How the National Visa Center works — or not

FOR more than 4 million visa applicants, the National Visa Center (NVC) is where visa processing starts, after the approved petition is forwarded from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The NVC — located at Portsmouth, New Hampshire — is the processing center for “all current and noncurrent immigrant visa petitions including orphan, fiancé (e) (K-1) and refugee/asylee petitions approved by USCIS service centers and district offices.