Confused about locations and times

[lovelylili 1]

I have been busy with school for several weeks, but since that time my wife has received her SS card, travel document, and work document. Now the waiting begins.

My question--> I sent off our entire packet to Chicago, is that where our case is processed? Chicago (National Benefits Center)? Or....is it Atlanta, our local field office? If it remains in Chicago, how long will it remain there? What happens for it to be sent to Atlanta?

As far as the process times, how does that work? We filled in February, according to the website it seems as if Atlanta is still working on July 2007 for I485, is that the way the timelines are interpreted? Basically I do not understand the stages of the process, or how the packet is shuffled around. Please elaborate.

I am grateful for the collective wisdom here on this forum. Kind regards to all from Alabama.

[RaTBoX 1]

My question--> I sent off our entire packet to Chicago, is that where our case is processed? Chicago (National Benefits Center)? Or....is it Atlanta, our local field office? If it remains in Chicago, how long will it remain there? What happens for it to be sent to Atlanta?

AoS applications are sent to the Chicago Lockbox. The AP and EAD applications are processed here. The I-485 is either sent to your local office in Atlanta, or it may be transferred out to one of the USCIS Service Centers to speed up processing and help with a backlog of cases. There is no rhyme or reason to this transferral, sometimes it happens sometimes it doesn't. If it does, you'll get a notice letter from USCIS informing you when they send it, and another when it arrives and processing has resumed.

As far as the process times, how does that work? We filled in February, according to the website it seems as if Atlanta is still working on July 2007 for I485, is that the way the timelines are interpreted? Basically I do not understand the stages of the process, or how the packet is shuffled around. Please elaborate.

Looking at the USCIS provided processing times is the first step to madness. Just ignore them. They are not really useful at all. The date shown is the date of the oldest file of that category that exists in the office. It's not a true indication of the application dates they are currently processing. Sometimes the dates can go back if someone has found an older case in a pile or papers, or something like that.

Once the case hits your local office (assuming it's not been transferred) it will then sit in a pile until they get to it. This could take any length of time. Once they do, they will start going over your information and schedule an interview at the local office. Once you have an interview notice, it's a good sign that people are now looking at your case.

[lovelylili 1]

Thanks for the reply, very thoughtful. I have not received any notice that the case has been moved, so I am assuming that the case is still in Chicago. By what you have stated, the next step in the AOS has NO type of typical procedure, so our case could be sent to one of the several processing centers, or it could be processed there in Chicago, or it could be sent to Atlanta (our local field office) for the processing. No rhyme or reason I guess.

Waiting is the game now, but I had assumed with all the data out there, timelines and such that one might be able to project processing times.

[RaTBoX 1]

Thanks for the reply, very thoughtful. I have not received any notice that the case has been moved, so I am assuming that the case is still in Chicago. By what you have stated, the next step in the AOS has NO type of typical procedure, so our case could be sent to one of the several processing centers, or it could be processed there in Chicago, or it could be sent to Atlanta (our local field office) for the processing. No rhyme or reason I guess.

Waiting is the game now, but I had assumed with all the data out there, timelines and such that one might be able to project processing times.

You'll only receive a transfer notice if your case is sent to a service center as it's a deviation from the standard processing of I-485 applications being done at the Local Officer. Chicago does not process I-485 applications, it either sends them to the local office or a service center. So far I've only heard of cases being sent to the California Service Center if they are transferred.

If you look at the user generated timelines on this site, you can get an average time for people who have supplied information to this site, but this is a very rough guide as each case is different.

I'm afraid this step really is the waiting game.

[DakotaK1 1]

My question--> I sent off our entire packet to Chicago, is that where our case is processed? Chicago (National Benefits Center)? Or....is it Atlanta, our local field office? If it remains in Chicago, how long will it remain there? What happens for it to be sent to Atlanta?

As far as the process times, how does that work? We filled in February, according to the website it seems as if Atlanta is still working on July 2007 for I485, is that the way the timelines are interpreted? Basically I do not understand the stages of the process, or how the packet is shuffled around. Please elaborate.

I am grateful for the collective wisdom here on this forum. Kind regards to all from Alabama.

Depends,my case was sent to a differant office and was worked on there.

Oh and the timelines it just depends,some cases go faster some slower.

Some wait 3 months (like myself) some up to 2 years.

Edited May 4, 2008 by DakotaK1