K-1 petition returned to USCIS after receiving approval

[sailorgal 33]

On March 24, 2015 my fiance sent in our K-1 visa petition to the Dallas Lockbox. On 31st of March he received a text and an email from USCIS that they have received our case and the email stated that 'Within 7-10 days by standard mail you will receive your official Receipt Notice (Form I-797) with your Receipt Number WACXXXXXXXXXX'. We waited for almost a month thinking it's post and delays happen and meanwhile we couldn't track our case online either (but we never received that mail). After tracking the status online, the status window would just display a message telling us to contact USCIS over their helpline. Trying to get in touch with a USCIS live person across the line was just another story but my fiance fixed whatever was needed to be fixed and by 24 April, 2015 we had our case approved by the USCIS and upon tracking the window clearly showed the case has been approved. Within days my fiance received the approval notice and now we were relaxed about NVC processing it cause I've heard they do it faster than the USCIS. Every thing was okay until I casually checked the case status online today morning (14 May, 2015) and was shocked to find this in the status update window -

MY DOCUMENT WAS RETURNED TO USCIS
On May 11, 2015, the Post Office returned your document to us. We will hold your document for 180 days or until November 7, 2015. Please go to www.uscis.gov/e-request to request that we resend the document to you. If you do not submit an online request by November 7, 2015, we will destroy your document and you will need to file a new Form I-129F, Petition for Fiance(E), with fee. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.

Could anybody please tell me

• what's going on?
• what could be the possible reason for sending documents back to USCIS after approval? ( I don't think any documents in our petition are missing, we double-triple checked it all, or there was lack of evidence, we sent in so much evidence sometimes I'd joke to my fiance that it was too much)
• how to fix this?
• should we recall the documents?
• is my visa denied?
• how will this set-back affect the process? could it jeopardize my interview or visa?
• how long would it take to get the case back on track?
• should we get an attorney?
• what kind of delays am I looking at? 9 months to a year? O lord :/

Please help us out here and share with us anything any information ya'll can, any similar experiences and how yall managed to fix it shall be really helpful. I don't want this thing to get screwed up I can't wait to be with my fiance anymore.

Thanks! Vielen Dank.

[TabeaK 516]

This means they were not able to deliver the NOA-2 by mail. Call them to figure out why - most likely and address issue.

You shouldn't experience delays.

Also, please fix your timeline. With a WAC case number you were at California Service Center (CSC) not Texas Service Center (TSC), which gives oout SRC numbers and takes 8 months just to get to NOA-2.

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

Make the e request and follow up with a service request by phone.

Sometimes it's a fluke.

Is your name on your mailbox ?

[sailorgal 33]

Hei thanks for the information and I fixed my timeline, new to this so I don't know too much (NOA-1 NOA-2 still confuse me!). My fiance would contact them when tomorrow morning and hopefully everything be resolved *fingers crossed* Hate delays and set-backs.

Good luck to you on your case

[sailorgal 33]

@Ebunoluwa I'm going to have to ask my fiance about that one. I think his name has been misspelled on his mailbox or might be missing altogther cause the approval notice that was mailed to him was going to somebody else but the land lady thankfully noticed and took the mail and saved it for my fiance.

[sailorgal 33]

On March 24, 2015 my fiance sent in our K-1 visa petition to the Dallas Lockbox. On 31st of March he received a text and an email from USCIS that they have received our case and the email stated that 'Within 7-10 days by standard mail you will receive your official Receipt Notice (Form I-797) with your Receipt Number WACXXXXXXXXXX'. We waited for almost a month thinking it's post and delays happen and meanwhile we couldn't track our case online either (but we never received that mail). After tracking the status online, the status window would just display a message telling us to contact USCIS over their helpline. Trying to get in touch with a USCIS live person across the line was just another story but my fiance fixed whatever was needed to be fixed and by 24 April, 2015 we had our case approved by the USCIS and upon tracking the window clearly showed the case has been approved. Within days my fiance received the approval notice and now we were relaxed about NVC processing it cause I've heard they do it faster than the USCIS. Every thing was okay until I casually checked the case status online today morning (14 May, 2015) and was shocked to find this in the status update window -

MY DOCUMENT WAS RETURNED TO USCIS

On May 11, 2015, the Post Office returned your document to us. We will hold your document for 180 days or until November 7, 2015. Please go to www.uscis.gov/e-request to request that we resend the document to you. If you do not submit an online request by November 7, 2015, we will destroy your document and you will need to file a new Form I-129F, Petition for Fiance(E), with fee. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.

Could anybody please tell me

• what's going on?
• what could be the possible reason for sending documents back to USCIS after approval? ( I don't think any documents in our petition are missing, we double-triple checked it all, or there was lack of evidence, we sent in so much evidence sometimes I'd joke to my fiance that it was too much)
• how to fix this?
• should we recall the documents?
• is my visa denied?
• how will this set-back affect the process? could it jeopardize my interview or visa?
• how long would it take to get the case back on track?
• should we get an attorney?
• what kind of delays am I looking at? 9 months to a year? O lord :/

Please help us out here and share with us anything any information ya'll can, any similar experiences and how yall managed to fix it shall be really helpful. I don't want this thing to get screwed up I can't wait to be with my fiance anymore.

Thanks! Vielen Dank.

