Received NOA2 (petition is approved) but haven't heard from NVC, and I can't call because of COVID: how do I find adjusted processing times?

[Tore 2]

I'm looking at the flowchart here, and I'm on step 4. My NOA2 says my visa has been approved and the approval notice is from 06/09/2020 to 10/08/2020. I called the NVC but they are not picking up the phone due to the pandemic (fewer staffing).  4 weeks from June 8th was last Monday the 29th, and so I'd expect either my fiancée would be contacted by the embassy or I would be contacted by the NVC informing me that they have sent the petition to the embassy. Neither has happened yet. So is there any way I can find updated processing time numbers or are we all just in the dark and hoping for the best? Should I be concerned or is approval and contact times slower for everyone now with no real deadlines? Because if the USCIS is allowed to take extra time I feel like my validation date should be extended.

 

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

NVC is not sending any cases to embassies at this time because they are closed. 

[Tore 2]

13 minutes ago, Luckycuds said:

NVC is not sending any cases to embassies at this time because they are closed. 

 

Can you please show me where it says it's closed? I only see that they have decreased their staffing.

[milimelo 4,481]

1 minute ago, Tore said:

 

Can you please show me where it says it's closed? I only see that they have decreased their staffing.

If you go to the website for US Embassy Soul you’ll see it there. Routine visas are not currently being issued. K-1 is one of those.  

[SalishSea 17,832]

34 minutes ago, Tore said:

Because if the USCIS is allowed to take extra time I feel like my validation date should be extended.

 

The embassy can extend the petition date.  NVC is currently not shipping approved petitions out to embassies and consulates, as they are not conducting routine visa interviews at the moment, due to the pandemic.

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

24 minutes ago, Tore said:

 

Can you please show me where it says it's closed? I only see that they have decreased their staffing.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/suspension-of-routine-visa-services.html

[Ana A 6]

 We didnt get a notification from the NVC either. They are delayed, working with reduced staff. Also the embassies are currently closed so it seems they will notify you once the embassies open and they are able to send your case. Not before. If you want to make sure, Id advise you to try emailing them instead and ask them for your case number so you can find out online if there are any changes.

 

Edited July 24, 2020 by Ana A

[NoMansLand2020 298]

You can call NVC and get your case and invoice number. They will not send the Welcome letter until the embassies open. At which time your case is then sent on to the respective embassy. 

 

Call and get your case and invoice number. You can then start working on the DS-160

[BC97 13]

On 7/9/2020 at 7:36 PM, Tore said:

 

Can you please show me where it says it's closed? I only see that they have decreased their staffing.

It’s not that it’s closed, it’s that your embassy is not processing K1 visas. Keep an eye on your embassy website to see when they’ll begin processing again. We got our NOA2 at the end of March and we’re still waiting. There’s probably thousands of cases sat at the NVC waiting for embassies to give them the go-ahead.
 

Hopefully it won’t be too long as many embassies start processing some other visas in the next few weeks but we’ll just have to be patient and see.

[Greenbaum 12,259]

On 7/9/2020 at 2:05 PM, Tore said:

I'm looking at the flowchart here, and I'm on step 4. My NOA2 says my visa has been approved and the approval notice is from 06/09/2020 to 10/08/2020. I called the NVC but they are not picking up the phone due to the pandemic (fewer staffing).  4 weeks from June 8th was last Monday the 29th, and so I'd expect either my fiancée would be contacted by the embassy or I would be contacted by the NVC informing me that they have sent the petition to the embassy. Neither has happened yet.

 

So is there any way I can find updated processing time numbers or are we all just in the dark and hoping for the best? better-informed Many here are students of different threads with different topics. Your question has been debated throughout. That's where we get our information. We call it "boots on the ground knowledge". For a better informed visa processing get out and take a look around and see what other topics you may find that knowledge from. I'll give you a few links below to help.

 

Should I be concerned or is approval and contact times slower for everyone now with no real deadlines? Anyone with a NOA2 is in the same boat as you. There really isn't a concern as you are being updated by the news, threads and by your embassy's webpages. 

 

Because if the USCIS is allowed to take extra time I feel like my validation date should be extended. There are process to address the extension of your NOA2. 

 

A fiancé visa must be issued within four months from the date of approval of the fiancé petition by USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services). If your appointment is later then the validity date, bring a signed and dated letter from your U.S. fiancé(e) stating that you both remain legally free to marry and that you intend to get married within 90 days of your arrival. E-mail or copies are acceptable.

9 FAM 41.81 N6.2 Validity of a K-1 Petition
(CT:VISA-2165; 08-21-2014)

An approved K-1 visa petition is valid for a period of four months from the date of USCIS action and may be revalidated by the consular officer any number of times for additional periods of four months from the date of revalidation, provided the officer concludes that the petitioner and the beneficiary remain legally free to marry and continue to intend to marry each other within 90 days after the beneficiary's admission into the United States. 

 

I invite you to join us in the JUNE 2020 K-1 NOA2 to NVC to EMBASSY thread and download the PDF file on the first post of the first page for tips, tricks and hacks to follow your case to the embassy. I'll post both links below:

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/740044-june-2020-k-1-noa2-to-nvc-to-embassy/

PDF with tips, tricks, and hacks. BTW this PDF is updated from time to time so you might check back to ensure you have the latest information.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nfin98c33IEpB0T0FlURERriblYmlm5O/view?usp=sharing