U.S. Department of StateNational 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

The National Visa Center

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

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

Applicant Instructions

• http://NVC.state.gov

• 6 Steps in IV processing1. Choose an agent

2. Pay fees

3. Submit visa application

4. Collect financial documents

5. Collect post-specific civil documents

6. Submit documents to NVC

• Interview preparation

• FAQs

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

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

Visa interviews

Embassy• 144 embassies/consulates give NVC appointment dates

NVC• NVC schedules interview

NVC• NVC sends appointment letter to all addresses on case

NVC• NVC sends case paperwork & electronic file to embassy

Embassy• Embassy interviews applicants

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

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 e-mail documents• Electronic forms DS-260 & DS-261• Adoption cases sent to embassy electronically

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

Attorney Inquiries

• Contact us

– Email NVCAttorney@state.gov

– Call 603-334-0700

– 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”

Public Inquiries

• Email– Use public inquiry form on http://nvc.state.gov– AskNVC@state.gov

• Telephone– 603-334-0700 Monday-Friday, 7:00 am – midnight

• Letters– 31 Rochester Avenue

Suite 200 Attn: WC Portsmouth, NH 03801

• Always visit NVC website to look at FAQs

Thank You

• Questions?