Home > Immigration > National Visa Center FAQ |
1. Why don't you have my case at NVC yet?
2. I am the beneficiary and my case is at NVC. Now what happens?
3. I received my Packet 3. Now what do I do?
4. I am in the United States and would like to adjust status?
5. When I filed a petition for my relative I was a legal permanent resident
(green card holder). I recently became a U.S. citizen. How can I upgrade
the petition?
6. I moved. How do I give you my new address?
7. I have been waiting for a very long time for my relative to get an immigrant
visa. Now there is a family emergency and I need my relative to immigrate
soon to the U.S. Can NVC help me?
8. My relative went for his interview for an immigrant visa (or lottery visa) at
the U.S. Embassy, but was refused. Can NVC review this case?
When you complete a petition (I-130, I-140, etc.) for an immigrant visa you send it to the Immigration and Naturalization Service for approval. If the INS approves the petition they will send you a Notice of Approval (I-797) and then they will send the petition to NVC. Sometimes there is a delay between when you get the Notice of Receipt and the Notice of Approval from INS and also between when you get the Notice of Approval and when NVC receives the petition. After NVC receives the petition, it will send a letter to the principal applicant (your beneficiary) regarding the status of the case. We recommend that you wait at least three weeks after you get your Notice of Approval before calling NVC if you have not heard from the Center by that time. Please remember that unless instructed to do otherwise, we notify the beneficiary (the applicant) - NOT the petitioner - regarding the status of the case.
I am the beneficiary and my case is at NVC. Now what happens? |
This depends on whether or not your case is current. If your visa category is an immediate relative category (spouse, parent or child of a U.S. citizen) then your case is automatically current. If your visa category is one of the family preference or employment categories, there are legal limits on the numbers of visas that can be issued in each category and in most categories, the demand is higher than those limits. In these categories, waiting lists have been established based on your priority date, which is the date your sponsor filed your petition with the INS. Cutoff dates established by the Visa Office determine when your petition will be reached for processing. Your petition can only become current and thus ready to further processing when the cutoff date in your visa category has advanced up to your priority date.
If your case is about to become current the NVC will send you, the beneficiary, a Packet 3 containing information and forms. You should complete all the necessary forms and follow the instructions to continue with the visa application process. Your sponsor (petitioner) should complete the Affidavit of Support (I-864) form, which will be sent directly to the petitioner by NVC.
Click here or to hear the cutoff dates you may call the State Department Visa Information line at 202-663-154.If your case is not current the NVC will send you a letter informing you that they have your file and they will hold it until your case becomes current. The NVC cannot predict when a case will become current. You should monitor the movement of the cutoff dates as announced by the Visa Office to learn when your priority date is reached.
Procedures vary depending on the kind of visa and which embassy or consulate will be processing the case.
There are exceptions to the above procedure when NVC will give additional instructions to the applicants. Some examples are the processing for diversity visas and those that NVC schedules for visa appointments like those cases to be processed in Canada. Applicants should read carefully and follow the instructions in the Packet 3, which explain exactly what to do next.
If you live in the U.S. you may be eligible for adjustment of status as a permanent resident. When your case becomes current, NVC will send you a letter telling you that you may be eligible for adjustment of status and asking that you tell us if you will adjust or apply at a U.S. consular section abroad. If you write back to us that you will adjust status, we will note it on your case record and retain the file until an INS office requests it to process your adjustment application. If NVC does not get a reply to our letter after 30 days, we will send you a Packet 3 and send your case file to a consular office abroad for processing.
The NVC is not involved in adjustment of status. You should contact the INS office nearest you for information, forms, and adjustment of status updates.
Please make a copy of your Naturalization Certificate. Send the copy - not the original - to the National Visa Center with a letter containing the beneficiary name and case number of the petition you want to upgrade. The NVC will send the beneficiary any additional forms and information that may be required.
Write to the National Visa Center at, 32 Rochester Avenue, Portsmouth NH 03801-2909, or fax it to 603-334-0759. When contacting the NVC please be sure to always include your case number or your INS receipt number so that they may locate your case.
Unfortunately, if your relative's case is not current, there is nothing that NVC can do to expedite visa processing. Immigrant visa processing is governed by the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as amended, which controls visa categories, priority dates and the availability of visa numbers. Immigrant visa numbers are made available strictly in the order of priority dates. There is no provision within the law that would allow NVC to waive numerical limitation in any indivdual case.
My relative went for his interview for an immigrant visa ... |
No. NVC has no authority to review the (granting) or refusal of any immigrant or lottery visa case. If you want to have more information about the processing of an immigrant visa case that has already been sent to a U.S. consular section abroad or to request a review of a visa refusal, please contact the U.S. consular office where the visa case was processed.
Sources:
U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
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