Notice of Action? I-797C

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

Does the USCIS still mail out the Notice of Action (I-797C) document? I expected to see this in the mail by now.

[Randy W]

Does the USCIS still mail out the Notice of Action (I-797C) document? I expected to see this in the mail by now.

 

 

You will need to submit a copy of that fiance petition approval Notice when you/her apply to adjust status. If I remember correctly, it's very expensive to get a duplicate.

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

 

Does the USCIS still mail out the Notice of Action (I-797C) document? I expected to see this in the mail by now.

 

 

You will need to submit a copy of that fiance petition approval Notice when you/her apply to adjust status. If I remember correctly, it's very expensive to get a duplicate.

 

 

Yes, previously K1 applicants were all mailed a copy of the I-797C after the petition was approved. I know they changed the form from official paper, to a cheap look on bond paper, but I wasn't sure whether they just don't mail it at all anymore. I've been waiting to see it in the mail and it's been nearly ten days since the case was approved. I guess I need to call the USCIS to find out what's up.

Edited May 16, 2014 by ExChinaExpat (see edit history)

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

Finally, after enduring the arrogant behavior of USCIS telephone call hangups and deliberate misrepresentation of my written and verbal questions as to just where in the "F" the copy of my I-797 Notice of Action approval notice was, I received a reply just now. Note, that I was only able to get movement on this after getting help from Senator Ted Cruz's office. If I had not received this assistance, the only other option was to complete a form and behave as if I had lost the damned thing. Additionally, the fee for filing that form is several hundred dollars:

 

 

 

The status of this service request is:

We have received your service request and researched the status of your case. Our records indicate that on 05/01/2014, we mailed you an approval notice to the address on file at the time. You recently called to inform us that you have not received the notice. We have requested that a duplicate notice be re-mailed to the address you provided at the time of this request. Please allow up to 30 days for delivery.

Please be sure that you are registered to receive mail at the address listed. Your name must be currently on the mailbox. Keep the U.S. Postal Service informed as to whom resides at your address, especially when people with different last names receive mail at a specified address. If you change your address in the future, please contact customer service at the number below.

 

The USCIS and other immigration departments never provided good customer service. But, it's my opinion that todays immigration staff has become increasingly adversarial and hostile toward applicants and beneficiaries.

[dnoblett]

The part of being registered to receive mail is valid, if you have a forwarding order to have mail forwarded to a new address usually results in these letters getting returned to USCIS instead of being forwarded, they usually mark the letter "Return Service Requested"

 

Yes, the cost of replacing a "lost" NOA-2 letter is $405 for filing an I-824 http://www.uscis.gov/i-824

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

For the record, I notified the USCIS of my change of address several weeks before NOA2 and received a letter at my new address confirming the address change. I signed up with the original application to receive electronic updates whenever status changed. However, for my petition the status did NOT change on May 1. I did not receive electronic notification and was also obsessed with checking my case status every single day and several times a day. The status DID not change on May 1. The status did however change on May 8, when I received the following email:

 

Because my previous address is a friend's home, I am quite sure that a notice was NOT mailed there. I am also quite sure a notice was not mailed to my home. The action of approval was simply bypassed for my petition and the NOA2 printing was not executed. Just a magic notice on May 8 that my previously approved petition was shipped off to the NVC. The hell you say USCIS.

 

 

 

Your Case Status: Post Decision Activity

On May 8, 2014, we shipped this approved or re-affirmed case to the Department of State for visa processing. For more information, please contact them directly.

For approved applications/petitions, post-decision activity may include USCIS sending notification of the approved application/petition to the National Visa Center or the Department of State. For denied applications/petitions, post-decision activity may include the processing of an appeal and/or motions to reopen or reconsider and revocations.

