Are sealed packet(s) really required at the POE?

[JFH 12,189]

The medical packet that she took to interview would have said "do not open" because it's not to be opened by the applicant. The embassy officials can, and should, open it to check she is not medically ineligible. Once the visa is issued those medical documents, along with a bunch of other stuff, is re-packaged and given to the immigrant to hand-carry through the POE (where hard copies are still used) or transmitted electronically in the case of the embassies that have joined the 21st century. 

[AdeelNaz 20]

11 hours ago, Joschka said:

The medical packet DOES NOT have anything on it about DO NOT OPEN. At the Consular office, the OPENED the medical packet to took out a few items.

 

My wife did NOT receive ANY sealed packets from the Consulate. She only received her passport and a few documents that they kept at the interview.

Who knows if they send that sealed packet with passport and visa and if you are so worried then you should call them and ask about it i am sure they will let you know what’s going on

[Joschka 8]

1 hour ago, JFH said:

The medical packet that she took to interview would have said "do not open" because it's not to be opened by the applicant. The embassy officials can, and should, open it to check she is not medically ineligible. Once the visa is issued those medical documents, along with a bunch of other stuff, is re-packaged and given to the immigrant to hand-carry through the POE (where hard copies are still used) or transmitted electronically in the case of the embassies that have joined the 21st century. 

The Doctor who did the examination told my wife not to open the packet. But the packet was NOT labeled with anything about not opening.

 

Further more, at the Consulate, they retained some of the medical pages and returned those loose in the package with my wife's visa. They did not reseal the medical package.

 

Most likely, it's all been done electronically.

[Joschka 8]

5 hours ago, TNJ17 said:

If the envelope says do not open you DO NOT open. Simple as that. 

And, the envelope does NOT say DO NOT OPEN. Simple as that!

[TNJ17 1,329]

8 hours ago, Joschka said:

And, the envelope does NOT say DO NOT OPEN. Simple as that!

Then there’s your answer. 

[Crazy Cat 39,226]

8 hours ago, Joschka said:

The Doctor who did the examination told my wife not to open the packet. But the packet was NOT labeled with anything about not opening.

 

Further more, at the Consulate, they retained some of the medical pages and returned those loose in the package with my wife's visa. They did not reseal the medical package.

 

Most likely, it's all been done electronically.

Just to clarify: The medical packet is for use of the consulate only.  It is NOT something that is carried to the US by the immigrant.  The consulate MUST open the medical packet.

[John & Rose 7,237]

On 10/16/2018 at 8:03 AM, Joschka said:

They kept a few of our original documents and said those and her passport would arrive after three days.

The "DO NOT OPEN" package will be with her passport when it is returned.  The passport will be in a plastic bag.  It is OK to open that bag to get the passport.  DO NOT open the manila envelope.

[zeljuu 21]

If your case is processed electronically at the NVC stage then a sealed packet isn't carried to the POE.

 

We only showed the Visa/Passport, my wife then had her fingerprints and a picture taken. The passport was then stamped and she was allowed to enter. The doctors did give us some supplementary items in addition to the sealed medical packet that we provided during the visa interview but it was not requested at all at the POE.

 

If your case is processed via mail by the NVC, after the Visa interview you are supposedly provided some kind of sealed packet needed at the POE.

[geowrian 22,335]

The electronic case handling at NVC is different than the embassy or consulate transmitting the POE packet electronically. NVC has been doing electronic handling of cases for some consulates for years. The POE transfer being electronic is pretty new and only implemented in a handful of countries at this time.

[Joschka 8]

8 hours ago, John & Rose said:

The "DO NOT OPEN" package will be with her passport when it is returned.  The passport will be in a plastic bag.  It is OK to open that bag to get the passport.  DO NOT open the manila envelope.

Indeed, there was a manila envelope. Someone wrote in it in Chinese, that it contains our documents that they are returning. Nothing else.

 

We already opened it. If it was not to be opened, it should have said something on it about that.

[Joschka 8]

8 hours ago, ZakMrak said:

If your case is processed electronically at the NVC stage then a sealed packet isn't carried to the POE.

 

We only showed the Visa/Passport, my wife then had her fingerprints and a picture taken. The passport was then stamped and she was allowed to enter. The doctors did give us some supplementary items in addition to the sealed medical packet that we provided during the visa interview but it was not requested at all at the POE.

 

If your case is processed via mail by the NVC, after the Visa interview you are supposedly provided some kind of sealed packet needed at the POE.

Thank you! I think yours is the definitive answer. Our case was processed electronically by the NVC so we do not need to worry about a sealed package.

[John & Rose 7,237]

10 hours ago, Joschka said:

Indeed, there was a manila envelope. Someone wrote in it in Chinese, that it contains our documents that they are returning. Nothing else.

 

We already opened it. If it was not to be opened, it should have said something on it about that.

Was it with the passport?  There are two manila envelopes.  One is for medical and the other is for POE.  The POE envelope has huge letters on it stating DO NOT OPEN.  If yours didn't have that it was the medical envelope.

 

[John & Rose 7,237]

10 hours ago, Joschka said:

Thank you! I think yours is the definitive answer. Our case was processed electronically by the NVC so we do not need to worry about a sealed package.

You will need a sealed package to deliver to the agent at POE.  I don't think you have that yet.  It will be attached to the passport with the visa in it.

[Joschka 8]

28 minutes ago, John & Rose said:

Was it with the passport?  There are two manila envelopes.  One is for medical and the other is for POE.  The POE envelope has huge letters on it stating DO NOT OPEN.  If yours didn't have that it was the medical envelope.

 

We got only one manila envelope. It was an ordinary letter-window envelope and on it, hand written in Chinese, was "returning the documents we kept"

 

After the interview, they kept a few or our 'Original Documents' such as our Taiwan marriage certificate and a few of the health examination papers. Presumably, they returned them all. There was nothing about 'DO NOT OPEN' so I'm now pretty sure our papers were entered into the electronic system.

[zeljuu 21]

23 minutes ago, John & Rose said:

You will need a sealed package to deliver to the agent at POE.  I don't think you have that yet.  It will be attached to the passport with the visa in it.

 

That's a negative. Once again, if your case was processed electronically by the NVC/Foreign Consulate they will not send you a sealed packet to provide at the POE nor will you be asked to provide it. Only your passport with the visa page added and your original/civil documents that you had provided during the case will be mailed back to you in an envelope that is meant to be opened.

 

We just entered this past Saturday with no sealed packet, our case was processed electronically. No problems at all.