For the past several months, people have been frustrated with the delays and backlogs at the National Visa Center (NVC) concerning the processing of their (or their family member’s) immigrant visas. Some people are receiving NVC’s “60 day letter,” in which the NVC advises it has received “an increased number of approved petitions from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. As a result, we are experiencing increased review times for documents received.”
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), of which I am a member, recently explained some of the reasons for the NVC’s delays:
• The NVC’s caseload tripled from 2013 to 2014, when the USCIS cleared its backlog of relative petitions and transferred those cases to the NVC. Therefore, instead of the cases sitting at USCIS for adjudication, USCIS cleared its backlog, approve the cases, and sent three times as many cases to the NVC for immigrant visa processing this past year;
• The NVC hired new contractors, who still need additional training in analyzing and evaluating affidavits of support (Form I – 864);
•There are problems in filling out the immigrant visa application (Form DS – 260) online;
•There are problems with applicants being able to pay the visa fees online.
The new NVC director is aware of these problems and delays, and is promising to address and fix them as soon as possible. But if you are frustrated over the long delays with the NVC processing your case, at least you know you’re not alone, and now know the reasons why.
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