Overseas- need to recreate lost IV Packet

[JR_CG 8]

42 minutes ago, Family said:

At time of N-400 application and from here on 😂..please present your story in shortcut “ Here is her I-551 proof of status” “ they have not sent produced card yet, some internal delay , Congressman helping out” 

 

And clarify to Congressional Liason that you expect them to get the Embassy/DOS to talk directly to card production unit who sent you email.

 

Apply online for N-400 , you will get case number , after that  ask military helpline to “ check” on and make sure it moves along

 

 

You sound pretty confident about the N-400 so I will go that route as, if successful, it would solve multiple problems at once. 
 

I don’t have family in the states where she can go to ride this out so we will cross our fingers with the N-400 and hope that we aren’t throwing the application fees down the drain. 
 

I appreciate everybody replying. It boggles my mind that the consulate here can’t just spend ten minutes on the phone with me to talk through the situation. My boss has weekly meetings with ambassador so I will bring this situation to him tomorrow (Sunday is the first day of the work week in Saudi) and maybe that will help me get a phone call with the consulate. I hate that it would have to come to that though. 

[JR_CG 8]

8 hours ago, Lil bear said:

There isn’t a packet to be recreated because there never was one. When we entered in 2016 , we carried the “sealed yellow envelope” that contained all the original documentation   It was sent to us when our passports were mailed to us  after the consulate printed the IV foil in them. 
Your wife’s case was fully electronically  recorded. There is no physical packet. Never was. Never needs to be  You were never supposed to get one , all the documentation was online and visible to the CBP officer at POE .. otherwise he couldn’t have processed her into n the US on her visa. 
That’s the “ easy part”. That’s why the consulate says they cant recreate it … its all electronic and should be on the system. They didn’t create it .. It was complete in the CEAC system at the NVC 
I am not sure how to move forward .. Hopefully someone else will chime in .. but i think filling the I90 may ? be a way of getting the system to recognise there is an issue. Maybe. 

 

Do you have e copies of all the documents you uploaded to CEAC? Put them together into zip file and contact your congressional reps again. Start the official request again and send them the efiles. While you can reproduce the paperwork, that’s not recreating the file. The A - file needs to be found / restored/ remade at the NVC CEAC level where it originated..

Now that Congress is past the election,  maybe the representatives will start working again. Make lots of noise often 
 

I do have copies of everything we submitted to the embassy, the I-130, 864, 485 just aren’t stamped at the top. I also recall that they may have been stamping the copies of the birth certificate and such as verified and giving us back the originals. 
That is a good idea to send it to my congresswoman. I would also hate for 20 Jan to roll around and then timelines move even more slowly as the agencies adjust to whatever comes.

[Lil bear 4,229]

15 minutes ago, JR_CG said:

I do have copies of everything we submitted to the embassy, the I-130, 864, 485 just aren’t stamped at the top. I also recall that they may have been stamping the copies of the birth certificate and such as verified and giving us back the originals. 
That is a good idea to send it to my congresswoman. I would also hate for 20 Jan to roll around and then timelines move even more slowly as the agencies adjust to whatever comes.

Your comment about the copies not being stamped highlights the futility of any one other than the file creator.. ie NVC CEAC USCIS … fixing the “lost file” mess.  You and the consulate have no way of proving or ensuring the documents you have or present are actually the same as the ones on the file. You’re  probably getting the run around from the Consulate because, rightly so, it’s not theirs to fix. It needs to go quite a few pay grade  levels above where its stuck now at USCIS.  
 

I agree with filing the N400. Many people do so successfully with lost GC and you have all the documentation needed now (temporary I551) 

You might think about the better of two fall back plans if you do need to get an ADIT stamp…  if this remains unresolved and close to the 12 months mark .. a trip to the USCIS office in the neighbouring country or a quick trip back to the US to get the stamp there. Neither easy nor cheap but may be needed. Better to think ahead now than ignore the possibility 

 

and in times like this, unfortunately, it’s not what you know that matters.. it’s who you know. 
 

stay in touch .. We are all eager  to know how you go with this mess and will celebrate when you get through the system 

 

 

[JR_CG 8]

Her N-400 has just been submitted! Will let you all know how it plays out 🤞🏻

[Family 4,013]

12 hours ago, JR_CG said:

You sound pretty confident about the N-400 so I will go that route as, if successful, it would solve multiple problems at once. 
 

I don’t have family in the states where she can go to ride this out so we will cross our fingers with the N-400 and hope that we aren’t throwing the application fees down the drain. 
 

I appreciate everybody replying. It boggles my mind that the consulate here can’t just spend ten minutes on the phone with me to talk through the situation. My boss has weekly meetings with ambassador so I will bring this situation to him tomorrow (Sunday is the first day of the work week in Saudi) and maybe that will help me get a phone call with the consulate. I hate that it would have to come to that though. 

Am impressed, you are a man of action. Good call. Those N-400 fees will get ‘eyes” on the case, especially the those dedicated to our military. 
 

You can also respond directly to that card production email and send them …

1. Copy of your unstamped docs /forms

2. Copy of your email to consulate for assistance/re upload

3. Copy of email to or from Congressman 

And now get her prints done , at embassy ,see link . You rock ! 

