Your NVC Invoice ID number appears on the Welcome Letter the National Visa Center sends after it receives your approved petition from USCIS. The letter lists it near the top under a “case identification numbers” heading, alongside your NVC case number, and repeats it further down in the Affidavit of Support Fee Invoice section.1Travel.State.Gov. Helpful Hints: IV Processing If you never received the letter or can’t find it, request the number through the NVC’s Public Inquiry Form.
Where the Invoice ID Sits on the Welcome Letter
Once USCIS approves your immigrant visa petition and forwards it to the NVC, the NVC creates a case file and sends the Welcome Letter by email or physical mail.2Travel.State.Gov. CEAC FAQs Two numbers appear near the top: your NVC Case Number and your Invoice ID Number. The Invoice ID also shows up again in a dedicated Affidavit of Support Fee Invoice section further down the page, next to the fee amount and invoice date. If the top of the letter is faint or cut off, check that lower section.
Search your email inbox for messages from the NVC, and check spam and junk folders. Save the letter somewhere you can find it again: you cannot pay fees or submit documents without both numbers.
Invoice ID, Case Number, and USCIS Receipt Number Are Different
The NVC Case Number and the Invoice ID both appear on the Welcome Letter and both look like alphanumeric codes, which is why people confuse them. The case number identifies your petition throughout the visa process and is what you reference in any correspondence with the NVC. The Invoice ID is tied to fee payments and to accessing your case in the Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC). Swapping them at login produces an error.
Neither number is the same as the USCIS receipt number on your I-797 approval notice. That receipt number tracked your petition while USCIS held it. After the case transfers to the NVC, the new NVC case number and Invoice ID take over.
When the Welcome Letter Arrives
The NVC does not send the letter the moment USCIS approves your petition. The approved petition has to physically transfer, and then the NVC creates your case file. As of early 2026, the NVC was creating case files roughly two weeks after receiving petitions from USCIS.3Travel.State.Gov. NVC Timeframes The Welcome Letter goes out after that. Give it at least a few weeks from your I-797 approval date before assuming something is wrong.
Current processing dates are posted on the NVC’s timeframes page. If the NVC has passed your petition’s received date and you still have no letter, it’s time to contact them.
What the Invoice ID Is For
Inside CEAC, the Invoice ID unlocks two things: paying fees and submitting documents. Until those fees are paid, you cannot file the DS-260 online immigrant visa application or upload civil and financial documents.
The immigrant visa application fee varies by category:
- Immediate relative and family preference visas: $325 per person
- Employment-based visas: $345 per person
- Diversity Visa program: $330 per person
- Other immigrant visas: $205 per person
- Affidavit of Support review (when reviewed domestically): $120
These fees are non-refundable.4Travel.State.Gov. Fees for Visa Services The IV application fee and the Affidavit of Support fee are billed separately, each keyed to your Invoice ID. To sign in to CEAC, you use the NVC case number; the Invoice ID is then required to pay and proceed.5U.S. Department of State Electronic Application Center. Immigrant Visa – Sign In
If Your Spouse or Children Are Immigrating With You
The NVC generates a separate fee bill for each applicant in the case, including derivative applicants.6U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual. 9 FAM 504.4 Pre-Appointment Processing The Welcome Letter goes to all case parties and carries an Invoice ID for each person. Every derivative’s fees are paid individually through CEAC, so account for every Invoice ID before you start paying.
If You Cannot Find Your Invoice ID
After checking your email (spam and junk included) and any paper mail, use the NVC’s Public Inquiry Form at nvc.state.gov/inquiry to request the number.7U.S. Department of State. NVC Contact Information Four fields are mandatory:8U.S. Department of State. Public Inquiry Form
- NVC Case Number or USCIS Receipt Number (either one locates your file)
- Principal applicant’s full name
- Principal applicant’s date of birth
- Petitioner’s full name
Response times move with volume. As of early March 2026, the NVC was replying to inquiries within roughly six days.3Travel.State.Gov. NVC Timeframes Don’t send duplicate inquiries while you wait; the NVC works emails in the order received, and duplicates slow everyone down. Replies come from TSGSystem@tsg.state.gov, so add that address to your contacts to keep the response out of your spam folder.
The NVC phone line is 603-334-0700, Monday through Friday. Wait times can be long, but if your situation is time-sensitive and you can’t afford to wait on the form, calling is a reasonable second option.