After the USCIS approval, how long should I wait till we receive anything from the National Visa Center, and what's next for me?
Prior to 2018, it used to take about four to six weeks to get the invoice from the NVC. The invoice is going to be a request for payment for your affidavit support and for your DS-260 visa application. When you receive that invoice, you'll pay those fees online, and then along with that letter, you'll also receive what's called the NVC Checklist. That's going to list the documents that you'll need to provide.
Currently, we're seeing anywhere from six to eight weeks. The process is taking longer than previous years. The National Visa Center is backed up with the increased scrutiny that we're seeing on some of the petitions, and so the process is just taking longer.
And then what's expected from you? Well, you're just going to follow the instructions provided by the National Visa Center. They're going to send you a detailed checklist and instructions and you'll just follow those step by step. They're going to tell you that you're going to have your sponsor provide the affidavit of support, the I-864. You're going to provide your most recent tax returns, W-2s. That's your income records for the most current year. And then you're going to have your civil documents. Civil documents are things like a copy of your passport, your birth certificate, police report, etc.
Just follow the checklist, it's very detailed. It has some boxes you can check off, and then if we're actually processing your paperwork for you we're going to guide you through the entire process, and we'll handle most of that for you.
