National Visa Center for Consular Processing
Posted Oct 28, 2005
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The National Visa Center (NVC) in Portsmouth, New Hampshire is the venue that gathers and consolidates the data from the various USCIS offices pertaining to immigrant cases that will undergo consular processing. It is also the location from which all the consular processing packages are sent to the various consulates around the world. The immigrant visa cases are those, both family and employment, in which the petitioner has selected consular processing. In addition to the immigrant visa cases, the NVC also processes K-1 (fiancé/e) and K-3 (nonimmigrant spouse of a U.S. citizen) cases for consular interviews once the petitions are approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
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A pair of attorneys from The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C. visited the NVC on October 21, 2005. They gained useful insights into the operations of the NVC as a result of their tour of the facility. Our attorneys reported that they were impressed with the organization and professionalism they witnessed. Some of the highlights of the visit are summarized here for the benefit of our MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers, as well as the latest tips for avoiding delays in processing at the NVC.
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With the onset of retrogression, many applicants are wondering whether the NVC continues processing a case for which the priority date is not current. These insights should help clarify the NVC's actions in these situations.
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Qualifying Date Concept of NVC
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Each month when the Visa Bulletin is released, if any dates moved forward, the NVC sorts all the cases by date to find those that are ready for processing.
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The NVC operates based upon what they term the "qualifying date,” rather than the priority date. The qualifying date, used by NVC for internal purposes only, is approximately eight to twelve months ahead of the Visa Office priority date. Of course, there is no guarantee that the priority date will actually become current eight to twelve months after the qualifying date. In cases where the qualifying date is not current, the NVC does not continue processing the case. When the qualifying date becomes current, the fee bill is sent to the applicant and, upon receipt of fees, the instruction packet (formerly known as Packet 3) is mailed. This explains why some applicants have continued receiving fee bills and instruction packets from the NVC despite their priority dates not being current. Examples are when the family receives the bill for the fee even after the minor children have become adults and are no longer eligible for the immigrant visa since the NVC works on the "qualifying date" concept instead of the priority date to process their paperwork. The goal is to have everything in place in a timely manner so that the case can proceed once the priority date is current.
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Operations at NVC
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The NVC is a very large facility that handles an enormous number of petitions. To deal with the massive volume their operations are automated and streamlined. Following is a summary of some key processes, as well as some statistics on the volume of work handled by the NVC.
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Standard Consular or Appointment Review  Consular posts are designated as either “Standard Review” or “Appointment Review” posts. All of the Indian consulates are Standard Review posts. For these consulates, the NVC collects the DS-230 Part I, I-864 Affidavit of Support (if applicable), the fee and other basic initial documentation such as tax returns and W2s. The case is then forwarded to the consulate (provided that the qualifying date is current), which schedules the interview appointment.
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For “Appointment Review” posts, which include Montreal, Tirana, Ankara, Abu Dhabi, and all African posts, the NVC does a more extensive document collection and schedules the interview appointment for the applicant.
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Standard Review  In a Standard Review case in which some initial documentation is missing, the NVC will send a request for the missing documents. When this happens, the file is taken out of the normal stream of processing, which can result in delays to the case.
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Incoming NVC Mail  The NVC receives between 100,000 and 120,000 pieces of mail each week. They send out approximately 13,000 bills for fees and 23,000 information packets each week. Although many mailings are automated, the information packets for some consulates have to be compiled manually, which the hard-working NVC staff does at the rate of over 100 per hour.
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Telephone Inquiries  The NVC receives 3000 to 3500 telephone inquiries per day. They have 15 to 25 operators working two shifts, from 7:30 a.m. to midnight Eastern Time (U.S.). It is suggested that the best time to call is between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. or between 9:00 p.m. and midnight.
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Timeframes for Data Input  Most petitions are scanned into the NVC database and given an NVC case number within 24 hours of being received from the USCIS. This case number is used to track the case throughout its duration at the NVC.
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Quality Control  The NVC prides itself on quality control. Each petition is reviewed by at least two people before being sent to the consulate.
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Consular Posts Distribution  Approximately 40% of the cases processed at the NVC are destined for posts in Mexico. The NVC ships boxes of cases to each post in weekly cycles. Cases are sent to certain consulates on certain days of the week. Expedited cases, such as K-1, K-3, adoption and “age-out” cases, are sent immediately and do not wait for the weekly shipment.
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Cases Sent by Consulates to NVC for Revocation  If a consulate returns a case for revocation, it is sent to the NVC for tracking purposes and the NVC returns it to the USCIS, which processes the revocation. The case only stays at the NVC for a few days. These are cases in which the petitions are approved by the USCIS, but the consulates detect something that indicates the cases should not have bee approved.
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How to Help NVC
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NVC staff provided some helpful tips on how to make the processing of a case as smooth as possible, and how to best avoid delays. These include the following:
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Do Not Send in Unsolicited Documents  Additional documentation should not be sent until requested by the NVC. Because operations at the NVC are highly automated, items (such as fee payment, affidavit of support and other forms) that are received before a request has been issued tend to complicate processing and delay the respective cases. We note that the same appears to be true of processing at USCIS Service Centers – it is generally best to not send additional information until requested.
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Include Table of Contents  Including a table of contents and tabbing documents is very helpful and enables NVC staff to process a case more efficiently. This seems especially useful for “Appointment Post” cases, which are more document-intensive.
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Notify if Switching from CP to AOS  The NVC would like to be notified regarding cases in which a person who marked the immigrant visa petition (I-140 or I-130) for consular processing has opted instead to proceed with adjustment of status. This helps them to streamline their file storage.
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Explain  Unavailable Tax Returns  If the sponsor or joint-sponsor filing the I-864 was not required to file a U.S. tax return for one or more of the last three years, s/he should send a letter explaining the situation to avoid a request for additional documents. A separate tax return authorization form (provided by the NVC) is required for each sponsor and joint sponsor. The form can be photocopied, but only for use with the same case, as the form is bar-coded to be matched with that particular case.
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Mark if Aging Out Issue  In cases where a child is about to age out (turn 21 years old), the NVC will short-cut the normal process and send the file directly to the consulate, provided that a visa number is available. It is important that petitioners, beneficiaries, or their attorneys notify the NVC of such cases so that they may take the appropriate steps to expedite these cases. There are, however, no guarantees that such cases will be processed in time, despite the best efforts of the NVC.
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Clearly Mark Schedule A Cases to Avoid Their Being Considered EB3  Employment-based, third preference (EB3) Schedule A petitions (such as those for nurses and physical therapists) should be clearly marked across the front as “Schedule A.” At the time of this writing, this category is still current. Marking the cases should ensure that they are not mistakenly shelved because of the unavailability of visa numbers for other EB3 cases. This is good practice for all Schedule A petitions, whether filed for consular processing or adjustment of status.
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Conclusion
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If nothing is received from the NVC within 60 days of a petition's having been approved by the USCIS, the petitioner, beneficiary, or attorney is advised to contact the NVC to inquire about the case.
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We at The Law Office of Sheela Murthy would like to extend our thanks to the NVC for opening their doors to us, and for providing such useful and practical information from which immigrant visa applicants can benefit.