The time it takes for the National Visa Center (NVC) to send a case to the U.S. embassy after becoming documentarily complete generally ranges from about 60 to 90 days (2 to 3 months). Here is a breakdown of the overall process and timing related to NVC sending a case to the embassy:

• After USCIS approves a petition, the case is transferred to the NVC and goes through case creation and document submission steps, which can take several months in total.
• Once the NVC completes its review and considers the case "documentarily qualified" (all required documents and fees are received and accepted), the case will wait at NVC until it is time for the embassy to schedule the visa interview.
• The case officially gets sent to the embassy only when the embassy or consulate schedules the interview appointment.
• This wait for the embassy to pull the case from NVC can take around 60 to 90 days but may vary based on embassy workload, visa category, and applicant country.
• According to some user reports, NVC takes about 5 business days to physically send the case after the embassy sets an appointment date, but the longer wait is the embassy scheduling and pulling the case for interview.

Overall, the time from becoming documentarily qualified at NVC to the embassy receiving the case and scheduling the interview is typically between 2 to 3 months, but this can vary depending on your specific circumstances and consulate location.

As of August 2025, NVC is reviewing documents submitted about two weeks prior, indicating active and fairly current processing.

If you have received a notification from NVC that your case is documentarily complete, expect about 60 to 90 days for the case to be sent for embassy interview scheduling. If you want to check your specific case status or interview scheduling times, you can use the U.S. Department of State's IV Scheduling Status Tool online.

In summary:

• NVC document review and completion: a few months after USCIS approval
• From documentarily qualified to embassy case sending: ~2 to 3 months (60-90 days)
• Once the embassy schedules your interview, your case is formally sent to them within about 5 business days.