ahlpo

Hello,
We sent off Packet 3 on Monday 16 February via Royal Mail Special Delivery Next Day service. It was sent the Immigrant Visa Unit, US Embassy London, 5 Upper Grosvenor St, London W1A 2JB.

The next day I checked the Royal Mail web site using the tracking number and, sure enough, it said the package was delivered from the West London Delivery Office on 17 February. Unfortunately no signature was available and was told to check back in 24 hours. So I waited a day and still saw the same message, then again yesterday.

Finally, today the tracking says that an electronic proof of delivery is not available for this item and it no longer asks me to check back. I called Royal Mail and they've been no help giving me the run-around. After a few calls, one of the customer support people said it was delivered at 8:02 AM which is, I believe, before the Embassy even opens.

I tried calling the local delivery office and they said it's possible it got sent to the wrong address and signed for, then another person said it actually gets delivered to a PO Box, then another says they all get sent over together. This is really making me lose some hair!

Anyone have any ideas or similar experience?

Thanks in advance.

Rete

The US Consulate might well be like the USCIS here in the states. The signature is actually a stamp. Since they receive so much mail it would take too long for an individual to sign each slip.

The Consulate is open to the public at a specific time. However, that does not mean it is not open before or after closing hours. Also the mail might be picked up at the postal office by an employee of the Consulate who stamps away and/or the mail is delivered by the postal service to the Consulate mailroom where it is stamped received.

Why are you being so paranoid about this? The package was delivered that is all you need to know. You do not need to know who signed it and when.

ChelleyP

In my line of work I have to send things recorded/special delivery all the time and no... that is nothing to worry about... happens all the time to me. Sometimes a signature shows up a week later or not. As long as it is 'delivered' it should be fine.

Just so you know... after sending your checklist off it takes approx 8-12 weeks before you hear from them with your interview date.

I am sending my checklist early next week so let us know when you get your interview date. Good luck!

ian-mstm

The package was received... end of story. Immigration is like that!

Ian

chrisncarla

Hi we had the same problem, It showed on Royal Mail web site that it had been delivered, but no signature, after waiting 1 month I rang Royal Mail who then said that without a signature it had not been delivered. That said it HAD been delivered but to the wrong department and took 4 weeks to arrive at the right department at the Embassy. We had already filed again at this point. Your best bet is to ring the customer services line at the embassy and find out if it has been received. Best of luck

ahlpo

Rete and Ian, I appreciate your responses but I think chrisncarla's experience proves that my concern was warranted so I will disregard your nonchalance.

Thank you ChelleyP and chrisncarla. Out of curiosity, chrisncarla, was it your I-130 that got misplaced with Royal Mail or the DS-230? They both go to different addresses so I'm curious if one might be typically problematic.

How did you find out it had gotten misplaced and ultimately delivered 4 weeks later? After how long were the support people on the info line able to tell you where it was?

I'm thinking it might be a good idea to send another copy via regular first-class mail, just to be safe. I'm sure they won't penalize for getting 2 copies of the same documents, no?

ian-mstm

No problem - you're free to do as you wish.


I think that'd be a mistake. I suggest you try to try to follow through on the logistics of what might happen when you have two separate applications being processed. You'll probably disregard this suggestion because of my nonchalant attitude... but, again, you're free to do as you wish.

Ian

ChelleyP

I don't know, but I think it may confuse things if you do. If you feel that worried about it... I think the only option is to call the embassy again to confirm they received it.

Rete

Okey Dokey

But remember the problem was not the royal mail but the US Consulate who delivered it to the wrong department. It was still received. The signature, if one is given, will only be for the mailroom guy at the US Consulate and will be no guarantee that it was delivered in-house to the correct department. So sending another one, seems to be not only redundant but might cause undue problems.

Jezibella

I would email to see if they've received it, calling doesn't do much good and it's expensive. I've had a lot of problems with the Royal Mail in LONDON losing my packages. They once delivered one of my items to the wrong apartment, the lady then took the slip with MY name on it and then had it redelivered to her work and so on ... luckily she was my neighbor and realized the package wasn't hers when she opened it.

When I send my packets to the consulate I'm going to try to write as clear as possible to the correct department.

My advice is just to email just as crisncarla did.
Best of luck!

ahlpo

Awwww, please don't be offended, ian. Your original response just wasn't helpful as I was asking if anyone had similar experiences. Your second one, however, was and I will indeed take it into consideration before sending in the application again. So thank you, sincerely.

Thanks also everyone else for your advice; I'll most likely give it a few days then try calling again. I also sent an email with the case number in the subject; hopefully they will reply.

ChelleyP

Jez-You can't email them and expect a response unless you call them first to get a unique code for the subject line. Even when you have that code they don't seem to reply. I am speaking from my experience. I know others have been more successful, but we are now up to 9 business days with no reply.

ahlpo

ChelleyP, my last message only received a response after 8 business days.

They do indeed seem to have slowed down lately but hopefully you'll get a response soon.

gstring

Call DOS in the USA. 001 202.663.1225. Option 1 then 0. Give them your LND number and they will be able to tell you if it's on the system yet. I wouldn't send another copy. Good luck. Don't panic.

ahlpo

Thanks gstring, good advice!