April 2011 filers

[Drogs 24]

lol Nice weather here Rocks, in the 80's today

[poutine 0]

it was quite a while since i’ve submitted my papers... a wild thought came to my mind that it wouldn’t hurt to call VSC and so I did… rep collected all my info and told me that she is going to issue a service request... can anybody explain what does that mean please?

[hatetowait 0]

It won't help. I just did it.

[poutine 0]

It won't help. I just did it.

but what the hell is the service request? what does that mean?

Edited November 23, 2011 by poutine

[rocks 494]

lol Nice weather here Rocks, in the 80's today

we finally got some thunderstorms and rain!

[rocks 494]

but what the hell is the service request? what does that mean?

They'll research into what is holding up your case and send you a blanket response telling you to wait, normally for 60 days. For some reason I got an email telling me I should be approved in 6 months. Let us know what they say.

[Exasperated 5]

For what it's worth, I got an answer from politicians involved in my case that many January and February filers (let alone March filers) are still left to be approved due to the large buildup of cases at VSC. So while not wishing it on anyone, some of you may be in for a long wait (as usual, it seems pretty random). In fact, after mentioning this exact forum, I was told by some pretty reliable sources that the February and March filers on this forum are not representative and actually fare better than the average ones at VSC (scary thought!).

My two service requests did absolutely nothing and have turned out inaccurate, for anyone considering putting one in. I'm with the camp who says it's a waste of time.

[poutine 0]

I will be eligible for citizenship next march… does that mean that until my ROC is approved I wouldnt be able to submit citizenship apps?

Edited November 23, 2011 by poutine

[Exasperated 5]

I will be eligible for citizenship next march… does that mean that until my ROC is approved I wouldn’t be able to submit citizenship apps?

You can submit anyway. I already did with a pending ROC.

[Amanda & Raad 0]

I called USCIS last night and inquired about our case. I told them we are outside of the normal processing times. So he looked at my case and he said that they are currently processing cases from April 4th and procceded to tell me that I am in fact still within processing times. My receipt says our case was received April 5th. I told him April 5th to November 5th is 7 months and it says online the average processing time is 6 months. He said that time is not accurate...well duh! He was trying to tell me our case was received May 5th & I kept telling him it was April 5th. I asked him if it was possible to put in a service request and he told me no. WTH! One minute I see on VJ they are telling people they are working on Feb. 24th cases and he tells me April 4th cases. I seriously don't get USCIS. So yes, it is a total waste of time to call!

[fairandfoul 7]

For what it's worth, I got an answer from politicians involved in my case that many January and February filers (let alone March filers) are still left to be approved due to the large buildup of cases at VSC. So while not wishing it on anyone, some of you may be in for a long wait (as usual, it seems pretty random). In fact, after mentioning this exact forum, I was told by some pretty reliable sources that the February and March filers on this forum are not representative and actually fare better than the average ones at VSC (scary thought!).

My two service requests did absolutely nothing and have turned out inaccurate, for anyone considering putting one in. I'm with the camp who says it's a waste of time.

Exasperated,

Thanks for sharing! I'm skeptical though of what these "pretty reliable sources" have said about filers on this forum not being representative of the larger filing pool. People who came to VJ to post came from widely different backgrounds, have no discernible selection bias that I can point out and therefore constitute a truly random sample set that should, almost perfectly,mirror reality for the larger filing group.

Further, the pace at which monthly forums for VSC filers approaches 60%, 70%, 80% and higher seems to track (or did untill March), the 6-month processing times advertised by USCIS. Even when they had that little episode with regressing to 24th February but then moving back to 6-months (with a quote from someone that filers from April 4th are now being processed), it ties in nearly perfectly with the same pace we've seen in the forums. I would be very surprised if by a freak of nature, there were a greater proportion of outstanding cases for February and March than we are seeing in the forums.

Good luck in your N-400 filing!

