At POE: to carry I-797 original document mandatory?

[jvhmahesh]

Hello,

i have been in USA on H1B for almost 11 years. Last month I came to India and went to visa stamping. During the visa interview, visa officer asked me to submit my original I-797 document and assured me to return along with my passport as she forgot to generate my digital version of I-797 in advance. 

I got my passport with visa stamped but they misplaced my original I-797 document. Now they are saying they did not find my document in their records and they are not supposed to retain any other documents other than passport of the applicants.

Now my question is , how should I deal at POE?  Is it mandatory to show the original I-797 document to CBP officer at POE? Will they accept the copy of my I-797 instead of original document?

what are my options/alternatives?

do you heard a similar issue to anyone before?

 

please let me know your suggestions.

 

 Thank you 

mahesh

[rksingh]

Don't worry....the same exact thing happened to me a couple of years ago (New Delhi embassy lost my original I797).

Just carry a copy of your I797 along with you along with proof of your communication with the embassy. At the POE, present your passport ONLY....since it will have latest H1B visa stamp, they should give you a I94 based on the date of the visa (it will be matching your I797 date anyway). ONLY and ONLY if they ask, then present the copy of your I797 and explain how the embassy lost it

[jvhmahesh]

Ok thank you RKSingh ...