Edited June 18, 2014 by ExChinaExpat (see edit history)

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

Yesterday, I had a couple of long telephone calls with my Senator's immigration staff regarding the missing NOA2 on my case. She contacted the Senate Liaison officer at the USCIS who confirmed to her that the USCIS is receiving thousands of fraudulent attempts to adjust status by illegal aliens. My senate immigration staffer also confirmed with the officer that all that is needed to adjust status is the case SRC number, which can be cross-checked to confirm the case.

 

Still, she continued to follow up to get the NOA2 sent to my home as there has been a great deal of confusion regarding my change of address and subsequent approval for K1 that according to the USCIS happened on May 1, 2014. Our case was then sent to the NVC and processed on May 8, and then sent off to the GZ consulate on May 16. We've been waiting for our P3 since then and so far no P3.

 

Now, the case is in sort of what appears as a cluster 'F' back at the USCIS level. My senator's immigration staffer tried to assure me yesterday on the phone to ignore this part of the processing as my case is already at the consulate. Still, it's just weird:

 

P-2.5

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Address Change

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Email from USCIS

 

Type of service requested: -- Non-Delivery of Approval Notice

The status of this service request is:

We have received your service request and researched the status of your case. Our records indicate that on 05/01/2014, we mailed you an approval notice to the address on file at the time. You recently called to inform us that you have not received the notice. We have requested that a duplicate notice be re-mailed to the address you provided at the time of this request. Please allow up to 30 days for delivery.

Please be sure that you are registered to receive mail at the address listed. Your name must be currently on the mailbox. Keep the U.S. Postal Service informed as to whom resides at your address, especially when people with different last names receive mail at a specified address. If you change your address in the future, please contact customer service at the number below.

Later in the day, two more emails, and two more status changes at the USCIS website:

USCIS Status Change 1

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My USCIS status changed twice yesterday, from Post Decision Activity, to initial review, and backward again to this setting of Acceptance.

USCIS Status Change 2

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Edited June 19, 2014 by ExChinaExpat (see edit history)

[Randy W]

http://i57.tinypic.com/3524u9d.jpg

 

 

I can't remember anyone else who's gotten a duplicate notice mailed out like that. Good job, Jesse.

 

That $405 fee is ridiculously exorbitant and the hoops they made you jump through are likewise way over the top.

 

My guess is that the "backwards" settings simply reflect the activity that went on to process the duplicate notice. It may very well remain at that "Acceptance" state, since there is no further action needed on the part of the USCIS.

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

 

http://i57.tinypic.com/3524u9d.jpg

 

 

I can't remember anyone else who's gotten a duplicate notice mailed out like that. Good job, Jesse.

 

That $405 fee is ridiculously exorbitant and the hoops they made you jump through are likewise way over the top.

 

My guess is that the "backwards" settings simply reflect the activity that went on to process the duplicate notice. It may very well remain at that "Acceptance" state, since there is no further action needed on the part of the USCIS.

 

 

 

The entire immigration process has gotten out of control and is being managed and processed by an increasing group of incompetent and unskilled people. We all know that dealing with immigration was never easy, but I have to say this time around I have noticed a marked deterioration from front to back.

 

Maybe it's a sign of the times in that it's much easier in my view to order something online and have it delivered to my home as opposed to dealing with a human being in store or showroom. It removes the verbal component, allows for a secure tunnel of communication and protection, and it's documented when, who, what when and where. No more cases of the salesman told me this or that, and that is a good thing in most cases.

 

It does however add a layer of blind trust to both the customer and the vendor. The customer expects to get what is promised as the vendor sits back with full expectation that the computer application will keep things secure and processed properly. For this reason, more vendors are hiring lazy idiots, devoid of problem solving skills, who were rejected from burger flipping jobs.

 

For example, when I realized I had not received my NOA2 I contacted the USCIS immediately. I spoke to a tier 1 agent, copied their name and agent number, and date of the call. Incidentally, many of them don't like it when you do that. The call kinda goes like this:

 

USCIS: "Hello, my name is NotHelpful, agent number, 123456, who am I speaking with today?"

