u.s. department of state national visa center. opened in 1994 700+ employees in public-private...
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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
Embass
y
• Visa interview & issuance
CBP/
USCIS
• Port of entry• Green card
The National Visa Center
Petition Types
I-130 – Family Based I-600/A – OrphansI-140 – Employment Based I-800 – Hague AdoptionsI-730 – Asylee/Refugee I-360 – Special ImmigrantI-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 processing
1. Choose an agent2. Pay fees 3. Submit visa application4. Collect financial documents5. Collect post-specific civil
documents6. 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 [email protected]– 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”
Thank You
• Questions?