This has been discussed many times but I never saw an official answer to it. I contacted NVC, told them our situation (I-130 approved, but need to delay for a year or two due to shipping costs, housing costs, etc.) and asked what is the proper way to postpone our case at NVC. This is their answer. Passing it along.
Dear Sir/Madam:
Thank you for contacting the National Visa Center (NVC). To keep your case active, do not let more than one year go by without contacting the NVC.
The easiest way to keep your case active is to access the Consular Electronic Center (CEAC) at https://ceac.state.gov/iv. Every time you go into your CEAC account, it will update the last contact date.
Regards,
Romeo | Inquiry Management
Department of State CA/VO/DO/NVC
LDRM | Lockwood Hills | Contractor
DOS - National Visa Center
So, it appears:
- No need to call
- No need to upload a document
Just login.
Reminder: The DS 260 does need to be submitted within 1 year
Update below
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I finally had some time and wrote up a clear (hopefully) summary, perhaps for a pinned post. If you want to ask the admins and they agree to pin it, I will make a new topic with it. Just my way of giving a bit back to VJ, with the help of Family!
Proposal for pinned post
Topic: Need to delay your case at NVC? Here is the BEST way!
After my wife and stepdaughter were approved by USCIS, we received the welcome letters from NVC. We later realized that we are going to have to postpone getting the visas and moving to the U.S. The delay might be one year, two years, or longer. We don’t want to lose the fees we paid and start all over, so we are delaying.
I asked here on VJ about how to delay and got good advice from several members. I also asked NVC via the AskNVC web portal. The advice can be slightly confusing, so I am sharing what I have learned.
Please note: This only applies to cases that are at NVC. After your case goes to the embassy, this no longer applies.
Facts:
NVC will keep your case open indefinitely if you contact them once a year.
NVC has been known to mistakenly close cases even though there was contact within the required window. It is up to you to prove that you contacted them by providing contact evidence.
Regardless of delaying, your DS 260 must be submitted to NVC within one year of your NVC welcome letter.
There are three options to contact NVC and keep your delayed case open.By phone. Downsides: Long waits, might be expensive, and you have no paper trail of your contact.
Log into your CEAC account. Downsides: This does not work for cases that were submitted by mail, and you have no paper trail of your contact.
Use the AskNVC web portal. Only a simple message is required, such as “I need more time for our case. This is my record of annual NVC contact.” Upside: You will receive an immediate automated e-mail record of your contact with NVC including all the communication detail. In the e-mail, it states: “Please retain this email as a record of your contact with NVC”.
AskNVC is the BEST option. Just logging into your CEAC account does not provide the safety of having a paper trail of your contact. Logging in does not work for non-electronic cases filed by mail. Keep your NVC automated responses and perhaps keep a tickler file to remind you when to send another annual contact at AskNVC.
AskNVC:
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/ask-nvc.html
I hope this information will help others who need to safely delay their cases at NVC.
