Approved K1 visa package stolen from courier truck en route from Consulate to my fiance

[plantexp 1]

Hello,

My fiance and I have been very lucky throughout the K1 visa process. Thanks to the help of many on this site, we have quickly progressed through the different steps. Unfortunately it looks like our luck has exhausted itself at the last leg of the journey before his scheduled departure. Our visa was approved on October 27th at the interview and issued on the 30th. According to the consulate, it should have arrived at his house within ten days of being issued. At this point we went ahead and purchased a plane ticket for 11/18, giving the package ample time to arrive at his house. I scheduled the day off from work, reserved a very nice hotel at his POE, we planned for him to meet my family during Thanksgiving, set a date for our wedding in early December, planned Christmas, and purchased tickets for a trip during winter break to Washington, D.C. and New Year's Eve in NYC. We were calculating the date to receive the EAD and Travel Document, planning our new lives together.

On the 4th of this month, the consulate in Rio de Janeiro provided us we the sedex tracking number for the K1 package that had been sent to my fiance's house. This service is included in the fee paid to the consulate and the package should have arrived in 1 to 3 business days. We tracked the package had left Rio de Janeiro, but it never arrived at its next destination. Marco started calling the postal agency, Correios, to inquire about the package on the 9th and was told that it had not been found, but that it was not lost and to wait five days. With this information he tried numerous times talking with someone at the consulate because the package belongs to the sender until it arrives to Marco. Technically the consulate was supposed to contact the postal agency to inquire about the case. When Marco called, he was provided with an e-mail address that sent auto-responses which did not apply to our situation. After many calls and e-mails with correios, Marco was able to confirm on 11/13 that the package was lost when an entire mail truck was assaulted very early in the morning of the 5th. The armed assailants stole everything from the truck. We were devastated as our hope of it just being misplaced somewhere at a mail facility vanished.

The postal agency was able to provide Marco with the police report of the robbery, which I assume we will need. Marco also had another police report made stating that his passport with K1 package was stolen in that robbery. The postal agency contacted the consulate (they have a post at the consulate) about the situation and gave Marco the phone number of a person to contact at the consulate. Marco called immediately and was informed that the consulate would pay the fees for him to get a new passport and any other fees that he might incur now. The representative was unsure of what would happen next, though, because she said this scenario has never happened before with a K1 visa. She said she would seek information from her superiors and contact him on Monday. I have also contacted my senator to ask for help in this matter. We know he will need a new passport. We are looking at the option of getting an emergency passport, though it is only valid for one year. If he gets a regular passport, it will take at least a month.

Now some questions:

1. Has anyone ever experienced a situation similar to this and what happened?

2. What are the contents of the K1 package that the K1 visa holder gives to the immigration officer at POE? Should both my fiance and I should be worried about identity theft?

3. Can you foresee any problems in the future with the immigration process if he gets an emergency passport that is only valid for a year? Once he is here we would be able to get a new one at a Brazilian consulate.

4. I assume the State Department and USCIS have very well-kept records of our case. Do you think we will have to re-do anything besides the passport? To me a reasonable solution would be for them to make copies of all the documents to replicate the K1 package and put the visa in his new passport. If they can do this rather quickly, I don't think we will have any issues with the limited times frames. However, would it be unreasonable to request the dates on the visa be changed to when it is printed again?

6. I guess we are probably just out of luck with the reservations we have already made as they are non-refundable? I might contact the companies to explain the situation and see if they may be able to help.

We know that eventually Marco will arrive here, but there is a lot of uncertainty as when. We will see what the consulate says tomorrow. This next week was supposed to be an amazing start of a new chapter in our lives, now it will be full of heartache and more paperwork and running around. Hopefully everything will be resolved in time for us to spend the holidays together here in the U.S. Thanks for reading this and we look forward to hearing any advice or information you may have.

All the best,

Jake and Marco

[Jukilalu 9]

I'm so sorry about that... What a mess in our country :/ it's such an unusual case, and I hope so much you don't have to do all over again and all they need to do is re-print your visa in the new passport. The emergency one sounds a good idea if you do qualify for that! Best of luck!

[Pitaya 2,577]

What an unfortunate circumstance. Be patient, yet firm. The consulate should make it right again. Be certain to get and retain any and all documentation of this occurrence. There is not much you can do, but work with the authorities and consulate to get you back on track again. As that I suspect this is a somewhat rare occurrence, your questions, though valid, will likely have to be addressed with the appropriate authorities.

Be sure to report back with your progress.

~Moved from K1 Process to K1 Progress Forum~

[LionessDeon 2,060]

This is just a horrible event. To have your passport and visa out there just floating around anywhere in the hands of criminals is a terrible feeling. Don't know how much advice anyone can give you because as they said it's never happened before. I would imagine that the consulate would prepare another packet and visa. How long that takes no one can advise you on that. I work take the time to get another passport and not bother with an emergency one that only lasts a year. But that's just me.

They always say never book anything until visa is in hand. I have found this immigration journey most difficult because we are not like other couples. We cannot plan any future events because everything hinges on that visa in hand. Everyday people ask me questions about our plans.....we have none....only dreams.

I'm so so sorry you've had this terrible event. I hope this resolve quickly. I'll keep you in my prayers.

[fabalis1 5]

I've been following your timeline as you guys applied shortly before my fiance and I, and I used it to get an idea as to when out application would progress to each step. I'm so sorry to hear about this unfortunate turn of events. I hoping the Consulate can get it corrected for you, and it sounds like they will. My fiance goes for his interview tomorrow, so I know first-hand how anxiety ridden this process can be. Please keep us updated as we're all interested how this is going to turn out. Here's to hoping this will get resolved shortly and you will be with your love for the holidays.

[FabtheFab 67]

God, I'm really sorry.

I got interviewed on November 6, but luckily my passaport arrived.

In which state is Marco in?

Depending on which state, he might get a normal passport in around 7-9 days.

Edited November 18, 2015 by FabtheFab

[Darnell 8,478]

2. The entire contents of the casefile. All stuff submitted into uscis, all visa forms, your i-134 doc with tax docs, his passport, his medical exam stuff.

4. Uscis did a scan of stuff after i-129f approval. The iv unit can see it because nvc scanned it again into the SAFEFILE system. Supposedly, the iv unit can regenerste the file but he'll need a new passport.

.....

What to do now? Get a new passport, ask the iv unit to regenerate the casefile, ask iv unit for appointment to drop off the passport.

Go get em, and good luck!