Hello everybody. In this video, we'll talk about the process of expediting cases through the
National Visa Center, also known as NVC. As you know, many, many cases that are currently stuck,
pending interviews at the embassy. So, we'll share a few tips. And also,
we'll share some of our success stories for you to be able to learn, get inspired,
and stay motivated. So, what are you waiting for? I’ll see on the other side.
Hello, YouTube family. In this video, we'll talk about the process of expediting cases
through the National Visa Center. We're getting a lot of comments,
questions, messages, about cases by families that are being separated. They're tired of waiting.
And so, we've been doing quite a few of these expedited cases. And I wanted to share with you
our experience, a few tips, and some case studies to keep you motivated. Because I know, right now,
the separation and the anxiety of families, I think, everybody needs a little bit of
encouragement. So, I'll share with you some of those tips, and what to expect next. For those
of you that are here for the first time, make sure to subscribe to our channel, click that bell to be
notified. You don't want to miss any more videos. We try to produce videos at least once a week.
And also, give us a big like so that YouTube is going to be able to share that video with
more people just like you. My name is Jacob Sapochnik. And I'm an immigration attorney located
in San Diego, California. And we've been helping clients in all 50 states, helping them with all
their visa issues. And I'm excited to make this video just for you. So, let's jump right in. So,
as many of you who have been watching my videos and videos of other attorneys on YouTube,
but it's a big problem right now we're because embassies are shut down right now,
most embassies are shut down, and they're not taking routine case appointments.
The NVC has been backlogged with cases. So, while NVC is able to finish processing most of these
applications, they're not able to send them to the actual embassy because the embassies are not open.
In fact, in a recent discussion that I had with a few of the officers in NVC, they specifically
said that they want to help, they want to be able to push cases forward, but sometimes,
it is difficult for them because of the pushback from the embassies. Specifically, we have posts
that are overwhelmed and are overburdened with applications pending, like Islamabad, and Mumbai,
and a few other embassies in Europe. And therefore, it's very, very delicate for NVC
to process those applications because they can't just open the floodgates and send all cases to
embassies that are not actually willing to accept them right now because they're not able to.
And therefore, the only way to do so, what we've realized right now,
is by trying to expedite cases for those families that potentially qualify,
and we'll talk about those qualifications in a second. So, let's talk about the process itself,
in a nutshell, for those people that are not familiar with the process. So, as you know,
when you file an application with the spouse, you start the petition with the USCIS. First, you file
Form I-130. That petition should be adjudicated within, currently, it's about eight to 11 months.
So, for those of you that are watching right now and your case is stuck at the USCIS level, I'll
make a separate video on that, how to expedite cases that are being stuck at the USCIS level.
In this video, we're going to talk about what happens when the case is approved
at the USCIS level. So, let's say you waited eight months or 10 months or whatever, and now,
the case is approved, you received your approval notice then the file has been sent to the NVC.
When the case is finally released from USCIS and moves to NVC, you get an email from them.
You have to pay the affidavit of support fees, complete Form DS-260 with all the attachments,
all the documents, and when everything is done, your case will be documented qualified
to be sent to the embassy for an interview. And typically, what happens before COVID,
the NVC will process that and contact the embassy so they'll be able to receive your file.
But right now, because so many embassies are not accepting cases because they are not open
or because they're not able to take interviews right now because of country conditions,
NVC is actually being put in a position that there are just acuity cases and cases and cases
and piles of cases. And we're really concerned as to what's going to happen in the next few months
because there's going to be a severe backlog. But at the same time, there
are a lot of families that are suffering very long separation. There are issues with medical,
the US citizen spouse is ill. There are issues of employment, devastating separation, years,
sometimes more than 20 months, almost two years people have been separated even before COVID.
