Has anyone been forced by the airport security to open the yellow envelope?

[TonyMacaroni 9]

15 minutes ago, powerpuff said:

I don’t know if CBP will outright deny you entry.

 

They can defer inspection and parole you in. There have been cases here like that where the envelope was lost/stolen on the way to the US. 
 

 

Just curious about the “parole” thing, does it mean that the K1 process gets aborted and one will be in some weird semi-legal status in the US subject to court hearings and deportation? 

[powerpuff 6,677]

2 minutes ago, TonyMacaroni said:

 

Just curious about the “parole” thing, does it mean that the K1 process gets aborted and one will be in some weird semi-legal status in the US subject to court hearings and deportation? 

See the thread I linked above. They eventually admitted the fiancé as K1.

 

I assume that if they weren’t admitted as K1 (let’s say that they couldn’t find the paperwork to satisfy cbp), they could probably adjust by filing I-130 with I-485. That would give them the basis to adjust (immediate relative of a USC), instead of the I-129f.

 

Again, these are my educated guesses. I’m not an attorney. I’m curious to see if someone knows to confirm or refute my assumptions 

Edited March 9 by powerpuff

[top_secret 2,402]

1 hour ago, TonyMacaroni said:

I’ve seen that some embassies cut off a corner of the envelope for the TSA to see that there are documents inside. Mine is completely uncut. Has anyone of you been forced to open the envelope by the TSA and if so, what did you do?

 

So, in the unlikely event that airport security did demand the envelope be opened.  If they actually require you to open it, then do it by cutting a corner so they can see in.  Then it would still be just like many other envelopes CBP sees.

[TonyMacaroni 9]

12 minutes ago, powerpuff said:

See the thread I linked above. They eventually admitted the fiancé as K1.

 

I assume that if they weren’t admitted as K1 (let’s say that they couldn’t find the paperwork to satisfy cbp), they could probably adjust by filing I-130 with I-485. That would give them the basis to adjust (immediate relative of a USC), instead of the I-129f.

 

Again, these are my educated guesses. I’m not an attorney. I’m curious to see if someone knows to confirm or refute my assumptions 

 

Will read through that, thank you

[TonyMacaroni 9]

27 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

Yes, I have....but people arriving with open envelopes is extremely rare.   Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it.  I would expect most all airports have had new US immigrants transiting through.

 

Well, that’s reaffirming. Thank you

[JeanneAdil 6,489]

1 hour ago, TonyMacaroni said:

 

Haha, my bad. I thought every airport security service was called “TSA”. What I meant was of course just “airport security”. Yeah, they may not be able to determine that through the X-ray but they may just want to manually inspect the bag for whatever reason. I just want to be prepared to act the right way should I be forced to show the contents of the envelope. Maybe learn about other people’s experiences.

they xray for countraband /it shows up as orange 

yours is paper 

if they were suspect it was money,  a dog that sniffs for money (and yes,  they  have them) would be bought in

 

did u actually get an envelope? most embassys are sending computer info?

 

[TonyMacaroni 9]

1 minute ago, JeanneAdil said:

they xray for countraband /it shows up as orange 

yours is paper 

if they were suspect it was money,  a dog that sniffs for money (and yes,  they  have them) would be bought in

 

did u actually get an envelope? most embassys are sending computer info?

 

 

Yes, I have the envelope with me. Unfortunately, it’s a physical envelope with papers.

[JeanneAdil 6,489]

Just now, TonyMacaroni said:

 

Yes, I have the envelope with me. Unfortunately, it’s a physical envelope with papers.

CBP   in US know how to handle 

Are u worried about checking in ?

its not going to show up as contraband on an xray

[Benny1337 18]

Having formerly worked in airport security and baggage checks, here's my two cents.

 

I cannot tell you how every country in the world handle things, nor can I go into details about how security checks are done.

However, in the extremely rare case that they require additional checks to be done on the envelope, there are multiple ways to check if whatever is inside poses any risk beside opening it.

 

Most, if not all airports also have a security supervisor or other chain of command, whom you have a right to speak to and elaborate your situation to, on the off chance you do get randomly pulled aside for a random check and they hone in on the envelope.

 

I can say that in the 5+ years I've done that job, I never once had to open an envelope at random.

 

I hope this helps put your mind at ease.

Edited March 9 by Benny1337

[Siberia 9]

i had the envelope too. My flight was through Turkey. I put it in small suitcase for hand luggage. In Turkey they check manually hand luggage but nobody asked me to open it

[appleblossom 2,438]

Another one with envelopes here (4 of them), we all travelled with them just fine last July. Didn't even occur to me that anybody might ask me to open it!

[Lemonslice 4,831]

Calm down, you could lose the envelope in transit and they would find a way to look you up. 

Travel safe, bon voyage!

[Sarah&Facundo 595]

Why would they make you open at envelope at airport security? They are looking for things like explosives, liquids, etc. They can see in the machines that it is paper. I travel for work all the time and constantly have folders, envelopes, etc. You have absolutely no need to worry.

[Loren Y 2,755]

11 hours ago, JeanneAdil said:

a dog that sniffs for money (and yes,  they  have them) would be bought in

 

Know from personal experience they have dogs that can smell money. I got hit on by one such canine at LAX on my way back into the US from Hong Kong with about 50,000 US on my person. I had the declaration form already filled out, and proof of where the funds came from, but I did get a brief stop in Secondary to get everything checked.

[Loren Y 2,755]

Are you sure you are carrying an envelope. A lot of embassy's have switched to Electronic for the K1 also by now. I know Thailand has been sending K1's with electronic forms since about 2021. But when my wife came on her K1 in 2019, I had to carry the envelope. Had it in my backpack the whole trip until LAX POE, and envelope was never looked at and we transited thru 3 or 4 countries over a 3-4 day period on the way back to the US. I don't think you will have an issue.