NVC Error...

[shippingforecast 126]

Hi all.

Our case arrived at the NVC on October 29th. We received no welcome letter or first packet of instructions from them. I called on the 20th of November, was lucky enough to obtain my case number and IIN, and headed to the CEAC. I completed my DS-261 the same day. Within around five days, the AOS fee became available to pay. We paid this, and then printed off the bar-coded cover sheet and sent off the AOS package only; following the instructions given on the CEAC receipt page. It has yet to arrive there as we shipped it from the UK. I didn't ship the IV package as we hadn't been invoiced the fees and therefore did not have the cover sheet.

I called the NVC again on the 2nd of December as I was suspicious that we hadn't received any correspondence from them whatsoever, and concerned we may have handed over incorrect e-mail addresses. After five hours I managed to speak to a rather friendly agent who placed me on hold to speak with her supervisor. She came back, confirmed our email addresses were correct, and apologised as she could not understand why we hadn't been sent the welcome letter or first packet of instructions, and acknowledged an error had been made on the NVC's part. Around half an hour after the call, they were emailed to us.

I was dismayed to find that the first packet of instructions had an attached cover sheet advising to send in all documents, rather than just sending them in once the respective fees had been paid, and am now worried that either way there will be delays in getting our case completed. Had we have received the first packet of instructions in a timely manner, I would have shipped all of my paperwork. We have emailed the NVC to complain about this and I have spent significant time trying to connect with an agent with no success as of yet.

Would it be sensible to just ship my IV packet now with the cover sheet from the first packet? I am anxious about waiting for my DS-261 to be reviewed and accepted (and hence, my IV fee to be invoiced, paid and the relevant cover sheet obtained) because I was quoted on the phone that this will take them 42 days to complete.

Many thanks for your help, as always.

[shippingforecast 126]

Hello all, just got off the phone from the NVC. They confirmed our DS-261 is under supervisor review due to the welcome letter/packet one error.

As for the IV package, the operator confirmed it would be acceptable to send it in with the bar-coded cover sheet obtained from paying the AOS fee; no need to wait for the IV to become available. I thought I'd share that knowledge in case anyone else finds themselves in a similar circumstance.