Customer: "Hello. Would you please repeat your name and agent number for me?"

USCIS: "[exhasperated sigh] HotHelpful, agent number 123456, who am I speaking with today?"

Customer: "I am customer, case number SRC123456"

USCIS: "I see your case has been approved and sent to the NVC. We have no further jurisdiction on this case. You need to contact the NVC for further information. Is there anything I can help you with today?"

Customer: "I'm calling because I did not receive the I-797 Notice of Action that indicates the approval of my petition"

USCIS: "Sir, you need to allow 30-days for it to arrive. There is nothing I can do for 30-days."

Customer: "Can you please make a note of this call in your file to ensure the 30-day clock starts"

USCIS: "Sir, you need to just wait the 30-days and call back after that time"

Customer: "I see. Okay, thank you"

USCIS: "Goodbye"

 

 

I called back immediately and requested a tier 2 officer. After several minutes of discussion I was finally connected to a tier 2 officer:

 

Tier 2: "How may I help you?"

Customer: "I repeat how I have not received the NOA-2"

Tier 2: "Your case has been sent to the NVC, there is nothing more we can do here"

Customer: "I need a copy of the NOA-2. Can you create an incident report to initiate an investigation?"

Tier 2: "Okay sir. I will initiate a report. Please copy this incident number"

Customer: "Thank you, bye"

 

A few days later, I received the following email:

 

The status of this service request is:

 

We have received your request for expeditious processing. Your service inquiry does not meet the expedite requirements. This process is reserved for applicants experiencing an extreme emergent need for the case to be expeditiously processed. This service only applies to the adjudication process. This service does not extend to scheduling appointments or expedite mailing of decisions, notices, or documents.

 

However, we have researched the status of your case. Your file was forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC) on 05/08/2014. Please allow 30 days for the NVC to receive your file. You can direct future inquiries to the NVC via any of the following methods:

 

Mail:

National Visa Center

Attn: WC

32 Rochester Avenue, Suite 200

Portsmouth, NH 03801-2915

 

Phone: 603-334-0700

E-mail: NVCInquiry@state.gov

 

If the NVC cannot confirm receipt after 30 days, please contact customer service. We apologize for any inconvenience.

 

As you can see, the email had nothing at all to do with my request. So, I had to call the USCIS back and explain again what happened and what I needed. My next two telephone calls to the USCIS went quickly downhill. Again, I spoke to an agent and requested a tier 2 officer because they had access rights on the computer that enabled them to see more detail that would assist resolution. I was connected to a tier 2 and it went something like this:

 

Customer: I call the USCIS and reach an agent. After a short conversation I am connected to a tier 2 line and receive a recording that states everyone is busy assisting other customers. I can hang up and call back or leave a voice message with contact information and the officer would call me back when they are available. The message assures you that you will not lose your place in line by selecting this option.

 

USCIS Calls back: Hello, I am officer I-CudGiv-An-F, number 987654, what is your name?"

 

My cell phone rings while I'm at work so I answer and make my way to a private area outside

 

Customer: I pronounce my first name and spell it, and then pronounce my second name and spell it:

USCIS: "Sir, that is not what I asked you. Please tell me your name"

Customer: [perplexed] I again pronounce and spell my first name and pronounce and spell my last name:

USCIS: Now, she's angry with me, and says: Sir, this is the last time I'm going to ask you. Just say your name. Do NOT spell your name.

Customer: I'm sorry miss. I was just trying to help you.

USCIS: Sir, this is your last chance to say your name. If you do not say your name I will terminate this call.

Customer: Okay, my name is: I say my name

USCIS: Hangs up the phone

 

I then called the USCIS back again and got nowhere and at that point contacted my Senate office again to request their assistance. They have proven indispensable in this process as they can bypass the burger flipper rejects with the chips on their shoulder and speak to someone who actually has a partially functioning elevator.