Approved, but notice not received.

rayyl

Registered Users (C)
Dear All:

According to USCIS case status online, my I-485 application was approved on June 4, 2004 and an approval notice was mailed on that day. But I have not recieved the notice yet. I think the notice probably got lost during transportation. So I called National Service Center and they told me I need to file I-824 to get a duplicate approval notice. And it will cost me $195!!!.

My questions are:

1. Is it true that I have to file I-824 to get another copy of approval notice, even though I didn't received the first one?
2. Do I have to wait until I received the approval notice letter before I can go to local immigration office to get my passport stamped? Or can I just go to the office and give them my I-485 receipt number, shouldn't they be able to see my case was approved in the computer?

Best Regards,

Ray
 
I have registered myself at USCIS website. So when My I-485 is approved, Immediately, I have received an E-mail approval notice. I took that E-mail print to the district office (Arlingotn VA) and had my stamping in passport on 15 May 2004. It seems you have not registered at USCIS. I don't think you should spend that hefty amount for the duplicate notice. While you get the courtesy copy of approval notice, your attorney will get the original. If you dont have any one of them, you can go to the district office nearest and show the I-485 receipt notice and try your luck.
 
I forgot to mention, I did registered at USCIS website, and I did receive the email notification in the email. I just didn't know that I could use it to go to immigration office for passport stamp. Since it worked for you, I will definitely try it, too. And thank you for sharing your experience.
 
I went to NYC disrict office on Friday (July 9th) with just the print out from the website. The officer in NYC would not stamp my passport without the official approval notice, even though they knew that my case had been approved. They told me to file I-824 to get a duplicate copy of the approval notice, which is the same as what NSC told me earlier.
 
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