
NVC Case Processing

The National Visa Center (NVC) handles immigrant visa cases for embassies and consulates worldwide. NVC is a part of the Department of State (DOS).
After USCIS approves your petition, they will send your case to NVC. NVC will give you a visa number and a welcome letter. You can track your NVC Case Processing on this website.
Affidavit of Support
An Affidavit of Support is a legal contract between the sponsor and USCIS. It states that the sponsor agrees to ensure their family member will not rely on means-tested public benefits such as food stamps, Medicaid, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. If the sponsored immigrant does use these benefits, then the sponsor is in breach of their sponsorship agreement and the government can sue them to recover the cost of the benefits.
Petitioning sponsors must prove they have enough income to sponsor an intending immigrant to the United States by completing Form I-864, Affidavit of Support. Sponsors may add a joint sponsor to their agreement who must meet the same income requirements. Sponsors may also count housing allowance or other non-taxable income in lieu of wages. They must provide evidence of this income, such as a tax return or a W-2.
Civil Documents
The NVC is a government agency located in Portsmouth, NH that is responsible for pre-processing immigrant visa petitions. They can be thought of as the middleman between USCIS and the Department of State Consular office that will ultimately issue the visa.
NVC takes the petition and all supporting civil documents and processes them into their system. They will also set an interview date with your country’s embassy or consulate.
Before your interview, you will need to submit original or certified copies of all civil documents you uploaded into CEAC (except for the affidavit). You should check the Document Finder by country to get specific instructions on how to obtain these.
Civil documents can be complicated to get and can take a while. Be patient and be sure to have an experienced attorney help you during this time. The interview with the consular officer will determine whether you are approved for a visa. Once you have been approved, the U.S. Embassy or Consulate will give you your actual visa.
Financial Documents
During this stage, the individual who petitioned for you (known as your sponsor) will send financial documents to NVC. In most cases, this will include a Form I-864, Affidavit of Support. This affidavit indicates that your sponsor has the ability to financially support you and your family in the United States.
Once the NVC has all of your civil and financial documents, it will review them and notify you when they are ready to be reviewed by a consular officer. The NVC will also provide you with a fee bill and instructions for paying required fees.
During this phase, it is important to have an experienced attorney from a compassionate law firm on your side. Contact us today to schedule a consultation. Our team is standing by to help you through the NVC process and the complex steps that follow. We can guide you through the process of getting a green card with ease. We are committed to providing the best possible service in a timely manner.
Tax Transcripts
If you are filing an I-864 affidavit of support for a family member going through consular processing, the NVC recommends that you submit IRS tax transcripts instead of photocopies. You can request these through the same website where you get your other government documents.
There are a few different types of IRS transcripts you can order. One is the tax account transcript. It contains basic data about your original return and any amendments you filed. It is available for the current year and prior three years. Another option is the tax return transcript, which is more comprehensive and shows your actual tax information. It is available for the current year and previous 10 years.
Tax transcripts used to contain a lot more personally identifiable information, but the IRS now partially blacks out this data so that even if transcripts fell into the hands of identity thieves, they would be useless. To get yours, go to the IRS site and follow online instructions.