Sm1smom
Super Moderator
Thanks for sharing.
Reentry permit in Covid times
- Thread starter Kassem
- Start date
HI Smom,
I saw all the above posts,my understanding that once the NOA has been received then the rejection for departing the USA before filing the application (received) will not be raised, Am I correct? We do understand that the application might be denied due to another reasons.
Airspray
Active Member
Now the question is do I have to withdraw my previous application or just file another one?
If I have to withdraw, can I send the letter of withdrawal from abroad? Alternatively, can I send the letter of withdrawal and the new application at the same time when I'm in the US?
If I have to withdraw, can I send the letter of withdrawal from abroad? Alternatively, can I send the letter of withdrawal and the new application at the same time when I'm in the US?
The application has been submitted , we departed already, the NOA still yet to receive , are you advising me to submit withdrawal request for the submitted application or do any other thing
Thanks
SusieQQQ
Well-Known Member
Did you depart before your i131 was received at uscis? That is considered the filing date (assuming the application was properly completed), regardless when NOA is sent.
Hi Susie,
How can I know if the USCIS received it or not , the application was sent through the USPS(express service) and I have confirmation from the post office that the application Was delivered to the requested adress ( lockbox), However after few days we departed, but I don't know if the application was opened or processed by the USCIS or not? How can I do that.
How can I know if the USCIS received it or not , the application was sent through the USPS(express service) and I have confirmation from the post office that the application Was delivered to the requested adress ( lockbox), However after few days we departed, but I don't know if the application was opened or processed by the USCIS or not? How can I do that.
SusieQQQ
Well-Known Member
There is a reason I used the phrase received at Uscis. That is considered the date it was filed. As mom and I and also the link airspray gave have all already said.
the actual wording of the law
(i) USCIS will consider a benefit request received and will record the receipt date as of the actual date of receipt at the location designated for filing such benefit request whether electronically or in paper format.
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SusieQQQ
Well-Known Member
how many more times in how many more different ways do you want me to say the same thing?
HI Airspray,
If you allow me, would you please clarify
How many days between the date of sending the mail by the post office until the date of receiving your application by USCIS (as it is shown on the NOA)
Thank you and wishing you the best.
Airspray
Active Member
The date of receipt by USCIS is the date the envelope was delivered to the lockbox by the courier. This is what appears in the NOA as well.
Thank you very much for your swift response,
Only one day diffrent in your case!!!
This mean you have sent the envelope with the courier and depart in the next day? If you depart after two days from sending the envelope with th courier then your situation might be diffrent, I guess.
Airspray
Active Member
I actually departed 2 days after I sent the packet, but it doesn't really matter as it arrived after I was gone. There's really not much I could have done differently because of the flight circumstances. Staying another day might have put me stranded in the US for months, and I couldn't do that. Oh well, I guess 660$ lost is not the end of the world. It's just sort of disheartening to see that USCIS and American agencies generally, show ZERO flexibility in these unprecedented times and follow their guidelines like robots.
My only problem is that after applying again I will have to wait AGAIN around 10 months to get the permit and I really don't know how CBP is going to handle that whenever I travel to the US (to give biometrics for example).
But oh well, I can't control what I can't control.
Thank you very much for your extensive details,
Date of sending the envelope with the courier + 4 days = receiving date by USCIS =filing date? Am I correct?
Another queries, is it mandatory to stay until issuing the NOA, Or you can depart after few days ( let us say 4 days from sending the envelope?)
If they received the envelope after 4 days from the sending date, the NOA took one month to be delivered?
Thank you
SusieQQQ
Well-Known Member
The guides for applicants actually say that you should file in the US and then stay at least until biometrics are done. Not sure if this is where we had the conversation but some people have been nervous about leaving after filing and returning for biometrics (though it seems the letter of the law is only that you need to be present for both, but there can be made the argument that you should only leave after bio)
as for zero flexibility in covid - you haven’t actually tried, you are just assuming. (I would assume the same as you tbh, but just thought that needed to be said; there are things they have indeed been flexible on where the law allows it.) I am a little curious though, how long were you in the US, is there a reason you only submitted i131 at the last minute? not meaning to sound unsympathetic - it’s a bummer to have to redo - just curious
SusieQQQ
Well-Known Member
Did you see mom’s post #89 on the previous page?
Airspray
Active Member
I know about the guide regarding staying until biometrics, but as you said, they don't seem to enforce it (moreover, the new guides say that departing after filing should NOT affect the case (Just read the entire USCIS internal manual regarding re-entry permits, I'm that sad... lol)
I guess expecting someone to wait 10 months for biometrics in the US with the current backlog is not logical, and they know it. The whole idea of the re-entry permit is that you have to travel ASAP.
Regarding the zero flexibility thing - I don't have to try as I've read more than 5 appeals like the one I posted that were dismissed, all because the applicant wasn't in the US at the time of delivery to the dropbox, all during covid (the one I posted is from just a month ago). So you could clearly see there's no flexibility there. Or regarding the fees and refunds (covid economical hardships? not in their book). Even an appeal costs 675$ which is actually 15$ more than a new application. That's just messed up.
As for your last question - as I said, my country was in a "closed sky" policy during that time and I had to get special permission to fly from ministers themselves (yeah you heard that right). I had to do it before my visa expired (a week after I entered). Sadly enough, this only available flight was set to Friday, and by the time I landed it was already too late to mail the application. I mailed it first thing on Monday morning, but had to leave 2 days later, again, because of the repatriation flight. So just bad luck.
Obviously had I known I had to wait for it to be delivered, I would have used a next day express shipping. But nowhere in the instructions do they explain what "has to be in the US when FILING" means. I assumed, like so many others, that filing means sending the application.
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Airspray
Active Member
I'm now actually at a point where I'm thinking to hire a lawyer to handle all that mess. If we were in normal times and an application would take 3 months from start to finish, then it wouldn't be a problem. But because now you have to wait for almost a year to get a response, it's just too risky and I need some sort of strategy as to what to do while my application is (painfully slowly) being processed.
SusieQQQ
Well-Known Member
Not trying to be argumentative here but no, it’s not. The whole idea of the re-entry permit is that you can spend longer than a year out the US without losing your green card. Generally, people who are planning to spend a year or more elsewhere have planned that for a while and it is not an urgent last minute thing.
As I said, I’d agree with you on this one, because as the appeal you linked to showed, it is stated in law. But you mentioned the word “guidelines” earlier and where they can be, uscis have been flexible (more than I expected tbh in certain cases). For example i’ve seen a number of n400 cases reported where people have easily overcome the assumption of broken continuous residence during COVID. But where the law says something - what the filing date is, what the DV deadline is as examples - they just don’t have the discretion to be flexible.
It is indeed bad luck that you had that kind of flight situation. And agree that it’s not always obvious from the instructions what they mean by filing.