishSea 17,829]

1 hour ago, PlumBloom said:

I never left the airport and after a few hours connected to another international flight to Brazil, but I checked and there are 2 stamps on my passport that say "admitted" — one for each trip to and from Brazil to my country of residence, Japan.

 

So I'm not sure exactly if that counts as a visit and we made a mistake. It was a very long time ago and I was a child so I never thought it would count as a visit until the paranoia hit now.

 

Do you think it'll be fine if I just fill it out correctly on my DS-160 form when times comes and then rectify it at the interview? 

 

Thank you!

I think you will be fine, as it was clearly forgotten about because you did not stay in the US at the time.  I would just prepare to submit the old passport and/or bring it to the interview to show.  You could also draft up an explanation if it will make you feel better.  I don't think you have anything to worry about though.

[PlumBloom 1]

50 minutes ago, Sparkle Sparkle said:

Did you try with the passport number you had back then? 

Yeah, I tried with my information from the passport I used at the time and it said there was nothing on the database. 

[PlumBloom 1]

14 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

I think you will be fine, as it was clearly forgotten about because you did not stay in the US at the time.  I would just prepare to submit the old passport and/or bring it to the interview to show.  You could also draft up an explanation if it will make you feel better.  I don't think you have anything to worry about though.

Thank you! That makes me feel much better. I'll have all of my old passports with me at the interview just in case, and I'll draft up a letter explaining the mistake if they send me an RFE.

 

Hoping it won't come to that because I can't imagine having to wait an extra 3-4 months for such a mindless mistake. 

[PlumBloom 1]

45 minutes ago, Loren Y said:

The United States is probably the only country that actually requires you to go thru customs when you arrive on a layover, They may be others, but most other countries when you transit thru the airport you do not enter the country as long as you stay in the Transfer area of the airport. If you came thru any US airport, you were required to clear customs, it's how they do it here. I wouldn't worry about it though, as others have said if it comes up ( I doubt it will) you can mention it at the interview. I have seen I94 records go back a long way, but back then I don't thing they were electronic like now. You can probably file a FOIA record request with your passport number back then, and they would find the record that way, but not worth it in my opinion.

Thank you so much! I really hope it won't be an issue. My fear was being delayed or, worse, denied because of it. I really didn't think anything of it at the time since I didn't stay in the US or even get out of the airport. 

[Duke & Marie 1,389]

4 minutes ago, PlumBloom said:

Thank you so much! I really hope it won't be an issue. My fear was being delayed or, worse, denied because of it. I really didn't think anything of it at the time since I didn't stay in the US or even get out of the airport. 

Im 100% sure you’ll not get a denial given you were a child at the time and it was just transit.. it’s a lapse in memory which is totally forgivable given the circumstances.. 

 

relax, if they ask, which I doubt, just explain you forgot, was a kid and your parents managed it.. heck you were barely there long enough to buy a t-shirt 😂

[PlumBloom 1]

6 minutes ago, Duke & Marie said:

Im 100% sure you’ll not get a denial given you were a child at the time and it was just transit.. it’s a lapse in memory which is totally forgivable given the circumstances.. 

 

relax, if they ask, which I doubt, just explain you forgot, was a kid and your parents managed it.. heck you were barely there long enough to buy a t-shirt 😂

Hahaha, thanks! I really hope it doesn't result in an RFE either. That would already bum me out. 😔

[Letspaintcookies 2,310]

9 hours ago, PlumBloom said:

Hahaha, thanks! I really hope it doesn't result in an RFE either. That would already bum me out. 😔

Never forget, when you get a RFE you'll at least know that they're working on your case and most people got their approval shortly after responding to it 😊 nothing to be bummed about 😊😊