NVC said our case has entered termination process

[jontytyt 6]

I filed for my wife when I lived in the US and she lived abroad. Later I got a job in her country and now live there temporarily with a plan to move back to the US when I finish work. Our case got approved and went to the NVC, and they contacted us with the next steps. But we were in no hurry to finish the process because once the green card is approved, we have to move to the US within a few months and I plan to stay in my wife's country for another year or two to finish up work. The only condition NVC makes is to keep up communication with them. If one year passes with no communication with the NVC then the case enters the termination process. (Then they give you one year's time to revive the case but you have to pay the fees again.)

I knew about this rule so I emailed the NVC before one year was up and immediately received their auto-reply confirming that they received my email. This email (email #1) that I wrote just said that we are still in the process of preparing the next step of the application and that I am just letting them know to keep up communication.

But 10 days later, I received an email from NVC saying that my case is terminating.I then wrote email #2, saying that I believe this is an error because I did in fact contact them 10 days before. A couple of days later I received a reply to email #1 saying that this correspondence is under review and NVC will contact me once the review is over. Then a week later I recieved a reply to email #2 also saying that the correspondence is under review.

I guess what happened was that although wrote to them on time, they had a lot of emails to get through and a human did not actually read my email until after the 1 year deadline. The NVC website does say that email is their preferred way of communication but I guess there is this possibility of a time lag. Is that my fault?

Any idea what is going to happen? Am I going to win this one? In the worst case, I would have to pay the fees again which are a lot. Also, it has been 6 weeks since they told me they are reviewing the correspondence. Any idea how long it takes?

[NikLR 13,232]

It takes 2 weeks for the NVC to normally get to an email open after you send it. You could call and see what's up.

[jontytyt 6]

NLR, I think you didn't understand my post.

"If a period of one year passes from the last date of contact (by telephone, mail, or email) with the NVC, all submitted fees and documents will expire. In order to keep this case active, please continue to stay in periodic contact with the NVC by telephone, mail, or email within the above time frame to prevent this petition from entering the termination process."

I wrote to the NVC before the one year deadline. BUT by the time they opened my email and replied to it, the deadline passed. Now does this count as "contact" within the time frame?

I wrote to them saying that I believe the termination is an error, because I contacted them before the deadline. They wrote back saying they will review this. My second question was, how long do they usually take to review such a thing? 6 weeks have passed.

[Ozz777 23]

Like NLR said, why don't you call them?

[NikLR 13,232]

I read your post and understood it.

I am suggesting that you call the NVC and speak to a supervisor to ensure that you are, in fact, not beyond your deadline due to the date you sent your email. It takes up to 20 business days for the NVC to do anything about anything. Because that timeframe has passed, I don't think emailing is working for you and that a phone call would be better placed. I understand it is expensive and I believe that your termination is in error as well. Which is why a phone call and talking to a supervisor would be prudent, in my humble opinion.

[jontytyt 6]

OK NLR... thank you for the tip! I was wondering why they were taking so long...

[NikLR 13,232]

20 business days is the bane of everyone who calls the NVC. It's their standard answer for how long something takes. /facepalm (sigh) I hope you can get an answer on what is going on!

[TBoneTX 46,041]

*** Thread moved from K-1 Process forum to the NVC forum -- topic involves that phase. ***

[Darnell 8,479]

I've been telling folk to 'keep in contact' during that years time.

You fell in, right at the edge, and NVC had no prior contact with you.

As to 'will you win yer case' - uhm - hard to say. I suggest you call NVC when they are open, ask for a Supervisor, and make yer pitch directly, over the phone.