Embassy mistake on immigrant visa.

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Noki22

Registered Users (C)
I was planning to travel to the US today, but I was returned at border control because my immigrant visa has an expiry date, and it turns out that's a technical mistake from the embassy's part. I will have to go to the embassy to correct this, but thing is, I lost money on flights, hotel, bus tickets, and other expenses, and I was wondering whether embassies have actual policies for compensation in these cases?
 
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When was the visa issued? What is the date of expiration? it is your responsibility to check visa validity before making travel plans. Don't expect any compensation from US government.
 
Errors do happen, sorry

I am sorry for your very unfortunate situation. However, it is the responsibility of the visa applicant to check that the dates, spelling of the name and passport number was printed correctly on the visa by the embassy/consulate. I too doubt that there will be any compensation.

The best that you can do is to have the Embassy reissue the visa correctly.

The same happened to my son recently when he immigrated: the Embassy issued the Immigrant Visa with an expiry date a month prior (14 Sept) to the date that the Visa was issued (13 Oct). He noticed the error upon receiving his Visa from the Courier and called the Embassy to advise them of their error. The Immigrant Visa was reissued the next day when he returned to the Embassy.
 
They won't give you any compensation for lost travel expenses. They have a process to correct an erroneous visa, and if something is wrong they expect you to use that process BEFORE you travel.
 
Sorry to hear what happened. I am surprised the airline that you flew to the US did not catch the fact that your immigrant visa was expired!!!

Noki22 said:
I was planning to travel to the US today, but I was returned at border control because my immigrant visa has an expiry date, and it turns out that's a technical mistake from the embassy's part. I will have to go to the embassy to correct this, but thing is, I lost money on flights, hotel, bus tickets, and other expenses, and I was wondering whether embassies have actual policies for compensation in these cases?
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My issue date was 15 Nov 2011, and the expiry date was 18 Dec 2010. I noticed that right away and got into panic mode because it didn't make sense, but then when I checked the sealed envelope, it said 18 Dec 2010 as well. So, at that point it looked intentional. I suppose I could have called and asked, but I thought it would be way too big of an error not to notice- because I assumed they check visas after they print them and before handing them out. Since it's an immigrant visa and de-facto permanent, I also assumed such date must be some kind of embassy codification.

I mean, yes, it's one's responsibility to check basic information, but not to be familiar with the design/outline of an immigrant visa. I've never seen one before for instance, so how was I supposed to know that's incorrect and not a standard procedure. They have previous years printed on application forms as well. In addition, it didn't even cross my mind the embassy would let such an obvious error slip by. Especially since they turn people back for the most trivial things, you'd think they'd be more careful and efficient when issuing important visas upon which people make life decisions. And that's why we pay processing fees, and why embassy employees are paid for- to pay attention.

Anyway, I went today at the embassy and corrected it. They didn't even apologize; in fact the officer was down right rude. I didn't ask for compensation because my priority was to correct the error first, but from a logical standpoint, I think I'm totally entitled to it. I made sure to send all required documents and satisfy all their requirements; printing a correct visa is their responsibility before anyone else's, so why should I pay for other people's mistakes? All in all, it just was a very unkind experience.
 
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Expiry Date Prior to Issue Date?

Noki22,

I am curious -- is the Expiry Date the day before to your 21st birthday???

In my son's case (Immigrant Visa IR-2 Child of USC), his Expiry Date was the day before his 21st BD, but Visa was issued much later. He qualified for CSPA as the Visa was issued after his 21st BD but applied for a few weeks before his birthday.

I am sorry for your inconvenience but glad that the error was corrected.
 
Very unfortunate that you had to undergo such an experience. It is not possible to expect a compensation from the embassy as they will term it as entirely your fault. I can understand your situation very well but then that is how the US immigration laws are! This would be a very hard lesson that you will never ever forget.
 
Noki22 said:
I mean, yes, it's one's responsibility to check basic information, but not to be familiar with the design/outline of an immigrant visa. I've never seen one before for instance, so how was I supposed to know that's incorrect and not a standard procedure. They have previous years printed on application forms as well. In addition, it didn't even cross my mind the embassy would let such an obvious error slip by. Especially since they turn people back for the most trivial things, you'd think they'd be more careful and efficient when issuing important visas upon which people make life decisions. And that's why we pay processing fees, and why embassy employees are paid for- to pay attention.
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USCIS and the embassies are notorious for making mistakes. Wrong date of birth, wrong name spelling or order of names, wrong expiration date, wrong issue date, even wrong gender! ... any mistake you can think of they have done it to somebody. They expect perfection from you but they are among the most error-prone US government agencies. So the next time you see something on an immigration document that looks wrong, it probably is wrong. Double-check your green card when it arrives.
 
Jackolantern said:
USCIS and the embassies are notorious for making mistakes. Wrong date of birth, wrong name spelling or order of names, wrong expiration date, wrong issue date, even wrong gender! ... any mistake you can think of they have done it to somebody. They expect perfection from you but they are among the most error-prone US government agencies. So the next time you see something on an immigration document that looks wrong, it probably is wrong. Double-check your green card when it arrives.
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Yep, they really can make big mistakes. For instance, USCIS sent my green card to an X address in Chicago although I never lived or worked in Chicago. When I called them, they told me that I recently made an address change which I definitely did not since I had not moved for the last three years prior to my application. So they will always first assume that the error is on your end and not theirs :)

At the end, I got lucky that the guy who received my card in Chicago sent it back to USCIS. But because of this, I received my card with a three month delay and I was again lucky that I had no immediate travel plans.
 
I highly doubt you'll get any money from the US government.

I must say, though, that it was your fault for not catching the error. Even if you have never seen a US immigrant visa, I find it hard to believe that one could think a discrepancy of this kind with issue and expiry dates was some sort of code. Sure it could be an oversight. Sometimes you don't notice these details because you're excited and nervous, etc.
 
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