Been waiting for document review for over two months (EB-visa case) - is this normal?

[OnTheMove 0]

Is there anybody else in the same situation for an employment-based visa application?

My DS-260 was submitted in late Nov 2025. On the very same day the documents were mailed and delivery confirmed by FedEx three days later.
At the time we had two police clearance certificates still pending, they were going to take (and ended up taking) 5 and 6 weeks respectively to receive, which is why the attorney had decided to submit the DS-260 and mail all other documents.

Once I had both police clearance certificates on hand, they told me that they now have to wait for an official request by NVC to send them, as apparently sending them without an explicit request would not reach my case file in their experience. I wondered how any initial document mail would then reach the file?

So I've now had the missing docs for six weeks and there is still no document review done that would result in their request for the missing documents!

On Reddit people are all claiming it doesn't take longer than two weeks for initial document review (based on NVC's official processing timelines - yet my attorney seems adamant that their cases have been taking 1-2 months for that, and that the processing times on the NVC website would never be 100% correct and that NVC have a massive backlog. And even then, it's now been past the 2 months mark in my case.

I found another person who also submitted his (self-petitioned EB-2 NIW based) DS-260 also just over two months ago, also mailed the documents via FedEx, has delivery confirmation and has not heard anything back.

So I am reaching out here to see if anyone with an EB-visa case, who has reached or passed the NVC stage recently, can shed some light on this for me.


 

[appleblossom 5,766]

Mailing docs usually adds about a week or so for EB applicants versus the quoted NVC processing times, but it certainly shouldn't add that long. Your attorney shouldn't have submitted without all of the docs, he's caused you a further delay by doing that which is a shame. I'd also question why on earth he didn't have your police certs ready to go? Our lawyers sent us a detailed checklist of everything we needed to start gathering even before they submitted the I-140. 

 

I would send the police certs with the cover checklist, just as you did with the other docs. That's how it would be matched up. 

 

Which country are you from and what does your online status say? Also, just checking but you have paid the fees?

Edited Saturday at 10:47 PM by appleblossom

[OnTheMove 0]

Well, they probably decided to file the documents we've had already because the police certificates were going to take 6+ weeks (with fingerprints, via mail, to Australia), and the other one 5+ weeks also via mail - it is supposed to only add two weeks to the processing when missing documents are being requested and subsequently sent - so I assume that's why they decided to file what they had, expecting to get the request for the missing docs around the time of actually receiving them. 

But when they are claiming it has been taking 1-2 months for document review for their previous cases, I question that decision, too (to send the incomplete docs).

Country is a EU country. CEAC screen shows IV Fee PAID and IV Application COMPLETED - but that has been like this since filing the DS-260 in November.

"I would send the police certs with the cover checklist, just as you did with the other docs. That's how it would be matched up."
I didn't see the checklist myself, is this something the attorney would have received with the welcome mail and fee bill?
I agree this might be the way to go, i.e. for them to mail it off - I gave them the police clearance certificates in mid December to forward to NVC, which is when they said they need to wait for the official NVC request for missing docs following the initial document review. 🙍‍♂️

[appleblossom 5,766]

4 hours ago, OnTheMove said:

I didn't see the checklist myself, is this something the attorney would have received with the welcome mail and fee bill?

 

Yes. 

 

Instead of sending it to the attorney and then waiting for them to send it on to NVC, just mail it directly yourself. We had attorneys for our EB application but they didn't mail anything to NVC for us, we did it ourselves to save time. 

 

They don't sound terribly organised (as I said above, they should have told you to order the police certs a long time ago), so I wouldn't risk a further delay personally, I'd skip the step of sending it to them first. Adding extra documents puts you at the back of the line again, it's the same amount of time as anybody else waiting to be DQ'ed. 

 

P.S. Please fill your timeline in (on your profile), there aren't many of us EB applicants around, so the more data we have the better. Thanks.

