K1 Visa holder: lost my sealed envelope. What's next?

[tnachar3 0]

Hello,

I am a K1 visa holder who just recently travelled to the US to be with my fiancee. At the port of entry, I realized that I was missing my sealed envelope, so I was granted entry with parole with a deferred inspection scheduled for September with the hopes that I would find the envelope. Unfortunately, I cannot find my documentation anywhere and I'm worried about what might happen later.

Has anyone experienced this before and can give me insight on what could possibly happen after my inspection date? is this a serious issue?

Will I be deported from the country?

Will I be requested to redo the whole Visa application process?

Can I apply for a SSN while I'm on parole? Can I work at all?

We got our marriage license this week. Will this help support my case at all?

Thank you so much. I appreciate any input I can get regarding this matter.

Taha

[Darnell 8,478]

so, it not travel with you.

did your friends and family look for it back in Saudi Arabia? yes? no? if no, why no?

[tnachar3 0]

No it didn't travel with me. And I asked my friends and family to help me look for it back home, but no one has found it!

[HeandI 48]

Sorry to hear this. Could you contact the emabssy and try to get a copy. Maybe u will have to get in contact where you did your medical too so they send a copy of ur file to the embassy??

[milimelo 4,167]

Embassy won't have a copy - all originals are put in the sealed envelope which the beneficiary lost. No idea how USCIS will handle this - their field now as she has to apply for AOS with that.

Worst case scenario she'll have to do AOS plus I-130 and everything else that comes with it like adjusting from non-K visa.

[tnachar3 0]

Thank you for your reply, thats gives me some relief. So once we have the marriage license, we can get started on the I-130 application and AOS? Also can I apply for SSN and work authorization if Im on parole? thank you!!

[Pinkrlion 2,607]

Strange. We kept that envelope attached at the hip everywhere we went, and slept. It was never out of sight. Double, triple checked for it in car, at airport, on plane... Surprised you werent turned away at the airport.

Anywho...I am not sure as envelope is all your original/copies documents, including your medical, and police certificates. I would email your embassy to inquire.

[tarzan31 27]

No it didn't travel with me. And I asked my friends and family to help me look for it back home, but no one has found it

Did you attempt to contact the lost and found at the airport you flew from originally ??? Did you take public transportation to the airport? If so, contact them. You had to have set it down someplace during your travels. Can you recall having it in hand as you left home ??

[jan22 2,897]

Thank you for your reply, thats gives me some relief. So once we have the marriage license, we can get started on the I-130 application and AOS? Also can I apply for SSN and work authorization if Im on parole? thank you!!

You need to be in a valid status before you can apply for adjustment of status. Right now, you have no immigration status in the US -- they paroled you in pending submission of required paperwork, which gives you the legal okay to be in the US right now but they deferred your inspection, i.e., they deferred the decision as to whether you qualify to enter the US with your visa. You can still get married -- anyone can get married in the US, no matter what their status (or lack of it). But, getting married doesn't mean you will qualify for adjustment of status, work authorization, or anything else for which you need to be in K-1 status.

I would contact the Embassy ASAP, to see if they can recreate the package for you (sometimes immigration will accept copies of the documents if they come from State Department records) or if you can resubmit all of the original documents to have a new one created. You need to contact them as soon as possible so you have time to do whatever they say before your deferred inspection.

I would also contact immigration and ask if they have considered my K-1 visa to have been used (i.e., I have used up the one entry on it) -- technically, since they deferred your inspection you have not "entered" the US. If the K-1 would still be valid for you to use, you might consider returning home if that would make it easier to re-create the package.

Finally, I would also ask immigration whether if I get married what official status they would/could grant me at the time of the deferred inspection if I submit the missing papers -- technically, they couldn't at that point grant me K-1 status, as I already would be married. Or, do they go by the status at the time I applied for entry to the US vs my current status. If they aren't able to grant a legal status for the entry, you can't even start the whole process all over again with your then husband filing a new I-130 for a spousal visa since you would have no legal status on which you could base your adjustment of status.

This may be a case where a quick consult with an immigration attorney would be a good idea.

Edited July 5, 2015 by jan22

[jan22 2,897]

Forgot to put this in my previous post -- because your deferred inspection was to give you time to get the required paperwork to submit, I would also ask immigration what would happen if I am unable to submit it.

[baron555 934]

Thank you for your reply, thats gives me some relief. So once we have the marriage license, we can get started on the I-130 application and AOS?

Yes, you still must marry within 90 days of entry.

Also can I apply for SSN

You can do that at any time.

and work authorization if Im on parole?

No, if the AOS is interrupted because of the missing documents, then the EAD and the AP are also on hold.

thank you!!

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

A couple years ago there was someone whose bag containing their sealed envelope was stolen at the airport. They were also admitted as deterred inspection. It was a huge nightmare and hassle, but they did finally manage to get admitted to the US as a K-1 visa entrant. Here is the post > http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/439414-emergency-advice-stolen-bag-at-airport-with-visa-packet/page-4

Edited July 6, 2015 by KayDeeCee

[jan22 2,897]

I disagree completely, baron555. She has no status at the moment, so can't file for a SSN, AOS, EAD, or anything else. The important thing that she needs to be focused on right now is getting new documents to submit at the deferred inspection. Once she does that, she will be admitted into the US and the 90 days will start Since she has not been admitted in K-1 status, the 90 days has not started. Getting married now, instead of gathering the documents needed, will only further complicate the issue and will likely make her ineligible to be admitted as a K-1 at the deferred inspection.

Great link to a previous post, KayDeeCee -- shows someone else's exact experience and what they had to do to resolve it...which was doing their best to recreate the missing packet and submitting the documents at the deferred inspection.

Edited July 6, 2015 by jan22

[baron555 934]

Yes you're right, since the documents weren't received at entry, then there was nothing USCIS could enter into their system showing her arrival which would reflect in SSA's computers. So no SSN possible.

Yes follow the link provided.