And now, COVID is increasing. And so, there are quite a few situations where people are no longer
able to wait. And at that point, it is important to try a process
of expediting a case through the National Visa Center. So, what does it mean in practice? So,
there's an email that NVC has created specifically for expediting requests. And it's very important
to understand that before you try to do so, it is very important not to abuse that email,
the process because NVC will just ignore you if you're not using the correct requirements, the
right procedure to be able to expedite a case with the NVC. So, the NVC created a process to allow
certain applications to be expedited. They have an email address, nvcexpedite@state.gov. This is
part of their public inquiry units. So, whenever you submit an email to nvcexpedite@state.gov,
there's an agent at the public inquiry unit that is assigned to each of these inquiries and is able
to communicate. Now, whenever they determined that there's a substance or a foundation for
the inquiry, that agent will actually be able to communicate back and ask for more documents,
or we'll give you an inclination as to where the case is going. If you're sending them a request,
with no merit, with no substance, most likely, you're just going to get a general email stating
that your case cannot be expedited. So, I caution you not to abuse this email address
so, you won't cause any implications on your case. Again, it shouldn't cause anything but
what I'm saying is that it's not… they're already overloaded with applications. So, it's really
important to follow the procedures because again, this is something that NVC has created to be able
to help us attorneys and the public to be able to move cases forward, the ones that actually need to
be moved because they can't wait anymore. So, let me give you an example of a case that we had, a
few cases that we had recently where we’re able to expedite those cases through NVC. This is spousal
CR1 cases. The first example we have is from the embassy in Islamabad, where we had the applicant.
They tried themselves, and I believe four times, and it was rejected. And then our office got
involved. We submitted a petition to the NVC using the public inquiry format, as I described before,
again, the issue here was that US citizen spouse had a severe medical condition, it was severe to
the point where we didn't know what's going to happen with that spouse. Based on the doctor's
recommendation, she was ill with a terminal illness. And again, it's the fact that there
was no timeframe as to what's going to happen with the spouse, we focus more on how that person is
suffering currently, as being separated from your spouse, not knowing what's going to happen to her
and when it's going to happen to her. We had a lot of medical support, medical documentation,
we have affidavits from family members showing the impact of the separation. In addition to
the fact that there was a medical condition, there was also almost 20 months separation
between that particular family who were not able to see each other. And so, we submitted
that in a particular format, where we have our organized brief, we have specific… make it short,
to the point, with exhibits showing the officer exactly where are each of the items that we are
trying to claim why we needed the expedite. And then within four days, we were assigned with a
public inquiry officer who was communicating with the office to be able to get some more documents.
At that point, we submitted those specific documents that the officer requested, nothing
less, nothing more. Again, we know how their time is valuable. We know that they don't have
all the resources. And that case was approved. Now that the case was recommended for expediting,
the next step is to communicate with the US embassy to let them know that this case has
been expedited and trying to get a slot for an interview. And this is a coordinated effort
between the NVC and our office to be able to open a slot in the US Embassy for an interview. So, the
idea behind an expedite is that now, the case is going directly to the embassy for review bypassing
the wait time right now because it's been approved by NVC. And now, the embassy is going to open an
appointment to get this family member interviewed so they'll be able to get their immigrant visa,
and now, travel back to the US. We have a similar example in the US Embassy in Madrid
where we needed to use the NVC expedite process to move along the case.
In the other example, it was a US citizen spouse Severe risk to the US citizen spouse business,
from essentially failing, there's a loss of financial and strain on the US citizen spouse,
it caused medical issues as well, depression and all that. There is also a separation period beyond
reasonable decades too, and we're able to use that. And NVC was able to approve that. So, the
case is moving to the embassy for an interview. So, again, it's really important to analyze the
specifics of the reasons why we want to expedite but I think it's important to understand that
if we decide to expedite, if they say no, it shouldn't impact negatively on your case,
even if they refuse it, as long as you use, as long as you're not abusing the system,
as long as you're truthful, as long as you try it. And you show them that it's a genuine attempt to
move the case in the process because you’re genuinely suffered. So, it does work.
It's a good process. And I know a lot of you who are emailing us and trying to get consultations
to understand how it works. If you do need that, we did set up a whole division in our
office to work on these expediting cases. There is a link in the description of this video here
to set up that meeting if you need to. And also, we set up a specific membership program
for people that are following us to be able to be informed on a regular basis as to what's happening
with NVC cases with embassies. This is done through our platform. It's a new platform,
we call this ImmigrationU. You can become a member there. And we do weekly zoom calls there.
Just to update you on the different embassies, the different procedures just like I'm doing right
now, but in more depth on a more regular basis. So, if you're going through the process of NVC,
I-130, just starting the process, you should consider looking into ImmigrationU because
it will help you to stay in the know and almost have like a virtual community to support you as
you go through the immigration process. So, the link is in the comments right here. So,
hopefully, this information was helpful. NVC expedite does work when it's done correctly.
And those particular families that were able to get those are now being able to
get their interview scheduled so we're excited for them as well. If you have any questions,
post in the comments below, and I look forward to engaging with you as well.
Make sure to subscribe to the channel, click the bell to be notified and also give us a like
so YouTube will be able to share this video with more people just like you. Once again,
thank you for watching, and I'll see you in our next video.