 

https://www.state.gov/global-community-liaison-office/naturalization-of-foreign-born-spouses/ink-fingerprinting-overseas-for-naturalization/
Who to Contact at Post

The Regional Security Office at post normally handles fingerprinting. Send the completed fingerprint cards to USCIS’s National Benefits Center after you have submitted the N400 application and confirmed receipt by USCIS.

Electronic biometrics may be possible at posts with a UCSIS International Immigration Office.

Tips for a Successful Ink Fingerprint

Visit the FBI’s website for the Recording Legible Fingerprints. Read and follow the FBI’s Guidelines for Preparation of Fingerprint Cards and Associated Criminal History Informationand the additional suggestions below:

• USCIS will only accept prints done at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad. Prints done on the local economy will not be accepted.
• The accepted U.S. government form is called the FD-258. Do not use a foreign fingerprint card. USCIS will not accept prints taken on a foreign document.
• Take two complete sets of prints in case one card is unreadable. Rejected fingerprints can cause delays of several weeks to several months.
• The ORI block must be blank. If it is not blank, white it out.
• The A-number should be annotated in the box YOUR NO. OCA (below the CITIZENSHIP box).
• Don’t leave any blanks (enter “N/A” or “none” as needed).
• Be sure the applicant and the official taking the prints sign the application form in the appropriate locations.
• Be sure to request that the person who takes the fingerprints places the FD-258 cards in an envelope and that the embassy seal (a small round ink stamp) is on the flap of the sealed envelope.
• Send the completed cards (in the sealed envelope), to USCIS’s National Benefits Center after you have submitted the N400 application and confirmed receipt by USCIS.

 

[JR_CG 8]

16 hours ago, Family said:

Am impressed, you are a man of action. Good call. Those N-400 fees will get ‘eyes” on the case, especially the those dedicated to our military. 
 

You can also respond directly to that card production email and send them …

1. Copy of your unstamped docs /forms

2. Copy of your email to consulate for assistance/re upload

3. Copy of email to or from Congressman 

And now get her prints done , at embassy ,see link . You rock ! 

 

 

https://www.state.gov/global-community-liaison-office/naturalization-of-foreign-born-spouses/ink-fingerprinting-overseas-for-naturalization/
Who to Contact at Post

The Regional Security Office at post normally handles fingerprinting. Send the completed fingerprint cards to USCIS’s National Benefits Center after you have submitted the N400 application and confirmed receipt by USCIS.

Electronic biometrics may be possible at posts with a UCSIS International Immigration Office.

Tips for a Successful Ink Fingerprint

Visit the FBI’s website for the Recording Legible Fingerprints. Read and follow the FBI’s Guidelines for Preparation of Fingerprint Cards and Associated Criminal History Informationand the additional suggestions below:

• USCIS will only accept prints done at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad. Prints done on the local economy will not be accepted.
• The accepted U.S. government form is called the FD-258. Do not use a foreign fingerprint card. USCIS will not accept prints taken on a foreign document.
• Take two complete sets of prints in case one card is unreadable. Rejected fingerprints can cause delays of several weeks to several months.
• The ORI block must be blank. If it is not blank, white it out.
• The A-number should be annotated in the box YOUR NO. OCA (below the CITIZENSHIP box).
• Don’t leave any blanks (enter “N/A” or “none” as needed).
• Be sure the applicant and the official taking the prints sign the application form in the appropriate locations.
• Be sure to request that the person who takes the fingerprints places the FD-258 cards in an envelope and that the embassy seal (a small round ink stamp) is on the flap of the sealed envelope.
• Send the completed cards (in the sealed envelope), to USCIS’s National Benefits Center after you have submitted the N400 application and confirmed receipt by USCIS.

 

Through her USCIS account we received Notice of Receipt of the N-400 application and part of that notice says that the notice itself automatically extends the I-551 24 months past its expiration date, so hopefully that also works for the temporary I-551 in the passport. 
Following your link to the state dept, they have a lot of helpful information that I haven’t seen before, including a statement that the N-400 can be submitted using the passport temporary I-551, and they recommend using the Washington DC office as they are used to processing expeditious N-400s and are next to a passport facility. I had selected the San Antonio USCIS facility because I think it is likely that we are stationed at Fort Cavazos, Texas next. Not sure if the selection can be changed now, but we will see. 
I will call the Riyadh Embassy RSO tomorrow for fingerprints, or we can possibly drive to Doha’s USCIS office and do the biometrics digitally and maybe be able to give them the documents for the visa packet at the same time. 

[Family 4,013]

9 hours ago, JR_CG said:

and they recommend using the Washington DC office as they are used to processing expeditious N-400s and are next to a passport facility. I had selected the San Antonio USCIS facility because I think it is likely that we are stationed at Fort Cavazos, Texas next. Not sure if the selection can be changed now

Write up a short letter, have wife sign it and upload it as pdf . 
 

Supplemental Filing and Request to Amend/Correct N-400 

‘Case #, A#, Wife’s Name

 

Dear Officer, 

‘This is a formal request to amend above referenced N-400 Application as follows:

‘Page x, Part y, Item x should be changed from Tx to Washington.

 

Kindly note this change is requested in accordance with USCIS  ( see attached, print the relevant section where you read it ) recommended instructions.