Return of original documents submitted during Visa interview

[zmaynard 0]

Apologies if I'm putting this in the wrong forum.

My wife recently emigrated to the U.S. on a spouse Visa (form I-130). Her interview at the U.S. Embassy in Manila was on September 25th, 2015. Everything is fine with her Visa and she's now living with me and our son in the U.S.

On her interview appointment letter, the embassy specifically requested that we bring a few original documents in (Status Code J - "The NVC only received a photocopy of the document. You must present the original document at the time of your interview."). This makes sense and was no problem. However, at some point during the interview processing my wife was asked to provide the original documents and they were kept by the embassy employee. It's now April 18th, 2016 and we've yet to receive these documents back. These are ORIGINAL documents which we need since they're, you know, original. I've checked around online and found an NVC form, G-884, which is used to request the return of original documents. But after speaking to the NVC they told me I'd need to work with the embassy directly, since the documents were provided to them during the interview and were never provided (by us) to the NVC. I wasn't able to find a similar form for the embassy itself.

I sent out a few emails to different departments at the Manila embassy today but also wanted to reach out to the community here. If I didn't know better than to assume this, I'd assume that it's illegal for the embassy to request original documents and never return them. Has anyone had a similar experience? If so, how did you get your original documents back? How long did it take?

I'll update this topic with any information I receive from my email inquiries.

Thanks!

[rutabaga 209]

Apologies if I'm putting this in the wrong forum.

My wife recently emigrated to the U.S. on a spouse Visa (form I-130). Her interview at the U.S. Embassy in Manila was on September 25th, 2015. Everything is fine with her Visa and she's now living with me and our son in the U.S.

On her interview appointment letter, the embassy specifically requested that we bring a few original documents in (Status Code J - "The NVC only received a photocopy of the document. You must present the original document at the time of your interview."). This makes sense and was no problem. However, at some point during the interview processing my wife was asked to provide the original documents and they were kept by the embassy employee. It's now April 18th, 2016 and we've yet to receive these documents back. Nor will you in all likelihood. These are ORIGINAL documents which we need since they're, you know, original. If they're sole originals that you can't get another "original" copy of... well, sadly, you should've submitted certified copies then in the first place (not much help now, I know). I've checked around online and found an NVC form, G-884, which is used to request the return of original documents. That's a USCIS form used to get documents back from USCIS, not the NVC AFAIK. But after speaking to the NVC they told me I'd need to work with the embassy directly, since the documents were provided to them during the interview and were never provided (by us) to the NVC. I wasn't able to find a similar form for the embassy itself.

I sent out a few emails to different departments at the Manila embassy today but also wanted to reach out to the community here. If I didn't know better than to assume this, I'd assume that it's illegal for the embassy to request original documents and never return them. I'm pretty sure you assume wrong. Has anyone had a similar experience? The embassy in Serbia kept the originals of my police clearance certificates (we get two in Serbia) as well as my wife's letter of employment. They returned the originals of my birth and marriage certificates after the interview (i.e., before I left the embassy). If so, how did you get your original documents back? How long did it take?

I'll update this topic with any information I receive from my email inquiries.

Thanks!

Some thoughts above in bold and red, some additional thoughts here: depending on what documents exactly they are, they could, at the moment, be either at the embassy or at USCIS now (by way of the envelope your wife took to the States and surrendered to the CBP officer at her POE). If they're at USCIS, you can try using the G-884 form and request USCIS send them back to you, but I've read that doesn't always happen. If they're at the embassy, you'll just have to work with the embassy directly.

P.S. I'm not sure how it works in the Philippines, but all of the "originals" I've submitted to the embassy in Serbia were the kinds of originals that are not really unique, i.e., you can get another one issued by the issuing authority (birth certificate, marriage certificate, police certificate, army certificate...), so in my case really it wouldn't have been a big deal if they had kept all of them. Is that not the case for you guys?

Edited April 18, 2016 by rutabaga

[mallafri76 1,012]

The US embassy in Sweden accidentally kept our original documents and I didn't realize till I got back home. I was also freaking out about it, well about the marriage cert anyway, When I got my visa packet from them, they had put all our original documents neatly in a plastic folder and returned them to us though. I take it your originals weren't in the same envelope as the visa packet? Honestly, considering it's now 7 months since you had your interview, I doubt you'll ever see those originals. Have you tried contacting USCIS? Maybe the embassy put your originals in the case file that went to USCIS?

