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National Visa Center (NVC)

The National Visa Center (NVC) is a visa processing center operated by the US Department of State. The National Visa Center opened its permanent facility in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1994.

After the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approves an immigrant visa petition, the USCIS forwards the petition to the NVC. The NVC is responsible for collecting visa application fees and documentation and retains the visa petition until the case is ready for adjudication by a consular officer abroad. Petitions may remain at NVC for several months or for many years depending on the visa category and country of birth of the visa applicant.

Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary

The NVC is run by a private company under contract with the U.S. Department of State. Federal immigration agencies send all approved green card petitions and green card lottery registrations to the NVC. It acts as an intermediary, corresponding with the applicant and ultimately forwarding the case to a U.S. consulate in another country for final processing.

Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary.

August 19, 2010, 5:20 pm