Okay so does this just mean that the post office sent USCIS back one piece of document (that could be the our the NVC approval letter) because of some address problem and not the entire petition (that I thought NVC sent back to the USCIS and the USCIS is going to send my fiance cause of my major problem that needs to be corrected)?

[TabeaK 516]

It is your NOA-2 which you need later in the process. Go and get it.

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

Okay so does this just mean that the post office sent USCIS back one piece of document (that could be the our the NVC approval letter) because of some address problem and not the entire petition (that I thought NVC sent back to the USCIS and the USCIS is going to send my fiance cause of my major problem that needs to be corrected)?

What major problem that needs to be corrected ?

Reads like the NOA2 to me or RFE.

[sailorgal 33]

It is your NOA-2 which you need later in the process. Go and get it.

Got it! ach pretty relieved now.

Just tell the difference between NOA1 and NOA2 could you? Every website has a different definition and it's so confusing.

[sailorgal 33]

What major problem that needs to be corrected ?

Reads like the NOA2 to me or RFE.

Yea seems like NOA2 to me as well. I think I just freaked out of this universe bad on seeing that status update on our case and now I know it's not anything major just an address issue and a mailbox my fiance needs to fix

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

Got it! ach pretty relieved now.

Just tell the difference between NOA1 and NOA2 could you? Every website has a different definition and it's so confusing.

http://www.visajourney.com/content/us-immigration-abbreviations

The "NOA" is internet-speak for the I-797 "Notice of Action" -- with "NOA1" being the receipt and "NOA2" being the notice of approval. [Please note that there is the possibility of other I-797's being generated prior to approval notices].

[sailorgal 33]

Yea the letter could be the NOA1 or receipt that says USCIS has received our case cause we got an email and text acknowledging that they have received our case and we were given the receipt number in email and text but we never received the official receipt via post. We did receive the NOA2, the Approval notice, from USCIS sometime last week so it could be the NOA1. We'll find out once we get it.

[aishabi 0]

On March 24, 2015 my fiance sent in our K-1 visa petition to the Dallas Lockbox. On 31st of March he received a text and an email from USCIS that they have received our case and the email stated that 'Within 7-10 days by standard mail you will receive your official Receipt Notice (Form I-797) with your Receipt Number WACXXXXXXXXXX'. We waited for almost a month thinking it's post and delays happen and meanwhile we couldn't track our case online either (but we never received that mail). After tracking the status online, the status window would just display a message telling us to contact USCIS over their helpline. Trying to get in touch with a USCIS live person across the line was just another story but my fiance fixed whatever was needed to be fixed and by 24 April, 2015 we had our case approved by the USCIS and upon tracking the window clearly showed the case has been approved. Within days my fiance received the approval notice and now we were relaxed about NVC processing it cause I've heard they do it faster than the USCIS. Every thing was okay until I casually checked the case status online today morning (14 May, 2015) and was shocked to find this in the status update window -

MY DOCUMENT WAS RETURNED TO USCIS

On May 11, 2015, the Post Office returned your document to us. We will hold your document for 180 days or until November 7, 2015. Please go to www.uscis.gov/e-request to request that we resend the document to you. If you do not submit an online request by November 7, 2015, we will destroy your document and you will need to file a new Form I-129F, Petition for Fiance(E), with fee. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.

Could anybody please tell me

• what's going on?
• what could be the possible reason for sending documents back to USCIS after approval? ( I don't think any documents in our petition are missing, we double-triple checked it all, or there was lack of evidence, we sent in so much evidence sometimes I'd joke to my fiance that it was too much)
• how to fix this?
• should we recall the documents?
• is my visa denied?
• how will this set-back affect the process? could it jeopardize my interview or visa?
• how long would it take to get the case back on track?
• should we get an attorney?
• what kind of delays am I looking at? 9 months to a year? O lord :/

Please help us out here and share with us anything any information ya'll can, any similar experiences and how yall managed to fix it shall be really helpful. I don't want this thing to get screwed up I can't wait to be with my fiance anymore.

Thanks! Vielen Dank.

hey I have been thtough the same situation when I needed to recieve the NOA1, and recived the same online status as you

It happend becuase your name might not be registered on your mailbox..

Please check with your postal office..

I had to register it on my name, and then after a month and half my paperwork started to arrive on time.

[SantyAndAllie 155]

Got it! ach pretty relieved now.

Just tell the difference between NOA1 and NOA2 could you? Every website has a different definition and it's so confusing.

Both are receipt notices (notification of acceptance). Think of it this way: NOA1 is the acceptance of your application by USCIS, while NOA2 is the actual approval of your application by USCIS.

Edited May 15, 2015 by SantyAndAllie

[sailorgal 33]

hey I have been thtough the same situation when I needed to recieve the NOA1, and recived the same online status as you

It happend becuase your name might not be registered on your mailbox..

Please check with your postal office..

I had to register it on my name, and then after a month and half my paperwork started to arrive on time.

O yes it's the mailbox. My fiance just moved to Florida like a month back and we started this visa process. May be he missed out on getting the mailbox formalities done so he did not receive whatever was sent to him this time.

He called the USCIS helpline yesterday and they opened up an inquiry for us to know the contents of the letter that was mailed to him. They've asked us to wait another 15 days and for an answer to the inquiry and then my fiance would apply for the e-request to resend the mail. I hope that won't delay the process