Please help: Approval Notice lost

[freeviews]

Hi - this question is from a relative of ours, who is a bit concerned on what to do next. Please can anyone help. Thanks!

I-130 was applied through a sibling, and checking against the WAC number online, and on the phone, we found that the petition was approved back in Feb 2002.

However, the sibling did not bother to inform the USCIS that the address had changed, and either did not receive the approval notice, or misplaced it even if they had received it.

Our questions are:
1) Can we get a duplicate Approval Notice, and if so, what is the process?
2) Can we do it for our friends, or will the petitioner (the sibling - who does not seem to be too motivated) need to do it?
3) Do we need the Approval Notice for subsequent filing procedures?
4) Does the Approval Notice contain the Priority Date - is there another way to find out what the Priority Date is?
5) And finally, and unrelated to the gist of the thread, can someone briefly point out what the steps are in the whole process?

Thanks in advance!

 

[freeviews]

Hi - just wondered if the board-gurus or anyone else with some experience on this can answer these questions for these folks?

Thanks in advance!

 

[usnycus]

How to get duplicate approval Notice:

Check form I-824 at USCIS website.

http://uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/i-824.htm

 

[great guru]

I-130

Your I 130 Receipt notice (when you file the I130 2/3 yrs ago) has the WAC number, with that you can contact INS.

However, the I 130 approval proceedings will go to National Visa Center (NVC) for safe custody.

If it is 4 th category(brother/sister) check the priority date it is around 1990 for most of the country other than mexico/philipines(198x).

So waiting period is 14 to 15 years.

it is always good idea to give INS and NVC the sponser's address as beneficiary address, in this case you will get notice to sponser address and not to sibling address.