[zmaynard 0]

Some thoughts above in bold and red, some additional thoughts here: depending on what documents exactly they are, they could, at the moment, be either at the embassy or at USCIS now (by way of the envelope your wife took to the States and surrendered to the CBP officer at her POE). If they're at USCIS, you can try using the G-884 form and request USCIS send them back to you, but I've read that doesn't always happen. If they're at the embassy, you'll just have to work with the embassy directly.

P.S. I'm not sure how it works in the Philippines, but all of the "originals" I've submitted to the embassy in Serbia were the kinds of originals that are not really unique, i.e., you can get another one issued by the issuing authority (birth certificate, marriage certificate, police certificate, army certificate...), so in my case really it wouldn't have been a big deal if they had kept all of them. Is that not the case for you guys?

I understand what you're saying regarding the certified copies. There were a number of reasons why I didn't look into doing this: difficulty of obtaining documents from the Philippine government, Interview Letter explicitly saying "original documents", not originals or certified copies, me not expecting the embassy to keep original documents (which again, although I don't know for sure, sounds illegal to me). But your general point stands.

When we left the embassy we were only provided the sealed document that we were required to present to the authorities at the port-of-entry. I assumed that when we got back to the U.S. they would be returned to us in some fashion, but that obviously hasn't happened.

It is a big problem for these documents not to be returned. It's extremely difficult to obtain documents from the Philippine government (they're a huge mess) and I'm concerned we may not be able to get certified copies at this point. Aside from general concerns (they have my wife's birth certificate and our marriage contract) we have a specific need for the docs in relation to petitioning for my wife's children who are still in the Philippines.

Why do you say it's likely that I won't get the documents back, and why do you assume I'm wrong in thinking the U.S. government can't force you to provide original documents and never return them? Not arguing, just curious.

The US embassy in Sweden accidentally kept our original documents and I didn't realize till I got back home. I was also freaking out about it, well about the marriage cert anyway, When I got my visa packet from them, they had put all our original documents neatly in a plastic folder and returned them to us though. I take it your originals weren't in the same envelope as the visa packet? Honestly, considering it's now 7 months since you had your interview, I doubt you'll ever see those originals. Have you tried contacting USCIS? Maybe the embassy put your originals in the case file that went to USCIS?

Although I can't say for sure, I expect the documents were included in the sealed Visa packet the embassy provided for us. This had explicit instructions NOT to open it. We provided it to the port-of-entry officers when we arrived in San Francisco. Did you receive documents back from the officers at your port-of-entry? Was something mailed to you at a later date?

[zmaynard 0]

I'm not sure how to edit my original post (sorry, I am a newbie...).

I received this response from the USCIS today (MPHInquiry.CIS@uscis.dhs.gov)

Thank you for contacting USCIS Manila. Upon approval of the I-130 petition, all documents submitted were all included in the transfer to Dept. of State, Consular Section as part of the visa process. You may wish to contact the Immigrant Visa Unit at support-philippines@ustraveldocs.com for assistance.

It's unclear if they understood the documents were provided to the embassy during the interview since they mention the I-130 petition, but the other email address is one of the emails I sent out yesterday. We'll see what they say.

[Jane Hat 1]

On 4/19/2016 at 9:34 AM, zmaynard said:

I'm not sure how to edit my original post (sorry, I am a newbie...).

I received this response from the USCIS today (MPHInquiry.CIS@uscis.dhs.gov)

Thank you for contacting USCIS Manila. Upon approval of the I-130 petition, all documents submitted were all included in the transfer to Dept. of State, Consular Section as part of the visa process. You may wish to contact the Immigrant Visa Unit at support-philippines@ustraveldocs.com for assistance.

It's unclear if they understood the documents were provided to the embassy during the interview since they mention the I-130 petition, but the other email address is one of the emails I sent out yesterday. We'll see what they say.

I am going through these posts cause I am trying to find out if I have to send the originals or copies to NVC. I am still waiting for the invoice number, but I am collecting documens and I don't know if my dad (I am requesting him) should keep the originals or not. Any info provided would be highly appreciated. Thanks!