Korean Job Discussion Forums

[kentucker4]

My local Korean consulate about 70 miles away mailed me back my passport with my new work visa in it via Express Mail on Friday and I still haven't received it. To make matters worse, the tracking number is not even showing up in the system. The local postal master said it should have arrived Saturday and as far as he is concerned, it was never really mailed because of the tracking number not showing up. I live in Georgia and Express Mail here translates to overnight basically. I can't believe this. My flight is scheduled to leave on Thursday.

I called the consulate about 10 times and they finally emailed me a copy of the receipt proving it was in fact mailed on Friday. The visa officer said none of her customers have ever had an Express Mail package stolen. Has this ever happened to anyone here? I am crossing my fingers and hoping it shows up in the mail tomorrow.

[bassexpander]

Does the receipt have a tracking number? Take that to the post office and see what they say.

Back in 2003, I mailed my passport (sans tracking number) to the Korean consulate in Chicago. They said they "never got it." Oh boy, did I wish I had a tracking number on it! I was set to return to Korean in about 1 week (this was back when you needed to leave the country between jobs to get a "blue paper").

About the same time, the boss of the school stopped taking my calls and e-mails. It was a brand new school, and I couldn't figure out what was going on, so I contacted a foreigner working there, who had given me his contact number to answer questions previously.

He said, "The boss is avoiding you because we're a sinking ship. We aren't getting enough students..."

Soon it became all too clear. He had done something -- probably asked/bribed the consulate in Chicago. The postal service said there was just one truck between my city and Chicago, and the chances of it being "lost" were pretty slim.

In the meantime, I got ahold of the boss because he happened to pick up the phone at the school when I called. He danced around and apologized, saying he would cancel my visa. I told him my passport had been lost, and I was waiting for the passport to return.

I had to return to Korea ASAP anyway, because my stuff, including my big new TV, was being stored WITH THAT STUPID BOSS. With the help of my father, and extra expense, I got a "rushed" passport made. I had to delay my return another week, and returned to Korea as soon as I could.

When I went through immigration at Incheon, I was flagged by immigration, who saw me trying to enter under a new passport. They took me to a little room and asked me several questions. I told them the story, which they were very confused about, because according to their system, "You already have a new E-2 Visa." Apparently, the passport had been "approved" by the Chicago consulate, and had never been sent, had just been sent, or was on hold (thanks to that boss, probably).

I told them that the E-2 should be canceled, because the school was going under, and they called the boss. He was shocked that I had arrived in Korea. Imagine that. He told them, "Oh, yes... I just forgot to cancel it."

So what happened was that they just canceled the E-2 there, and let me in on a tourist visa. I ended up having to live in a hotel and find another job within a few weeks (at my own expense). The next gig landed me in trouble with immigration after day 2, but that's another whole story.

The really odd thing... the passport showed up at my parents house 1 month later with the new (now canceled) E-2 stamped in it.

Just letting you know... it may not actually be "lost."

[kentucker4]

Yes, I have a tracking number but it's not registering in the system. I talked to the postmaster here in my city and he said it's very very odd that the tracking number is not showing up and as far as he is concerned, it was never mailed. I don't have nay money for a rushed passport and was going to have to borrow $200 for my first month in Korea. How much do rushed passports cost? F$ck the united states postal service if this thing is lost.

[okayden223]

Just so you know the consulate I used told me the same thing. They said it was already in the mail and the tracking number didn't show up at all for FedEx. The recruiter called them and they told him the same thing. Then it showed up 2 days later. The first time I got the E-2 they lost my passport as well. I remember calling up and speaking to someone there and then there was all of this frantic Korean being spoken in the background and, lo and behold, I had my passport back in 3 days. I doubt it's lost, they probably haven't put it in the mail yet and the people you've talked to say the same thing to everyone who calls and asks.

[bassexpander]

Back in 2003, I think it cost me another $80 and took another week plus.

If I were you, I'd wait a few days.... of ask the postal guy if he thinks the receipt could be a fake, or to something mailed long ago (or not mailed yet, purposely).

I might even drive to the consulate in person (if you're close) and ask what the heck they are doing holding the passport.

[tired of LA]

My guess is that your passport is still at the consulate. I'm prety sure your package has a bar code on it if it has a tracking number, so if it was mailed then it should be in the system. My guess is that the consulate paid for the postage online, got a tracking number and scheduled a pick up but for some reason it was never given to the post office for delievery. Maybe it fell behind a desk or something.

[kentucker4]

Hey, thanks for all the replies so far. Yes, there is a bar code on it, which is why the tracking number should be showing in the system.

I called the consulate numerous times and spoke to the only E2 visa officers who both verified it had been shipped on Friday, which is odd because they told me it would be shipped on . The last time I called, I asked the main officer to go and look around the building to humor me. She looked and found nothing. I have been bugging the heck out of these people.

Also, I paid for the postage last week at my post office and put a return envelope in my package with the label already on it and received both tracking numbers upfront. This is really really frustrating. If it is the consulate, I am going to give them an earful they want forget for lying or not knowing about when the package was shipped.

Also, the visa officer emailed me a scanned image of the customer copy of the shipping label with a stamp on it saying July 31. This is not freaking proof IMO as she could just rip that off any time. There was nothing on it from the post office verifying it had in fact been picked up besides maybe the time stamp. Why in the world would the consulate trick me, though?

[Fat-Elvis]

Man. I'll be sending my passport to the Chicago consulate.....I'm three hours away so I'll just be driving the damn thing over.

[Carla]

[Triban]

I too will be heading to Atlanta soon. Not looking forward to it tbh.

[E_athlete]

next time ship with DHL or fedex if you can. Things magically disappear with other carriers.

[JoeBloe]

Nice to know I wasn't the only one fretting about a visa. I called my consulate today, San Francisco, and got the same reply. "We've mailed it this morning." I've been hitting refresh on usps.com all day, and the website did not have a track on it. Within the last hour or so, usps.com has put tracking info up on the website... for a package that arrived at a sorting facility at 3:30 PM. 8 hours delay. The damn package is probably on a plane now.

It appears to me that usps.com is wonderful at delaying tracking info. My package to the consulate had similar delays in information.

Kentucky4: One thing that may of happened is that the consulate sent it out on Friday, but, for whatever reason, it didn't arrive to a sorting location until today. Maybe the consulate has some unreliable courier service I hope so, as having a missing passport would suck! Hope it works out for you!