What Is I797c Receipt Notice?
You are going to receive i797c receipt notice from USCIS for any communication. USCIS will use it as an acknowledgment. They will send this notice in order to convey information. Like receipt notice, rejection notice, transfer notice, re open notice and appointment.
Appointment can be of any type like fingerprint, bio-metric capture, interview or rescheduled.
When you receive a Form I797C in the mail. You should pay immediate attention to it. It may contain some important information that require immediate action.
FORM I-797C on paper.
I797 notice of action will be printed on plain bond paper. And it also includes a header stating “THIS NOTICE DOES NOT GRANT ANY IMMIGRATION STATUS OR BENEFIT”.
To save paper I797C notice of action will contain the disability accommodation information on the reverse side to reduce paper use.
Can I Travel With Form I 797c Receipt Notice?
Simple answer is no, you can not Travel With Form I797c Receipt Notice. But maybe your case is different. please explain your case in comment and i will try my best to clear your doubt.
There was a situation with my friend. He had his valid visa stamping. As he changed his employer, he was on receipt notice.
He had to go India for some urgent issue. Now he had valid visa stamping with previous employer and receipt notice with current employer.
In this case, you can travel with some risk with it. Let’s discuss in detail.
Case 1.
If you just show the visa to the immigration officer and the officer does not ask anything, then you can enter in the US easily. This is kind of best case scenario.
Case 2.
If you show visa to the officer and officer asks your i797 original copy. In this case if you show your previous i797. Then you can still enter as long as your previous visa was not revoked by your previous employer.
Also if the officer asks anything like your pay stubs. Then you will be in big trouble. So i will not suggest to use previous employer’s i797. It is risky.
Case 3.
If you show the visa to immigration officer and convince him that you have your i797C receipt notice. Then you are good. Please make sure you have your original i 797C receipt with you.
You should also carry last six months pay stubs and bank statement as a proof that you are working in the US. It is also advised to carry your office badge with you. Also carry your previous i797A approval notice. It should be in original form. And do your best to convince the CBP officer.
I would still suggest not to go outside USA if you do not have i797A or I797B approval. Do not travel with i797C notice until it is really needed. Now days anyway it is difficult to travel if you have any loophole. It is better to avoid these kind of situations.
At the end, it depends upon the mood of the CBP officer. If you are lucky, you may fall under case 1. And you can enter USA with i797 notice of action without any problem.
i797c Status?
Please click here to check your i797c status here. Make sure you have your i797c receipt number.
Does i797c receipt notice provide any immigration status?
Definitely not. I had a situation like this but my lawyer asked me not to use it for any immigration benefit. This is just a notice like receipt notice, nothing else. It does not prove any approval. You should ask your lawyer, if you want to use it for any immigration purpose.
For more info on h1b. Please visit this link. Theustravelguide h1b visa topics.
External source. uscis.gov forms form i 797c notice action.
Hey good article. I have a situation where i had to leave the country because my H1B extension was denied. On re-submission, my VISA extension was approved. I did my VISA interview in my home country and they approved my visa, i.e, i have a valid visa stamped on my passport. I was waiting for my original i797 but somehow i think USPS lost it. Now my lawyers are trying to get a new copy but its going to take some time. I have a copy of the i797c(not the original) which says my petition was approved with me. Also, i am with the same employer that i was before leaving the country. Do you think i can travel back with just the visa and the i797c copy? Do i need to take any additional documents to gain entry to the US?
First thing I’m not able to understand, how did you attend visa interview without original i797 approval.
Anyway, Most of the time officer will not ask for i797A but it looks risky to me. You should at least get something in written from USPS.
We have submitted our documents and they reached to USCIS on june17th. But we did not receive the receipt number yet. How many days should we wait? Is it fine to contact USCIS to check for the receipt number?
You should receive receipt notice within 2 weeks for normal processing. Yes, you should ask your attorney to contact USCIS. You can also call USCIS.
Hi,
My wife is in USA now and just did H1B transfer. She only got the approval notice as I-797C, Not 797A, is this normal? Does she need a I-94 portion?
I-797C is just the notice for communicating that your case has been approved. You definitely need I797A with i94 attached
Hi my father is in US now (8sept2021) next month his stay of 6 months in US will be completed.my sister has filed i797c form for him on 29 June 2021 and finger print done one month ago. he already got green card but it was expired because he over stayed in INDIA when he came from US. now what happen if he does not go out from US if he stay more than 6 months on visitor visa (he has 10 years US visa )?.
Hello
My name is Dalton Day I am an LPR
I mistakely travelled to the UK for vacation on visiting family I’ve noticed my CR1 has expired. I’ve received my i797c but I’m having to resubmit my petition. I cannot do this while in the UK as I have to sign forms and all my immigration documents reside In the US. I have alot of ties to my name in the usa but dont know how to travel home. Please may you advise how i travel back to us.
The i797c is a rejection due to the wrong payment.
I’m now stuck in the uk and in order to get home to refile my i751 ASAP. I could lose my job and terminate my lease for my property as I’m stuck outside the usa
Many Thanks
Dalton
i have received my i-797c form and i need to travel for an urgent basis , so how can i schedule or anything with that? I saw that i can apply for travel while my replacement of permanent resident card is on process ? please give me a solution
i797c is just a receipt notice, if you have something approved previously and still valid then only you can schedule your inteview
Hi,
i am on EB-5 visa & while i got 2 years conditional green card. & its expired on march 2021. & I already filed for my green card condition removal. i did biometric. & i got a letter of extension its saying you can travel anywhere with this letter & expired green card. i called us immigration they said yes you can travel & return very safely. so i have planned to go India next month. Is it safe ?
Hi I’m on a B1/B2 visa which I was granted 6 months admission date. It’s about to expire, but I have receive both I-797C and I-797E. Do they count as the “extender” of my visa? Will I be able to use them as proof of my legal stay to renew my driver’s license?
The receipt notice can not be used as a proof for legal stay
I’m in great need for advice please.
I am a Canadian. I applied for a Greencard and work visa in November, 2021. I have received 3, I-797C’s.
It’s been 1 year since I started this process. I know I cannot leave the USA or I could potentially never be allowed back. My American citizen daughter lives in the USA and for serious family reasons needs me to be here, so leaving isn’t an option.
I need to know if I legally fly within the USA, while my application is being processed, or will I be stopped and retained by border patrol agents.
Thank you for your consideration and help.
Kind regards,
Christine
Hello,
I have a valid F1 visa and am still a student. 2 month ago I applied for asylum application and 1 month ago went for bio-metric. I am going to go to go to outside of the US with my valid F1 visa but I am not sure as I submitted y application for Asylum, would I be able to return back to the US or not? I have not gone to the court yet and I have no idea when an asylum application can be regarded as pending? Now, I dont know if I travel and once I am going to come back to the US will I be allowed to enter or not?
It would be greatly appreciated if you could help me with this.
Hi ,
I am in US working with the same employer since November 2022, (since the time i came to US)
Now My employer is still the same , but my client is changed because of it my employer filed an Ammendment(i797C) for Client change and location change as per client.
My Previous Client location : LosAngeles California,
My current client location : virginia ( i am staying currently here)
My Receipt of Ammedendment shows: Case Is Being Actively Reviewed By USCIS ,
My Question: Can i travel to india (my home Country /citizenship country) for 1 month during this process ?
As long as you have valid visa stamp and valid i797 with your current employer, it should be fine