Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the so-called "gap" between processing in the Department of Homeland Security and the National Visa Center and then the US Embassy regarding K-1, K-3 and IR-1 Visas. So what are we talking about here? What you need to understand is the underlying petition associated with any one of these CR-1, IR-1 or K-3, the underlying petition has to be adjudicated by the Department of Homeland, so okay let's presume that part of the process is done and the case has been approved. Now what happens? 

Well first of all, let's speak to K-3s. K-3s generally speaking operate the same way as a K-1 Fiancé Visa in its relationship with the National Visa Center if the K-3 is going to proceed. Now about 12 years ago-ish, the National Visa Center as a practical matter effectively began just kind of administratively closing K-3 supplemental petitions because they deemed them not necessary. There was a time and it was during that time period that the Life Act was promulgated which created the K-3 Visa. At that time, there was a lot longer processing time associated with petitions for the CR-1 and the IR-1 Visa and they created the K-3 to provide kind of an expedited process for American citizens looking to bring a spouse into the United States. In many cases these days, it is often deemed that that is not necessary because the processing time is fast enough at the Department of Homeland Security so they just go ahead and close the K-3, that is what generally happens there. 

Now with regard to the CR-1 or the IR-1 Visa, yeah there is something, what I call a gap, I also call it a quagmire in the National Visa Center. A CR-1 or an IR-1 Visa goes over to the National Visa Center and oftentimes it will languish there for a fairly prolonged period of time for a variety of different reasons. In my opinion, the overall framework that they use for uploading documentations and things is not optimal. On top of that, it is really not a well-designed overall system, a lot of redundancy there; I have made other videos on this channel regarding that. That being said the cases have to go through National Visa Center before they can come over here to the US Embassy in Thailand, I am going to make this video from a Thailand perspective, but any US Embassy as well; in any in any context you have got to go through National Visa Center before you are going to get to an Embassy or Consulate abroad. 

So the thing to take away from this video is that look yeah there is something of a gap in the middle of the overall process where you kind of get stuck in this, I kind of call it a limbo, a quagmire, whatever you want to call it, where your CR-1 or IR-1 Visa is processing through NVC but it has yet to reach the Embassy to go ahead and start dealing with the interview and presumably ultimately the issuance of a CR-1 or IR-1 Visa for a foreign spouse.