Time Savers for NVC, plus Knowing your Case #

[abajaj 0]

i have a query?

what is the correct way to generate barcodes?

what is the correct way to generate barcodes? do i type my NVC case number as *NWD-2008528028* or *NWD2008528028* or just NWD2008528028 without a hyphen in the middle. pleas advice

thanks!

Posted: Jan 10 2006, 08:05 PM Aussiewench

We didnt use Jame's Shortcuts out of choice and definately not begrudging anyone that does....just want to share/show that there are also ways of saving time without using those shortcuts as not everyone is confident in self generating, or simply choose not to use them

Suggestions

* Once the USC receive the AOS (I-864) Bill and the copy of the DS-3032 one can save time by emailing or faxing a copy of the DS-3032 Choice of Agent form to the beneficiary overseas who then selects the agent, signs the form and returns it to the address on the form. Doesn't save much but it saves the mailing time from NVC to the spouse.

* Have the beneficiary (now the applicant) fill out the DS-230 and send it to the USC if they are to be the agent....this can be done at any time before the DS-230 is generated at NVC. Once it is generated it will be sent to the agent, the signed copy with the cover sheet (that the agent will receive) which has the barcode can then be mailed to NVC.

* Have the beneficiary (now the applicant) forward any documents, photocopies etc that may be required to be submitted with the DS-230 to you ahead of time. Check out the Department of State website HERE

and select the Instructions for Visa Immigrant Applicant appropriate for the country of your spouse.

* Complete the I-864 which is also available in the above link for download. When NVC generates this form it comes to you with a barcode cover sheet which you will then need to return along with your completed I-864 form.

All the above do not save as much time as Jame's Shortcuts but they do save time.

IMPORTANT

Familiarise yourself with the NVC Flowchart so you know the order in which forms will be generated and what is sent to the USC (petitioner) and your spouse (beneficiary/applicant) to be completed.

NVC Flowchart for I-130/CR-1

NVC Automated Voice Response Service

So your I-130 petition has been approved and forwarded to NVC

Now you are wanting to know if it has been received and a case number assigned

You can use your CIS (NOA) receipt number from your approval to find out.

On calling the NVC automated voice response number (603) 334-0700 you will.... press 1 for English press 2 for Spanish

press 1 for information about your immigrant visa

It will then ask you if you know your CIS receipt number.....press 1

(Once you have a case number you can use this.....press 2)

You then follow the instructions to key in your number.

If will then tell you if NVC has received the petition, and assigned a number.

This automated service is available 24/7.

Once you have your case number you can call them at any time to hear any updates on your case, using either the NVC case number or your CIS (NOA) receipt number.

Hope this all assists some.

Lorelle aka wench

Those wishing to use Jame's Shortcuts, they are now available a couple of posts below.

Choice of Agent

Many members are having success in emailing the NVC to choose their agent in place of sending in the DS-3032. They usually send a confirmation email within a couple of days. If not you will need to call to confirm that it has been accepted. Below is an example email posted by AMarina.

Posted: Jan 11 2006, 12:20 AM AMarina

Thank you for sharing these. They are indeed useful. Here is one more: I read about it at another forum, and successfully used it myself:

As soon as you know (from the answering service or talking with an operator at the NVC) that the Choice of Agent form has been sent out, the beneficiary can EMAIL their choice of agent to NVC. Apparently, there is a rule that if you cannot locate your form (due to bad mail service in your country), you are entitled to appoint your agent by e-mail. We did it on a second day after the form was mailed, and received a response from NVC two days later that they accepted choice of agent (by the way, we still have not received that letter from them yet, lol).

Here is a sample of my correspondence with them:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Your inquiry has been received at the National Visa Center (NVC).

The NVC has updated the petitioner's address. Please continue to notify the NVC of any change of address or change in personal situation, which may affect the beneficiary's entitlement to a visa.