Edited Sunday at 09:38 PM by appleblossom

[OnTheMove 0]

They told me from the beginning of November 2025 to get all docs including the police certificates! And we worked on it from that very day! The Australian police clearance required finger prints, and doing it overseas took us a few days, then it took over a week for the application to arrive via DHL, and about 3-4 extra weeks for processing, as it's a much more comprehensive check than the standard online check), the other police certificate from my original EU country took 5 weeks as we had to order it by mail, with witnessed signatures and there is a separate queue for those requesting it via mail. For online requests, they require digital IDs which we don't have.

I don't want to go behind the back of my attorney, in fact it is an agent who works with the attorney. They are getting paid to complete the entire process, including the NVC stage. Moreover, I don't have the document checklist/cover sheet anyway.

There is no step to skip as I already sent them the missing docs. I have sent them another follow-up email now.

"Adding extra documents puts you at the back of the line again, it's the same amount of time as anybody else waiting to be DQ'ed. "
No, that's not entirely true. There is a difference between getting the initial document review done and being DQ'ed. If they require the additional docs, it is supposed to take as long as the original document review, i.e. I have heard quite a few people state that once missing docs were received by them, it took another week or two to get DQ'ed.

What is your time line then between mailing off your docs/submitting your DS-260 and getting DQ'ed?
How long did it take them to review and get back to you....and did they report back to you following the alleged 2-week document review timeframe that this is all they require from you and that they would now process your application? Or how does that work?

Edited Sunday at 10:37 PM by OnTheMove

[appleblossom 5,766]

35 minutes ago, OnTheMove said:

They told me from the beginning of November 2025 to get all docs including the police certificates! And we worked on it from that very day!

 

That's my point, they should have told you long before that to order the police checks. Is your PD current or not yet?

Edited Sunday at 11:11 PM by appleblossom

[appleblossom 5,766]

35 minutes ago, OnTheMove said:

If they require the additional docs, it is supposed to take as long as the original document review

 

Yes, that's what I said. New docs take the same amount of time to process as the original ones. 

Edited Sunday at 11:12 PM by appleblossom

[appleblossom 5,766]

37 minutes ago, OnTheMove said:

How long did it take them to review and get back to you....and did they report back to you following the alleged 2-week document review timeframe that this is all they require from you and that they would now process your application? Or how does that work?

 

We were a week over the quoted time on the NVC processing times webpage, so pretty much spot on for what we expected being EB applicants. You get an email saying you've been DQ'ed and are now waiting for an interview. 

 

Side note: you and your lawyer should be getting the same emails, we had our Welcome Letter as well as our lawyer. I would suggest you ask your lawyer to add your email address (or you add it on CEAC). 

Edited Sunday at 11:13 PM by appleblossom

[OnTheMove 0]

6 minutes ago, appleblossom said:

 

We were a week over the quoted time on the NVC processing times webpage, so pretty much spot on for what we expected being EB applicants. You get an email saying you've been DQ'ed and are now waiting for an interview. 

I'm confused by this statement. Because I thought there was an initial process called "case review" to review documents - which is what is supposed to take two weeks.
The actual DQ process, i.e. for them to then do their thing, I thought would then take more time, potentially months?

So what you are saying is that within 3 weeks of them receiving your docs in the mail (and DS-260 submitted prior), you were already DQ'ed and received that email to say so?

[OnTheMove 0]

And no, my PD is not current yet, but I don't want any time to get wasted to get DQ'ed ASAP, it's been an over two-year process so far.

[appleblossom 5,766]

1 hour ago, OnTheMove said:

I'm confused by this statement. Because I thought there was an initial process called "case review" to review documents - which is what is supposed to take two weeks.
The actual DQ process, i.e. for them to then do their thing, I thought would then take more time, potentially months?

Case review is the time it takes to get DQ’ed. That’s why I said above your lawyer has caused a delay - you should have been DQ’ed ages ago. 
 

But if your PD isn’t current it’s not a big deal as you can’t get a visa or be scheduled for an interview yet. What is your PD? Please do fill in your timeline. 

Edited Monday at 12:35 AM by appleblossom