CONGRESSIONAL NEWS
FROM VSC

By Donna K. Kane, SCLS
June 2000

U.S. Department of State
National Visa Center
Portsmouth, NH

GENERAL INFORMATION:

NVC processes all approved immigrant visa petitions after they are received from the Immigration and Naturalization  Service (INS) and retains them until the cases are ready for adjudication by a consular officer abroad.  Petitions may remain at NVC for several weeks or for many years depending on the visa category and country of birth of the visa applicant.  When an applicant’s case is about to become current (a visa number is likely to be available within the year) the petition is forwarded to the appropriate U.S. embassy or consulate overseas.  If an applicant is adjusting status in the U.S. the case will be forwarded to the appropriate INS office upon request by that office.  NVC receives thousands of telephone and written inquiries from applicants, congressional offices, U.S. embassies and consulates, INS offices, and the White House.  An automated recorded message can answer many of these inquiries 24 hours a day, seven days a week (603 334-0700).  Status of case information can only be accessed by entering your NVC case number or INS receipt number on a touch-tone telephone.  NVC only has information on petitions it has received.  If our automated service does not recognize the INS file or receipt numbers you entered, most likely we have not yet received your petition.

Operators are available to respond to more difficult inquiries from 8:00 AM to 3:45 PM (EST) Monday through Thursday.  NVC also holds a customer service feedback day so that the public can talk to operators about the information we provide.

The telephone number and customer service dates are provided at the end of some of the messages.

Written inquiries, changes of address and requests to upgrade petitions due to naturalization of the petitioner should be sent to:  The National Visa Center, 32 Rochester Avenue, Portsmouth NH  03801-2909.  Please note that NVC is not open to the public.  Unfortunately, some people have traveled long distances to inquire about their case in person, only to discover that we are not able to meet with them.

When an applicant’s priority date is close to becoming current NVC will mail a packet of forms and information (Packet 3) to the beneficiary (applicant).  If requested to do so we will send this Packet 3 to the applicant’s lawyer or to the petitioner instead of the beneficiary.  The exact contents of the Packet 3 will depend on where the applicant will be interviewed for a visa.  For instance, the Packet 3 we send to people applying in China is different from the one we send to applicants in France.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Why don’t you have my case at NVC yet?

When you complete a petition (I-130, I-140, etc.) for an immigrant visa you send it to the Immigration and Naturalization  for approval.  If the INS approves the petition they will send you a Notice of Approval (I-797) and then they will send the petition to NVC. Sometimes there is a delay between when you get the Notice of Receipt and the Notice of Approval from the INS and also between when you get the Notice of Approval and when NVC receives the petition.  After NVC receives the petition, it will send a letter to the principal applicant (your beneficiary) regarding the status of the case.  We recommend that you wait at least three weeks after you get your Notice of Approval before calling NVC if you have not heard from the Center by that time.  Please remember that unless instructed to do otherwise, we notify the beneficiary (the applicant) - NOT the petitioner – regarding the status of the case.

I am the beneficiary (applicant) and my case is at NVC.  Now what happens?

This depends on whether or not your case is current.  If your visa category is an immediate relative category (spouse, parent or child of a U.S. citizen) then your case is automatically current.  If your visa category is one of the family preference or employment categories, there are legal limits on the numbers of visas that can be issued in each category and in most categories, the demand is higher than those limits.  In these categories, waiting lists have been established based on your priority date, which is the date your sponsor filed your petition with the INS.  Cutoff dates established by the Visa Office determine when your petition will be reached for processing.  Your petition can only become current and thus ready to further processing when the cutoff date in your visa category has advanced up to your priority date.

If your case is about to become current we will send you, the beneficiary, a Packet 3 containing information and forms.  You should complete all the necessary forms and follow the instructions to continue with the visa application process.  Your sponsor (petitioner) should complete the Affidavit of Support (I-864) form, which will be sent directly to the petitioner by NVC.

N-400 GENERAL INFORMATION:

N400 applicants who are under the age of 75 years at the time of filing are required to be fingerprinted.

Applicants residing in the United States whose application was filed on or after March 29, 1998 are required to submit a $25 fingerprint fee in addition to the base filing fee.  These applicants will file the N400 and subsequently be scheduled for fingerprinting at an Application Support Center.  If the fingerprint fee is not included with the base filing fee, the application is accepted and the receipt notice requests the applicant to submit the additional $25.

Applicants residing abroad do not need to pay the $25 fingerprint fee and may submit an FD258 with the N400.  If the applicant fails to submit the FD258 at the time of filing, a request for the FD258 is sent to the applicant abroad.

