I797 question

J

Junoon123

Registered Users (C)
I just came back to the US from Asia upon arrival i was asked about my i797 and ofcourse i never had a i797 i thought i797 is a form you fill out when you mail in your passport my TN was issued from Buffalo POE.

I was sent to secondary inspection where the officer told me that i should have a i797 and that sometimes its required, since two immigration officer told me that i should have the I 797 then maybe i am misktan my question is how do i get i797?

I have a 3 year TN permission that i got from buffalo POE and i have been to South Asia 5 times in the past 5 years and no one ever asked me for any i797
Please advice
Thanks
 
It's one of the drawbacks of entering US at a non-border POE -- officers inexperienced with TN, and with dealing with Cdns. 4 out of 5 is pretty good for them.

You do not get an I-797 since you got your TN at the border -- from the very agency that doesn't seem to understand their own procedure, the CBP. I-797 is issud by CIS for a mailed-in application.

The CBP is quite capable of verifying your TN in their sysyem by your I-94. Of course, you had a copy of your I-94 with you, right?
Forget about these bozos, they had a bad day.
 
nelsona said:
It's one of the drawbacks of entering US at a non-border POE -- officers inexperienced with TN, and with dealing with Cdns. 4 out of 5 is pretty good for them.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, the border officer is the other way around. They understand their white I-94 form very well but inexperienced with I-94 attached on I-797. They think the I-94 attached on I-797 is not good enough, only their white I-94 is the valid TN document.

I've had similiar experience as the OP. The CBP officer at the airport said he can't verify my TN issued at the border based on the I-94 I had (I kept the original I-94 in my passport before leaving US). He said he needs the receipt number to verify my TN. Since I got my TN at a POE, I do not have a receipt number. The officer was nice enough to let me go but I'm concerned that next time I fly into US from overseas, I may run into the same problem again.
 
Well, the mere fact tha tthey let you in shows that your TNs were valid.

It is common practice for CBP to re-issue a card I-94 when presented with an I-94 from an I-797. This is not a problem at all. The I-94 was good enough to show I-129 approval, so i wouldn't be to worried about that.
 
The CBP is quite capable of verifying your TN in their sysyem by your I-94. Of course, you had a copy of your I-94 with you, right?
Forget about these bozos, they had a bad day.[/QUOTE]


Yes i had my I94 which says valid till 2012 instead of keeping the old one they told me to keep the old I94 and attached a new one. I had a similar situation in Chicago two years ago. When i went to get my TN renewed at Buffalo the officer told me that they should have kept it.

I am going to take another trip in 6 months and wondering how to encounter this issue again should i print something form CBP website? I doubt they will read it but as long as i have some proof?
Thanks
 
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