The NVC closed my case: What do I do now?

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If you are applying for an immigrant visa through Consular processing, you will encounter the National Visa Center (NVC). The NVC is an agency located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, that is responsible for pre-processing your application after your immigrant petition has been approved by USCIS. The agency functions as an intermediary to collect further documentation from you before your interview can be scheduled at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate overseas.

In this video, Jacob Sapochnick discusses what can happen when the National Visa Center closes your case when no action has been taken.

Overview

What should you do if the NVC closes your case?

It is important to understand that once your petition has been approved by USCIS, your case will be forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC). When your priority date is current on the Visa Bulletin, and a visa number is available, the NVC will contact you to collect certain documentation to continue processing your case. This includes the submission of various civil documents such as photocopies of your birth certificate, marriage certificate, military records, police clearance certificates, payment of your visa fee, etc.

If you ignore or do not reply to requests from NVC to submit your documentation within one year of receipt, the NVC can terminate your case under section 203(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which can lead to your case being destroyed and potentially losing your priority date.

Your priority date is essentially your place in line for a green card. Losing your priority date would have devastating consequences, especially for preference categories with extremely long wait times because you would lose your place in line and have to start the immigration process all over again.

To avoid falling into this predicament, you should never ignore notices from the NVC or any other immigration agency, regardless of whether you are inside the United States or residing abroad.

As an example, a client learned this lesson the hard way when it was much too late. He filed an immigrant petition for his daughter who was inside of the United States unlawfully. They received notices from the NVC but did not respond because they thought the notices did not apply to them because she was living in the United States. The case was terminated by the NVC, and her priority date was lost forever.

If you have received a notice of termination from the National Visa Center, you should immediately seek the advice of an immigration attorney. Under certain circumstances, an attorney may be able to reinstate your case by contacting the NVC and explaining that the applicant’s failure to respond was unintentional.

As a general rule of thumb, applicants should contact the NVC at least once a year to check on their case. Taking such action is a simple way to prevent the NVC from closing your case while also staying on top of your case status. Remember, the worst thing you can do is ignore their messages and fail to follow up on your case.

If you have been waiting in line for many years for a visa to become available, the last thing you want to do is place your case in jeopardy. Do not allow this to happen to you.

Contact us. Need our help? To schedule a consultation, please text 619-483-4549 or call 619-819-9204.

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