1. U.S. Department of State National Visa Center

2. The National Visa Center
Opened in 1994
700+ employees in public-private partnership
USCIS
Accept and approve petition
NVC
Case pre-processing
Schedule interview
Embassy
Visa interview & issuance
CBP/USCIS
Port of entry
Green card

3. Petition Types
I-130 – Family Based I-600/A – Orphans I-140 – Employment Based I-800 – Hague Adoptions I-730 – Asylee/Refugee I-360 – Special Immigrant I-129F – K1 Fiancé/K3 Life Act I-526 – Investment

4. Petition Intake Data entry upon receipt
Determine if “current” and can process
Procedure depends upon type
Expedited petitions
K visas
Orphans
Refugees
Welcome Letter with instructions

5. Applicant Instructions
6 Steps in IV processing
Choose an agent
Pay fees
Submit visa application
Collect financial documents
Collect post-specific civil documents
Submit documents to NVC
Interview preparation
FAQs

6. I-864 Fee & Application Fee
Two fees paid online
I-864 Affidavit of Support fee (one per case)
DS-260 Immigrant Visa Application (one for each applicant)
NVC issues fee bills
Mail-in payment being phased out

7. Document Collection & Review
NVC completes administrative review
Requests missing/incomplete information
I-864 Affidavit of Support and attached proof
DS-260 Immigrant Visa Application form
Civil documents and Police Certificates

8. Visa interviews 144 embassies/consulates give NVC appointment dates
Embassy
144 embassies/consulates give NVC appointment dates
NVC
NVC schedules interview
NVC sends appointment letter to all addresses on case
NVC sends case paperwork & electronic file to embassy
Embassy interviews applicants

9. Processing Times NVC receives 12,000 to 14,000 petitions weekly
Data entry/filing into NVC’s system in <10 days
Review civil and financial documents in <30 days
Recent procedural changes mean faster movement of cases to interview stage

10. Always Improving
Backlog reduction: procedural changes, equipment, hiring
No Original Civil Documents - Copies Only
I-864 Assessment Letter
Telephone Unit: 8000 calls/day
Online public inquiry form
All-electronic (MIV) processing is coming
Piloting the Modernized IV program for applicants
Faster, easier & greener
Applicants documents
Electronic forms DS-260 & DS-261
Adoption cases sent to embassy electronically

11. Fiscal Year 2014 Volume Received 709,000+ petitions from USCIS
Updated 99,000 newly current Family-Based petitions
450,000 cases processed & sent to embassies
2.6 million cases at NVC
Received 1.4 million pieces of incoming mail
Sent 3 million pieces of outgoing mail
Responded to 1,700,000 written inquiries
Responded to 1,600,000 public calls
Responded to 98,000 Congressional inquiries

12. Attorney Inquiries Contact us
Call
Must be listed on case as Agent of Record
Research cases, communicate with overseas embassies and USCIS
Expedite or transfer requests: NVC is the “middle man”

13. Thank You
Questions?