HELP Sealed package from consulate opened AFTER enty?

[Nous Eb 126]

I am not sure if I have an issue now. I arrived in the States on a K1 in April, got married last week and am about to send in my AOS. I never received a copy of my medical exam and I still had the sealed envelope I got from the consulate with my paperwork that they did not ask for at the POE so I opened it to make copies of my medical exam. Then I got stressed and searched this forum and saw I should have brought it in still (sealed) and that they can only be resealed by the consulate which is now thousands of miles away. What do I do? What are my options? Does anyone know what I should do?

[EatBulaga 315]

4 hours ago, SouzaGarcia81 said:

I am not sure if I have an issue now. I arrived in the States on a K1 in April, got married last week and am about to send in my AOS. I never received a copy of my medical exam and I still had the sealed envelope I got from the consulate with my paperwork that they did not ask for at the POE so I opened it to make copies of my medical exam. Then I got stressed and searched this forum and saw I should have brought it in still (sealed) and that they can only be resealed by the consulate which is now thousands of miles away. What do I do? What are my options? Does anyone know what I should do?

 

Yes, you do have an issue or irregularity.

Your I-485 AOS probably has little chance of approval without USCIS having possession of your envelope.

Not to mention the time waiting for the USCIS response before continuing with other courses of actions.

 

The proper regular course of action was to request a copy of the DS-3025 from the doctor abroad so you have a copy, and insist that the CBP take the sealed envelope.

 

Since you didn't fill out your Timeline or list your Port Of Entry...

 

Option1: Return it to the Port of Entry CBP office to see if they will take it along with your explanation. They may or may not accept.

 

Option2: Continue with your AOS and explain your situation. USCIS may or may not have a response for an action. If lucky, they may just ask for an RFE?

 

Option3: Do both Option1 and Option2 concurrently.

 

Option4: Consult an immigration lawyer to see if they know of other similar cases or options.

 

Whatever option or actions, I can only warn you that your case may take longer than the average AOS because of this irregularity.

 

Maybe others here who have seen similar cases can respond better?

Edited June 25 by EatBulaga

[Scandi 4,166]

Huge issue, you have to leave your SEALED envelope with CBP at POE, even if they forget to ask for it. CBP sends it to USCIS and it's added to your file. Seems doubtful CBP would accept an opened envelope as that means you could've messed with it - but definitely worth a try, so go to your POE and explain the issue. 

For the medical, you should always ask the doctor for a copy of the DS-3025 when you're at your medical appointment, or they could also send you a copy afterwards. I asked for a copy of the entire medical results (not just the vaccination work sheet) and they sent it to me the same day they sent the original to the embassy. Too late for you, and you have much bigger issues now, but may be important info for someone else reading this. 

[Nous Eb 126]

I get that it's a huge issue when entering the country, but I've already been admitted and passport stamped, i94 on file. I'm pretty stressed out now.

[Nous Eb 126]

39 minutes ago, Conchas Chinas said:

Reading old, old threads on the same topic, so this information may be out of date, the envelope contains the only copy of your immigration file and the advice given back then was that the envelope needs to go back to the original embassy for checking and re-sealing. In one case, the embassy was happy for the applicant, who was still in their home country, to mail the package back to the embassy. So in the first instance contact your embassy, explain the situation as clearly and as frankly as required and then await their response.

 

You could also follow @EatBulaga's advice of heading to the local CBP office where I would also ask CBP how your entry was processed at POE.

 

Please keep us updated. Wishing you success

 

I looked online for the number of my consulate, turns out the visa stuff is not handled in Amsterdam anymore but the Dutch need to go to Frankfurt Germany now. So that gave me more stress!

 

But I just got off the phone with CBS at Detroit Airport and they couldn't be nicer and more helpful. I will update when it's handled!

[Nous Eb 126]

So I dare to update now because I just got updated by CBP.

 

I called CBP and the officer was very nice, sounded like they were a bit annoyed the package wasn't taken when I arrived and I got the feeling it happens more often. I explained I had no idea I had to hand it over (I didn't, had no idea that was all originals, I come from digital Holland and thought this was just a copy for when they would check me at the border) and I also said I was dumb enough to open it. I was told they understood and that I could send it in or bring it in person so they could process it correctly for me. As I am not close to the airport I decided to send it in with FedEx overnight (which is why I didn't update yet because it was nerve wrecking and I wanted to make sure it arrived in good order first!) together with my i-94 and passport/visa copy. I got the officer's name and an address and email address and was promised that the officer would personally handle it for me and let me know when it was received and taken care of. I just received the email saying that everything was received in good order and that it will be correctly processed and sent to USCIS. I am so happy this is fixed, my stress level was through the roof.

 

I must say that I have had contact with CBP four times now. Back in the Netherlands when I had questions about shipping my belongings, when arriving in the USA, on the phone with CBP at a local airport to get a phone number that would actually give me a human officer instead of a robot and now with this and they were very nice and very helpful on all four occasions going out of their way to help me out. I am not used to that in The Netherlands. So thumbs up for CBP.

[Manchurian 0]

Hi Nous Eb,

 

I'm glad you have it all sorted out! My K1 visa got approved last month and i will be heading to Detroit in about three weeks. 

Can you tell me how it went for you with the CBP when you entered the US? At least i know now i will have to insist that they take the package!

Did you have a hard time to adjust living there?

 

Greetings from mildly sunny Belgium!

[Nous Eb 126]

3 hours ago, Manchurian said:

Hi Nous Eb,

 

I'm glad you have it all sorted out! My K1 visa got approved last month and i will be heading to Detroit in about three weeks. 

Can you tell me how it went for you with the CBP when you entered the US? At least i know now i will have to insist that they take the package!

Did you have a hard time to adjust living there?

 

Greetings from mildly sunny Belgium!

 

I'll send you a PM!