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Unraveling The Confusion About the Cable and NVC Letter

So your I-800 has been approved! What now? You've heard something about the NVC and a letter. And what about a cable? I know, it's sort of confusing! Let's start at the beginning with what happens after your I-800 is approved.

What Happens Next

If you haven't already, please call 1-877-424-8374 or send an email to NBC.Hague@dhs.gov to find out if your I800 has been approved.

Once you know that your application has been approved, you are ready to move on to the National Visa Center!

After approving your file, your officer will mail your approval to the National Visa Center by 2nd Day UPS Air. However, the approval isn't always mailed out the same day it's approved, so applications can take up seven days to arrive at NVC. Upon receiving your approval, the National Visa Center (NVC) will enter your information into their computer system.

Within 1-3 business days, the NVC will "cable" (basically emailing/sending electronically) your file to the US Embassy in Guangzhou, China. This is approval of your visa petition.

Upon doing this, the NVC will then mail you a letter stating that your petition has been forwarded to the Embassy. Your agency needs this NVC letter in order to proceed with your adoption! Unfortunately, this letter can take up to a few weeks to arrive in the mail. So instead, ask the NVC to email you the letter as a .pdf attachment.

How to Get the NVC Letter and Check On Your Case!

You can use the following contact information to check on the status of your cable and to ask for the NVC letter by email once you have been cabled.

Email: NVCInquiry@state.gov
Phone: 1-603-334-0700
Hours: Monday through Friday from 7:30 AM to 12:00 AM (Eastern Time)

NOTE: Email is the NVC's preferred method of communication as stated on their website. It can take up to an hour to get through to the NVC by phone. Plus, a lot of the operators who answer the phone at NVC are not familiar with adoption cases and will give you incorrect information!

The NVC will email you a .pdf of your cable approval letter. There is somewhat of a science to this. Follow these instructions very carefully for the best results:

Here is the email I sent to NVC to check on our case. You can copy it if you like. I recommend that you try sending the email in the evening right before you go to bed so that they see it first thing in the morning.

Also, what you put in the subject line of the email is important. Something like this:

SMITH ADOPTION - DOB 04/15/1969 - Receipt Number SIM0983034989 (take it off your I800 approval)

In the body of your email, say something like this:

To Whom It May Concern:

I would like to know if my visa petition has been forwarded to the appropriate Embassy yet. If so, please send a copy of the approval letter to my email address as soon as possible: smithfamily@cox.net (or whatever your email is)

Receipt Number: SIM080934398

Beneficiary's Name: An, ZhangHuan

Beneficiary's DOB:10/20/2006

Petitioner's Name: Mary Smith

Petitioner's DOB: 11/4/1969

NOTE: NVC may email you back and say that you are NOT cabled yet or in their system. If you receive this email, repeat this process again in a few days.

Once you receive an email back from NVC that you are in their system and will be cabled shortly, it is important that you send ANOTHER email to NVC a day or two later replacing the receipt number in your email with your new GUZ# that NVC sent you. This is VERY helpful in obtaining your .pdf.

Sample NVC Letter

Below is the format of the NVC Letter! AS SOON as you receive this letter by email .pdf, forward it to your agency right away so they can being processing your Article 5!

Dear Petitioner:

The State Department's National Visa Center has recently received your approval Form I-800, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative. This letter is to inform you that your petition has been forwarded to the appropriate visa-issuing post where the adoption interview will take place.

Our records indicate that you filed the I-800 petition for:

Name of Beneficiary/Child: Zhang, ChunLi
Case Number: GUZXXXXXXXXX

This case has been forwarded to:

CONSULATE GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES, VISA UNIT
1 SHAMIAN STREET SOUTH
GUANGZHOU 510133
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Please forward any inquiries regarding your I-800 to the assignedUS Embassy/Consulate General mentioned above.

Sincerely,

Bureau of Consular Affairs

That's it! Once you have forwarded this NVC letter to your agency, you are done with this part of the process! Congratulations!