We have received the Agent of Choice selection.═ The Immigrant Visa Application (DS 230) processing fee bill will be sent to the petitioner.═ The fee must be paid according to the instructions before that form will be sent. Please allow two to four weeks for the petitioner to receive this fee bill.

Regards,

National Visa Center

ACB/tkm

-----Original Message-----

Dear Sir or Madam,

My name is ....., my visa case number is #......

Unfortunately I cannot locate my ds-3032 and would like to appoint my

husband as my agent of choice to receive all the correspondence from NVC.

His name and address is:

......

All mail from the U.S. Department of State concerning my immigration visa

application should be send to the address above. Thank you for your help.

Sincerely yours,

[Mononoke28 135]

If you're going to create your own barcode, you need to follow James' shorcuts carefully. The NVC case # should be as he explains it, first three letters of your embassy followed by the #s. Exactly the same way the NVC has it on file.

Diana

[abajaj 0]

Thank you for your response Diana. your response matches responses from others too.

I asked the same question on general discussion IR/CR1 too and most people answered saying that per the james shortcuts the case number should be entered with the three lettersfollowed by #s without any hyphen in the middle and without asterix on either side.

Good Luck to all!

Avneesh

If you're going to create your own barcode, you need to follow James' shorcuts carefully. The NVC case # should be as he explains it, first three letters of your embassy followed by the #s. Exactly the same way the NVC has it on file.

Diana

[Chris Parker 11]

My friend said, "yes, but isn't it illegal to forge federal documents?".

I was shocked, I had never even thought of that possibility.

I realize that most of the documents are available from the government web site, but certainly the cover letters with the bar codes are hand fabricated..

Is it illegal to make your own NVC documents?

First of all, you are considering official forms to be the same thing as official documents. Forging a U.S. passport, visa, permit or license, sure that is forging a federal document and is illegal. But, is "forging" an official form equilivilant? Some federal forms like tax forms W-2, W-9, and 1099 are commonly and openly "forged" by generating a similar form with the same information and describing it as a "substitute form."

Second, the barcode sheets aren't even official forms. In fact, NVC isn't even a government agency, rather it is a government contract facility. NVC generates and uses barcoded forms just to more efficiently process incoming fee and document submissions; the barcode sheets themselves are not part of the immigrant visa case.

So, of course you have to be the final judge, but I think taking that leap and saying that merely generating substitute cover sheets with barcodes on them to accompany document & payment submissions to NVC is equivilant to forging an official document seems a bit far-fetched.

[Dennishiella 0]

hi there i am about to send my husband the ds3230 (choice of agent) i know i have to print it and sign it how about the date can my husband write the date can he use a blankpen for it..and how about the forms expiration date will it matter?thanks a lot..

[Dennishiella 0]

sorry here i am again..it seems that emailing the Choice of Agent would be more easier does it apply to CR-1 applicants like me?is this the correct email add of NVC NVCINQUIRY@state.gov ? thank's again!

[metavisa 0]

Diana, hola, veo que eres una experta por este proceso que ya pasaron y que ayudas mucho, mira mi duda es que ya pagué elm IV bill y estoy esperando la forma 230.... cuando me llega esta forma, la lleno y mando otra vez a NVC o la llevo a la embajada? algun tip? Te lo agradezco mucho!

Meta

HI...can you give me an idea of how long the NVC process normally takes..

it's parents I130 and the consulate is Mumbai, India.

thanks.

On average it can take a couple of months, but lately it's been taking longer.

[Tyrobe 1]

sorry here i am again..it seems that emailing the Choice of Agent would be more easier does it apply to CR-1 applicants like me?is this the correct email add of NVC NVCINQUIRY@state.gov ? thank's again!

Yes, NVCINQUIRY@state.gov is the correct email address. We plan to email the Choice of Agent to NVC, too. Good luck!

