After the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approves an immigrant visa petition, the petition is forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC). When the NVC receives the petitions from the USCIS, the NVC collects application fees and supporting documents to ensure the petition package is complete and ready for review by a U.S. consular post. This stage, the consular processing step, is where the consular post makes the ultimate decision to issue or not to issue a visa to the applicant.

Under normal operating procedures, after the NVC completes its processing of the application, the NVC holds the visa petition until an interview at a consular post can be scheduled, if the petition’s priority date is current. If the petition’s priority date is current, the NVC will send the petition to the consular post. If the priority date for the petition is not current, however, the NVC will store the petition until it is. The Department of State posts these priority dates monthly in their Visa Bulletin at travel.state.gov/visabulletin.

Why is there a backlog in the visa application process?

During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, measures and regulations taken by the consular posts to help contain the spread of illness continue to cause backlogs in the visa issuing process. The consular posts continue to set appointment capacities, so the waiting time for visa interviews has been greatly extended. Instead of the NVC being able to send the petitions to the consular posts when the priority date is current, the NVC must wait until there is capacity within the consular post to conduct the interviews. The NVC stores these petitions and sends them to the consular posts based on a first-in first-out basis and based on the tier system which is used to prioritize certain visa applications over others.

What are the consular posts doing to mitigate the backlogs?

U.S. embassies and consulates are utilizing this tiered approach to help mitigate the effect the pandemic has on the visa processing system. This system prioritizes certain visa applications over others based on the category into which they fall, with Tier One being the most prioritized and Tier Four being the least prioritized. These are the main immigrant visa categories:

  • Tier One: Immediate relative intercountry adoption visas, age-out cases (cases where the applicant will soon no longer qualify due to their age), and certain Special Immigrant Visas (SQ and SI for Afghan and Iraqi nationals working with the U.S. government)
  • Tier Two: Immediate relative visas; fiancé(e) visas; and returning resident visas
  • Tier Three: Family preference immigrant visas and SE Special Immigrant Visas for certain employees of the U.S. government abroad
  • Tier Four: All other immigrant visas, including employment preference and diversity visas

This prioritization plan helps the consular posts mitigate some of the backlogs, or at least prevents the backlogs from growing exponentially, by accommodating as many immediate relatives and fiancé cases as possible. The plan also instructs posts to schedule at least some Tier Three and Tier Four cases each month also.

What should a visa applicant do while the widespread backlogs continue?

Although visa applicants, especially those in Tiers Three and Four, will continue to face extended delays, applicants should proceed with their applications for immigrant visas. Applicants should check the website of the nearest embassy or consulate for the current operating status of that office. Even if the consular post is currently closed, applicants should still submit their applications, pay their fees, and gather their documents for the NVC to place themselves in line to wait so that their application is ready to be scheduled for interviews once they are available.

If you have questions about your NVC case or any related immigration question, contact an attorney at ILBSG. Our experience and dedication to your case will ensure you get the right advice.

Consular Processing immigration National Visa Center NVC