H1B Visa Lawyer Blog
Key Takeaways from AILA DOS Liaison Committee Meeting with the National Visa Center (February 2021)
Background – After the USCIS approves an Immigrant visa petition for applicants located outside of the United States, the case is sent to the National Visa Center (NVC) for processing. Family preference cases and employment-based immigration categories have numerical limits each year, so waiting times are normally long. If your priority date is current, NVC will begin Consular Processing. If your priority date is not current, you must wait for it to become current before NVC will contact you to initiate Consular processing.
AILA’s DOS Liaison Committee has provided their key takeaways from a February 2021 meeting with the NVC. They discussed problems and delays at the NVC which have been mostly caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.