The National Visa Center is taking longer to process applications & requests

The National Visa Center is the agency of the State Department responsible for processing immigrant visa applications before they are sent to U.S. Consulates abroad. It has reported that it is receiving a higher-than-normal volume of approved petitions from U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services. As a result of the increased workload, the National Visa Center is taking longer to process applications, inquiries, and requests. At the present moment, after the agency receives an application, it is sending notices to applicants that processing times are now at approximately 60 days. In our experience, this is two to five weeks longer than their usual response time to applications. This translates into two to five more weeks of waiting until an interview can be scheduled.

In addition, and as a natural corollary to NVC’s increased workload, some U.S. Consulates are also experiencing an increased volume of immigrant visa applicants, which also means longer waiting times for an available interview slot.

— Update by Erin Cobb