SimAsh

Thank you. I see that priority date is 08 Aug 2017 now. So, I see what you mean by wait till mother/petitioner is back in here prior to proceeding with brother/son with NVC process. You all at VJ has been very helpful and can't thank you enough. I will definitely update the post when returns back into States. Thanks much and god bless you all!

Okay, got it. Thank you so much for making this clear. We thought they would send her back from Airport and due to her age we didn't want to risk it. Okay, we will take gather and take evidence of why she had to be out for this long period of time. One last question, you mentioned "...Table B is what matters for the NVC process..." would mind to have a link or can you point me to where I can find that? Priority Date on Mother's file is 8th December 2017. Where are the priority dates now?

got it. Thank you. If she buys ticket and comes to USA, is it possible that at the airport they will send her back due to length of time stayed outside of country/USA? Or what to expect? just try to make sure we understand and not put her in difficult situation with immigration officer and having to go back after being landed in USA. Thanks

She didn't return because of the other children's family issues. Yes, I agree. Sooner the better. Thank you.

She was going through some health issue and when she moved there to show her health issue to doctor they kept her there and then her (mother's mother) got ill so she stayed there to take care of her and late last year she passed away. No she has no income in India. She retired as teacher. When she was here in USA bother her and husband worked and paid taxes. We want her back but trying to figure out what is it that we need to do. Come in with green card or take an appointment at consulate and ensure prior to getting ticket and stuff. Her green card doesn't expire till JUL-2027. No trips to US in last three years.

She is still in India. Mother has not tried returning back yet but yes, we are going to. There wasn't anything (no income) to file tax return. During their time in USA, when they were here they worked and did tax returns. Only thing other than sickness in family, we don't have anything else to prove that shows/prove her intention o return back to USA. Thank you

Thank you all for your help — I’m trying to better understand our situation. This letter is not for my brother/sister, but for a mother‑filed petition (F2B) that was submitted years ago, so the notice makes sense. Based on a VisaJourney post by CrazyCat, it appears the priority date for F2B is 22‑May‑2017 and our PD is 14 December 2017. So, the recent letter may simply be related to inactivity (we hadn’t logged into CEAC in over a year), which aligns with the 203(g) requirement to show continued interest. We have now logged in again, so I believe we are compliant. My main follow‑up question is about my mother (the petitioner): My mother was a lawful permanent resident (green card holder) at the time of filing this case. After filing the petition, she had to return to her home country due to a serious family illness. She remained outside the U.S. for an extended period (over three years) and we did not file U.S. tax returns during that time. My concern is whether this extended absence could be viewed as abandonment of permanent residence, and if so: Could this impact the validity of the I‑130 petition she filed? Does the green card automatically become invalid after such an absence, or is this determined only at entry / through USCIS review? Is there anything we should proactively do now to protect the case? Any insight from those with similar experiences, or guidance on next steps, would be greatly appreciated.

Confirmed PD for Brother Sister of US Citizen is December 14, 2017

December 08, 2017 is the priority date when mother filed for as her son. Same applicant... I am going to confirm/looking the PD for Sister to brother file

Yes, applicant's mother who was green card holder also applied for his son. However, mother decided to move back to India. So that petition may not be valid.

Okay, thank you. So, I take it that the notice we received is to just to keep our file/case open/active with NVC and we still have a long way to go. As currently they are only processing files for applicant who has priority date prior to 1st November 2006. Am I understanding this correct?

PD(Notice of Date on form I-797C) is 14 December 2017

Thanks for your reply! I’m not sure which “Welcome Letter” we are referencing here, but the first email from NVC with the case number and instructions to log into CEAC, we got that in early 2023, but the fee and document buttons were grayed out because our priority date wasn’t current. PD - December 14, 2017. County of Birth - India

Hello everyone, I’m looking for guidance from anyone who has dealt with a similar NVC situation. I am a U.S. citizen and filed an immigrant visa petition for my brother. Our case details are as follows: NVC case created: December 2020 Notice of Immigrant Visa Case Creation received: January 2023 Visa category: Family‑based (backlogged with long priority date wait) When we first received the NVC notice in 2023, we were instructed to log into CEAC to pay fees and submit documents. However, at that time the fee and document buttons were grayed out, and we later learned this was due to visa unavailability / priority date not being current. Because of this, we did not submit fees or documents and were waiting for further notice once a visa became available. Fast‑forward to April 15, 2026, we unexpectedly received an email from NVC titled “First Termination Letter.” The letter states that a visa number is now available and references INA §203(g), giving us one year to take action before the case is terminated. The letter instructs us to log into CEAC to restart the case. However, when we try to log in, CEAC displays a message saying that: fee payments and online forms can no longer be accepted because the case has been inactive for over one year. CEAC tells us to contact NVC, so we immediately submitted a Public Inquiry Form requesting reactivation of the case and reopening of CEAC access. We attached the termination notice and supporting documentation. Right now, we are waiting for NVC to respond. My questions: Has anyone successfully had an NVC case reopened after receiving a “First Termination Letter”? Is this CEAC lockout normal while NVC reviews the inquiry? Is there anything else we should be doing proactively while waiting for NVC’s response? Any shared experiences or advice would be greatly appreciated. This process has been long and confusing, and we want to make sure we don’t miss anything during this one‑year window. Thank you in advance.