NVC's increasing backlog

[Mr and Mrs S 207]

 

I used the website Wayback Machine to find snapshots of the NVC step 6 page. I used screenshots posted on the NVC December and January IR1 threads for data from December and January.

 

https://web.archive.org/web/2019*/https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/collect-and-submit-forms-and-documents-to-the-nvc/step-6-submit-documents-to-the-nvc.html

 

The goal was to track the increase in NVC review times for documents submitted to them for immigrant visa Step 6.

 

There is no way to know why NVC is falling behind but they are.

 

1. Is this because USCIS has increased the number of immigrant cases it is sending to NVC?
2. New rules (or existing ones which weren't enforced as strictly in the past) which have added more work to each officer's plate?
3. Reduction in the number of officers reviewing our cases?
4. Software\equipment issues?

 

What do you think?

 

Edited January 24, 2020 by Mr and Mrs S

[Hilde 381]

22 hours ago, Mr and Mrs S said:

 

I used the website Wayback Machine to find snapshots of the NVC step 6 page. I used screenshots posted on the NVC December and January IR1 threads for data from December and January.

 

https://web.archive.org/web/2019*/https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/collect-and-submit-forms-and-documents-to-the-nvc/step-6-submit-documents-to-the-nvc.html

 

The goal was to track the increase in NVC review times for documents submitted to them for immigrant visa Step 6.

 

There is no way to know why NVC is falling behind but they are.

 

1. Is this because USCIS has increased the number of immigrant cases it is sending to NVC?
2. New rules (or existing ones which weren't enforced as strictly in the past) which have added more work to each officer's plate?
3. Reduction in the number of officers reviewing our cases?
4. Software\equipment issues?

 

What do you think?

 

That is quite an incremental increase! I am just really hoping that it's because of the holidays and praying that they will speed up now. Fingers crossed everyone!!!

Thanks for putting this together @Mr and Mrs S

[Mr and Mrs S 207]

1 hour ago, Hilde said:

That is quite an incremental increase! I am just really hoping that it's because of the holidays and praying that they will speed up now. Fingers crossed everyone!!!

Thanks for putting this together @Mr and Mrs S

 

I'll try to update this every week. At least until I get my DQ. Whenever that is going to be.

[geowrian 22,337]

Q1 of the new fiscal year (Q4 of the calendar year) traditionally has increased backlogs from what I've noticed. More vacation & holidays, usually an increase in workload, etc.

 

There has also been some changes with electronic processing at USCIS going to NVC, which appears to have been an issue causing some delays as well.

 

While the timeline doubling in the past half year is pretty large, it really is within the normal ebb and flow of immigration and general.

I'm pretty confident that's not what anybody wants to hear, sorry. But I'm just saying it's not unique either. This is, in the bigger picture, "normal". We're talking around 30 calendar days of a difference in a process that often takes over a year.

Now if the delay continues to grow, then it may become abnormal.

 

The good news is it's the end of January. Traditionally things start to return to prior levels.

[Mr and Mrs S 207]

1 hour ago, geowrian said:

Q1 of the new fiscal year (Q4 of the calendar year) traditionally has increased backlogs from what I've noticed. More vacation & holidays, usually an increase in workload, etc.

 

There has also been some changes with electronic processing at USCIS going to NVC, which appears to have been an issue causing some delays as well.

 

While the timeline doubling in the past half year is pretty large, it really is within the normal ebb and flow of immigration and general.

I'm pretty confident that's not what anybody wants to hear, sorry. But I'm just saying it's not unique either. This is, in the bigger picture, "normal". We're talking around 30 calendar days of a difference in a process that often takes over a year.

Now if the delay continues to grow, then it may become abnormal.

 

The good news is it's the end of January. Traditionally things start to return to prior levels.

 

Your response made me look further into the history of the page (NVC step 6). The wait time for document review in January 2019 as reported by NVC was 3 weeks.

 

However, the wait times from 2018 align with your explanation. NVC was reporting wait times of 11 weeks all the way from January to March 2018. However, on March 30th 2018 the online statement changed to " Please allow up to six-weeks for NVC ......"

 

I stand corrected. It seems the current wait times ( 9 weeks ) are normal.

 

It's possible they introduced some new system ( Electronic filings at USCIS as mentioned by you ) back in early 2019 which is causing all these issues. Hopefully they can resolve them soon and bring down the document review times.

 

 

 

Edited January 25, 2020 by Mr and Mrs S

[Mr and Mrs S 207]

[HKS 169]

Depressing. 

I still can't figure out why they don't hire more people when the whole system is self funded..... 

 

[Boring Life 20]

T

Spoiler

Its annoying and frustrating all this immigration process. 

 

[pinetime 0]

Current case review time: As of 2-MAR-2020, we are reviewing documents submitted to us on 26-DEC-2019.

 

 So much for the backlog going down. My guess is they can or will blame the backlog on Covid-19 now.😑

[Hilde 381]

Current case review time: As of 9-MAR-2020, we are reviewing documents submitted to us on 4-JAN-2020.