[badspellor 0]

Just wanted to add that there's a way you can call the NVC AVR for free. Here's how:

Call 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411)

The system will ask "What city and state?" Speak, "Newington, New Hampshire"

The system will then ask "What business or category?" Speak, "National Visa Center"

Your call will then be connected for free to the NVC AVR. If you find that the system has a hard time understanding you, you can tell it the listing you want with the buttons on your phone as follows:

After you call the 800 number, when the system asks you for a city and state, press 03801 (the zip code for Newington, NH). When the system asks for the listing, press 1 VISA (1 8472). The NVC AVR is the second listing so press number 2 and you will be connected to the NVC AVR.

I find using this is great for checking up on our case while at work or somewhere we don't have a phone with free long distance and don't want to use up cellular daytime minutes. Also, this works from Canada, too. If you're overseas, you can dial this way with Skype without using SkypeOut minutes as well. Hope someone else finds this information useful.

[saradanielle 2]

I have been trying to generate an Authorization of Release of Federal Tax Data, but the barcode won´t copy. I copy it and then try to paste and nothing happens. Any ideas?

[Mononoke28 135]

I have been trying to generate an Authorization of Release of Federal Tax Data, but the barcode won´t copy. I copy it and then try to paste and nothing happens. Any ideas?

That form is no longer needed, so don't worry about it.

Diana

[Tyrobe 1]

I have been trying to generate an Authorization of Release of Federal Tax Data, but the barcode won´t copy. I copy it and then try to paste and nothing happens. Any ideas?

That form is no longer needed, so don't worry about it.

Diana

Thanks Diana. It's good to know that Authorization of Release of Federal Tax Data is no longer need for I-864 Package. I'm also preparing that form, but now I know it's not needed.

[kishmar 0]

Do the barcodes on these forms that are generated work?

I can't get the DS-230 coversheet to open

I didn't use Jame's shortcuts but from all the members who have used them........yes it works.

I just checked and could open it. It will ask you to save or open. If you click on open, you can have a look at it........or save it to your computer and open it from there. Its a pdf file.

Im putting together my documents for DS-230....following your instructions carefully i was able to print the Barcode Cover Sheet...but im not so sure what barcode im to change???? at the bottom of the sheet here is a code begining with MNL2006.... Is this what im suppose to be changing?

Thanks

PS Im the beneficicary living in JA i was told this morning by NVC that they mailed the instructions to my husband (agent) regarding me filling out the DS-230 so i decided to go ahead and fill it out to try and save some time. (Im following your steps cause im not so sure how to use James' shortcut)

[Tyrobe 1]

Do the barcodes on these forms that are generated work?

I can't get the DS-230 coversheet to open

I didn't use Jame's shortcuts but from all the members who have used them........yes it works.

I just checked and could open it. It will ask you to save or open. If you click on open, you can have a look at it........or save it to your computer and open it from there. Its a pdf file.

Im putting together my documents for DS-230....following your instructions carefully i was able to print the Barcode Cover Sheet...but im not so sure what barcode im to change???? at the bottom of the sheet here is a code begining with MNL2006.... Is this what im suppose to be changing?

Thanks

PS Im the beneficicary living in JA i was told this morning by NVC that they mailed the instructions to my husband (agent) regarding me filling out the DS-230 so i decided to go ahead and fill it out to try and save some time. (Im following your steps cause im not so sure how to use James' shortcut)

On DS-230, you need to change that MNL2006... to your NVC case number. Then you need to replace 2 barcodes on this form: One at the bottom and one right next to "INSTRUCTIONAL PACKET AGENT".

Go to Free Barcode Image Generator to create your barcodes. After getting the barcode generated, right click it and save the image in your preferred graphic program. I used the good ole Paint. After that, crop "Powered by IDAutomation.com" out and paste the barcode into your downloaded DS-230 Barcode Cover Sheet.

For details on setting size after you paste the barcode into the cover sheet, check VJ Wilki topic on James's Shortcuts.

[dphyled 0]

so, two years later, do all these shortcuts still apply and work correctly?? No big changes to the NVC system that would make these not work anymore?