Who sends the initial fingerprint notice?

Scheduling of applicants residing in the US is generally accomplished electronically through C4.  The only exceptions to this are for people residing abroad, cases being processed in RNACS or where the scheduling cannot otherwise be accomplished through C4.

Military personnel stationed abroad and applicants employed abroad may submit an FD258 with their application.  If an FD258 is not received with the N400 application, the N400 Unit will generate a request for the FD258.

Where does the applicant get fingerprinted?

Applicants who are homebound and unable to appear to be fingerprinted at the respective ASC may request to be printed at their residence.  This is accomplished through coordination between the local office and ASC.

All applicants under the age of 75, including military personnel stationed stateside, are required to appear at an ASC to be fingerprinted.

Applicants residing abroad and military personnel stationed abroad should submit an FD258 that has been properly completed by a military installation, U.S. Consulate/Embassy or overseas INS office.

Waivers:

An applicant may be granted a waiver of the requirement to be fingerprinted.  An ASC manager can only grant this waiver.  Applicants will continue to be scheduled for prints like all other applicants and will appear at the ASC to obtain a waiver.

Initial Fingerprint Notices:

C4 will schedule the applicant for the first set of prints. There are two different types of fingerprint appointment notices.  One type gives the applicant a one-week period in which to appear at the ASC to be printed.  If he or she is not one able to appear during that one-week period, the notice specifies a day of the week for the remaining weeks in the 87-day period in which he or she can be printed.  The second type of notice specifies a single date and time that the applicant is to appear at the ASC.  If the applicant is unable to keep the appointment, he or she is instructed to reschedule the appointment through the ASC within 87 days of the original appointment date.

Second Fingerprint Notices:

For rejected fingerprints:  When the first unclassifiable reject is updated in FD258 Tracking, the data will post to the C4 record.  As of July 1, 1999, C4 no longer scheduled the applicant for a second set of prints.  Instead, the FD258 identified as the first unclassifiable reject is sent directly by the FBI to the ASC for rescheduling.  The scheduling by the ASC is not recorded in any database.  If the second FD258 is an unclassifiable reject, the FBI response should electronically update FD 258 Tracking.  When the second reject response is posted to C4, the system should then release the case for interview.

For expired fingerprints:  C4 is designed to recognize an expired print for rescheduling based on the FBI process date and the fingerprint lead time set by the local office.

Who sends the FD258 to the FBI?

There are two methods currently being used to process FD258 cards through the FBI.  The primary method presently being used is the MRD system.  The masthead information on the FD258 is entered into MRD so that an electronic data tape can be created and forwarded to the FBI with the FD258 cards.  The FBI uses the data tape in the process to conduct checks.

The Service is moving away from the MRD system to a new system called IAFIS which eliminates the need to send the physical FD258 to the FBI.  We are currently piloting the IAFIS system at 3 ASC sites in PHI, BOS and NEW.  All other cards are still being prepared and sent to the Service Center for processing.

No record in FD258 Tracking after 6 months?

INS is aware that many responses did not get posted to FD258 Tracking timely.  Both Headquarters and VSC have several processes in place that are used to identify those cases for which we have not received a FBI response timely.  When appropriate, the cases will be rescheduled.

I-360, RELIGIOUS WORKERS, SUNSET

The “SR” classification is due to sunset on September 30, 2000.  This classification includes beneficiaries who are professional religious workers or other religious workers.

Per regulation, an “SR” beneficiary of an I-360 will need to have entered as an immigrant or adjusted status (have an I-485 approved) prior to October 1, 2000, in order to eligible for the benefit. 

The Business Product Line has begun a process, which should keep the I-360, religious worker petitions, current.  This process includes the identification of all such petitions at every stage of the adjudication.

The Resident Product Line is likewise in the process of identifying all adjustment cases, which involve an I-360, religious worker.

We ask that you be patient and allow us some time to identify these cases.  If you haven’t received some kind of correspondence from us by the first of August, you should let us know and we will look into it.

ADDRESS CHANGES

It has been brought to our attention that many people believe that by submitting a change of address card to the Immigration and Naturalization Service the change will make it’s way to all cases they have with the Service.

That is not necessarily the case.  There are two different scenarios with regards to address changes.  The first would be if you are a LPR, who is required by law to submit a change of address to the Service.  If you have no current applications with the Service, the address card will simply be put in the A file.

On the other hand, simply sending a notification of an address change, may not get the change to a currently pending petition or application.  If you have a pending application before the Service, you should contact either the Service Center or District Office which has the pending case.  You can either call or write the applicable office.  Please be sure you indicate the case type and give the corresponding EAC or A number.