Is USPS required to hand deliver i797 for EAD?

[Alytes 31]

We knew that my husbands EAD i797 was going to be delivered on Saturday because I get the Informed Delivery email from USPS with photos of the pieces of mail to be delivered.  We were excited, but not home on Saturday.  My mother was home, but she has mobility issues and can't answer the door when home alone and someone knocks.  When we came home that evening we were frustrated to find the i797 wasn't delivered.  We found several other pieces of mail laying on our doormat (nowhere near the mailbox).  My mom said someone knocked several times that day, but she couldn't answer the door.  Today my husband was out walking with my mother and the USPS letter carrier came up to them several blocks from our house and asked if he knew the person named on a letter he showed them and it was my husbands i797.  The letter carrier recognized them from our house, which is why he approached them.  He said he was going to have to send the notice back to the National Benefits Center if he didn't find us and knew that would cause problems.  I wasn't with them; if I was I would have asked the letter carrier a LOT of questions.  Why didn't he leave the letter in the mailbox?  Are they required to hand deliver?  He didn't require a signature.  Why was he going to send it back to NBS?  Do we have to stay home the next time we know something, like the actual EAD card, is going to be delivered.  I'm so confused.  Does anyone have any insight into this? Is it as bizarre as it seems to me?

[powerpuff 6,704]

Sometimes, if the name on the official government letters/envelopes is not on the mailbox, USPS will send the mail back to USCIS. It was really nice of your mailman to wait and try to catch you before he sent it back. Best thing would be to put your husbands name on the mailbox.

[Alytes 31]

That's a great suggestion - thank you!  I've never put names on mailboxes, but I'll do it.  We moved into this house last November and I had my mail forwarded, so the mailman would have seen that notice and regularly see mail with my name on it.  My husband doesn't get mail yet and we didn't submit a USPS forwarding for him because we changed his address with USCIS and they would be the only one sending him mail.

[kmk813 11]

On 5/23/2022 at 5:56 PM, Alytes said:

That's a great suggestion - thank you!  I've never put names on mailboxes, but I'll do it.  We moved into this house last November and I had my mail forwarded, so the mailman would have seen that notice and regularly see mail with my name on it.  My husband doesn't get mail yet and we didn't submit a USPS forwarding for him because we changed his address with USCIS and they would be the only one sending him mail.

Did you get it today?  I have letters that should be delivered that day because I also signed up for the usps daily delivery info. But comes a day or two later.