By Michael Phulwani
This is the second part of the three-part on the National Visa Center, where bulk of the processing of family & employment petitions is completed.
Additional Q&As
Addresses
Please explain the use of the 31 Rochester and the 32 Rochester addresses for correspondence. How important is it to use the exact address, suite number, “Attn” and zip code when corresponding with the NVC?
Specific questions about a case should be sent to:
National Visa Center
Attn: WC
31 Rochester Ave. Suite 200
Portsmouth, NH 03801-2915
Forms, documents, and photographs should be sent to:
National Visa Center
Attn: CMR
31 Rochester Ave. Suite 100
Portsmouth, NH 03801-2914
The exact address helps get the correspondence to the correct processing unit.
Items should not be sent to 32 Rochester Avenue.
Would correspondence ever be sent to two different Suite numbers within the same case?
Yes, case inquiries and document collection are handled in separate units.
Contact with NVC
Why does the NVC send some paperwork via snail mail and some via e-mail?
NVC will email most of our packets if an email address has been provided. If you send a case inquiry by email, we will respond by email. If you send a case inquiry by regular mail, we will respond by regular mail.
Where does the NVC send notice to an I-130 beneficiary when a priority date is close to current? To the beneficiary abroad? To the petitioner? To the attorney of record at the time the I-130 was filed?
NVC sends (email if provided email address) the IV Fee and Affidavit of Support Fee letter to the Attorney of Record at the time the I-130 was filed. If the case does not have an Attorney, NVC sends (emails if email address) the DS-3032 to the applicant abroad and the Affidavit of Support fee bill letter to the Petitioner in the US.
Documentation
Please confirm that a police clearance does not expire if the individual has not returned to the country where it was issued.
Police certificates from countries of former residence do not expire as long as they were issued at the time of (or after) the applicant’s most recent departure from that country.
Lost or Unavailable
Documents
What is the procedure for convincing the NVC that replacement original documents are not available?
A written statement from the applicant or issuing authority stating the document is unavailable will suffice for NVC processing. However, this does not waive the requirement for the case. The adjudicating post may still require the documentation at the time of interview.
The NVC will set the Document Status in their system to “U” which indicates “The applicant has informed the NVC that the required document is unavailable.”
In the past, we have been able to have documentary requirements waived by posts when we have shown an individual cannot obtain the document after substantial efforts. How do we obtain such a waiver for documents that may be listed as available on the NVC or DOS website but because of specific circumstances are simply not available to the individual visa applicant? Will the NVC make this determination, or must we request that the case be forwarded to the post without the document and obtain the waiver from the post?
The written statement listed above will suffice to allow for continued processing at NVC. However, the post will need to make the final decision.
The NVC will set the Document Status in their system to ‘U’ which indicates “The applicant has informed the NVC that the required document is unavailable.”
NVC Electronic System
Is there a way to cancel an electronic payment for family members no longer requiring a visa or for accidental submissions?
Requests for fee refunds can be mailed to National Visa Center.
Attn: WC
31 Rochester Ave. Suite 200
Portsmouth, NH 03801-2915
To be continued
