K1 - NVC Welcome Letter

[MarioandMaria 2]

Hi all,

 

My fiancée and I got our NOA2 at the end of February, but we have not heard anything since then. We checked in this website and the NVC is receiving applications with NOA2 of March 6th at the moment, so we decided to submit an inquiry form, as ours should have been received a week ago. 

 

They replied saying that they have recently received the petition and that the petition is waiting for data entry to their system, so they cannot give us any case number yet. They also said that as soon as the petition is in their system, they would send the Welcome Letter and instructions.

 

However, we are a bit confused, when I see in this website that the NVC Receive Date Timeline is now for people with NOA2 of March 6th, does that mean the Welcome Letter? Should we try to follow up to see why we have not received anything or is it normal?

 

Thank you very much!

[MalloryCat 552]

welcome letter is for immigrant visas

K1 is technically a nonimmigrant visa

the thing you will get from the NVC will be the K1-FTP letter.

this will basically just tell you that the NVC sent your petition on to the embassy, after that, any communication you get going forward will come from the embassy directly

the K1-ftp letter will also have your case number

 

it is currently taking the NVC between 30-60 days to process petitions and assign case numbers. check with them again in a few weeks to see if they can provide it to you.

once you have your case number you can track it here - https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx?App=NIV

just make sure you change the drop down the NONIMMIGRANT visa

[Edward and Jaycel 1,264]

14 minutes ago, MalloryCat said:

check with them again in a few weeks to see if they can provide it to you.

 

When you do this, in the same inquiry also ask them to update the petitioner's and beneficiary's email addresses. This will ensure you receive all communications from NVC and the embassy. Sometimes when entering the email addresses from the I-129F at NVC to create your case, mistakes happen. We worded our update request like this:

"Please also update the email addresses you have on file in regards to this petition as follows:
Petitioner email address: XXXXXXX@gmail.com

Beneficiary email address: XXXXXX@gmail.com"

[MarioandMaria 2]

2 hours ago, MalloryCat said:

welcome letter is for immigrant visas

K1 is technically a nonimmigrant visa

the thing you will get from the NVC will be the K1-FTP letter.

this will basically just tell you that the NVC sent your petition on to the embassy, after that, any communication you get going forward will come from the embassy directly

the K1-ftp letter will also have your case number

 

it is currently taking the NVC between 30-60 days to process petitions and assign case numbers. check with them again in a few weeks to see if they can provide it to you.

once you have your case number you can track it here - https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx?App=NIV

just make sure you change the drop down the NONIMMIGRANT visa

Thank you very much! This helps a lot. I think we will just wait a week before following up, probably we should have sent the Public Inquiry earlier, but there is not much we can do!

 

Just out of curiosity, how do people get the Case Number from the NVC before getting the K1-FTP letter? By doing the Public Inquiry?

 

Thanks again!

2 hours ago, Edward and Jaycel said:

 

When you do this, in the same inquiry also ask them to update the petitioner's and beneficiary's email addresses. This will ensure you receive all communications from NVC and the embassy. Sometimes when entering the email addresses from the I-129F at NVC to create your case, mistakes happen. We worded our update request like this:

"Please also update the email addresses you have on file in regards to this petition as follows:
Petitioner email address: XXXXXXX@gmail.com

Beneficiary email address: XXXXXX@gmail.com"

Good idea, when we follow up, we will be adding that just in case. Thanks!

[Edward and Jaycel 1,264]

3 minutes ago, MarioandMaria said:

Just out of curiosity, how do people get the Case Number from the NVC before getting the K1-FTP letter? By doing the Public Inquiry?

 

Yes you ask them for your case number in the first paragraph of your inquiry and then follow it up with the email update request in the second paragraph. There is a spot to attach files in the inquiry, I would upload a scan of your NOA2 when you do this as well.

 

5 minutes ago, MarioandMaria said:

I think we will just wait a week before following up, probably we should have sent the Public Inquiry earlier, but there is not much we can do!

 

This would not have made a difference since they told you they had received the petition but had not yet entered it into their system yet. Following up in a week should be ok since they said they have received it already.

[hplusj 390]

13 hours ago, Edward and Jaycel said:

 

When you do this, in the same inquiry also ask them to update the petitioner's and beneficiary's email addresses. This will ensure you receive all communications from NVC and the embassy.

We did the same, so they had both petitioner and beneficiary emails.  The NVC only retains the petitioner email; when they send the information to the embassy, it's advised to have the beneficiary's email applied beforehand so they can contact him/her directly with the packet/s.

 

We worded ours like this:

 

Your Question(s):
We are requesting the case number as assigned by the NVC to proceed with the DS-160.  Additionally, we would like to update the information on file to include both petitioner and beneficiary email addresses, for ease of contact with the embassy in Johannesburg. Please see below:

 

Petitioner: <my full name>

DOB: <mine> 

Email:<mine> 

Beneficiary: <his full name>

DOB: <his> 

Email: <his>

 

We sent this at four weeks, and got a reply the next day with the case number.  As Mallory mentioned, the timeline is a bit slower these days.  I would start messaging at four weeks though, and continue to follow up every week until given the case#.

Edited April 16 by hplusj

[MarioandMaria 2]

Perfect, that is very helpful, thanks a lot!

[tomgndallas1 5]

we are essentially in the same boat. I sent in my second inquiry yesterday, so waiting to hear back. My NOA2 was date Feb 27, but we did not get an official notice from the system until April 3rd that the petition had been sent to DOC/NVC.

 

I may also take this strategy on the email as well. If it helps, that is a good thing, as I hear the letters are a bit slow to be delivered.