To the rest of April filers, my hunch is that sometime after Thanksgiving, VSC approaches that mysterious time of the month when they focus a few days/weeks of their attention on I-751 cases, and a flurry will ensue. That a USCIS representative has confirmed work processing being down for April 4th cases coupled with a few approved April filers in these forums, I hope my hunch is not too far-fetched.

[J&N79 1]

I called USCIS last night and inquired about our case. I told them we are outside of the normal processing times. So he looked at my case and he said that they are currently processing cases from April 4th and procceded to tell me that I am in fact still within processing times. My receipt says our case was received April 5th. I told him April 5th to November 5th is 7 months and it says online the average processing time is 6 months. He said that time is not accurate...well duh! He was trying to tell me our case was received May 5th & I kept telling him it was April 5th. I asked him if it was possible to put in a service request and he told me no. WTH! One minute I see on VJ they are telling people they are working on Feb. 24th cases and he tells me April 4th cases. I seriously don't get USCIS. So yes, it is a total waste of time to call!

I am a May filer, thats the exact thing they told me last week...since they are processing April as a May file im not outside the processing time..the timeframe in the website is an estimate and goal..I even was told that it take 12-18 months.

If you look at the USCIS website the goal is 6 months and USCIS National Average - 16.7 Month(s)

[Exasperated 5]

Exasperated,

Thanks for sharing! I'm skeptical though of what these "pretty reliable sources" have said about filers on this forum not being representative of the larger filing pool. People who came to VJ to post came from widely different backgrounds, have no discernible selection bias that I can point out and therefore constitute a truly random sample set that should, almost perfectly,mirror reality for the larger filing group.

As for why the forum may not be representative, it's simply due to the fact that (despite the random backgrounds that you mention), the sample size is simply too small to make general conclusions when it comes to thousands of cases. But in any event, I don't want to be a black crow. Wishing you all speedy approvals (unlike my own).

If you want me to be specific, these "pretty reliable sources" are actually staff at the Vermont Service Center itself, which stated this exact fact to politicians (one senator as well as one congressman) who inquired about my case. Just if you wonder what the information came from. I'm certainly not wishing a longer waiting for anyone else, nor am I making up random negative stories to make you all depressed. It's simply what I was told - take from that what you will.

Edited November 24, 2011 by Exasperated

[mr and mrs 187]

seems to me that the plot has officially thickened. 16.7 is an ugly looking number. will be interesting to see the december service bulletin.

wonder if they..... you know what? im not even gonna wonder. im just gonna let them do their thing. and celebrate the trickle of approvals as they drip in.

[fairandfoul 7]

As for why the forum may not be representative, it's simply due to the fact that (despite the random backgrounds that you mention), the sample size is simply too small to make general conclusions when it comes to thousands of cases. But in any event, I don't want to be a black crow. Wishing you all speedy approvals (unlike my own).

If you want me to be specific, these "pretty reliable sources" are actually staff at the Vermont Service Center itself, which stated this exact fact to politicians (one senator as well as one congressman) who inquired about my case. Just if you wonder what the information came from. I'm certainly not wishing a longer waiting for anyone else, nor am I making up random negative stories to make you all depressed. It's simply what I was told - take from that what you will.

I get where you're coming from, and I'm certainly not trying to imply you're a wet blanket. In fact, I appreciate all the details you're providing. It's just my 2 cents on processing at VSC is as follows:

Cent 1: The OBJECTIVE evidence is what we can observe here. That processing times in the various monthly threads for the last year or so have reasonably tracked the stated goal of 6 months, give or take. Also, and not to be a geek, you'll find that most professional pollers feel comfortable with sample sets of about 30 to represent an entire universe in the hundreds as long as the selection is perfectly random (which VJ mostly is). In this election cycle, scientific polls at Gallup that represent the political sentiment of MILLIONS of Americans are usually based on no more than a thousand phone calls, but you get the point. I'm just saying that I'm not buying what VSC is saying without getting further information... which brings me to my second point.

Cent 2: The SUBJECTIVE statement originates from VSC and from VSC alone. Even though you heard it from reputable politicians, there is no way to verify it. Indeed, if I were VSC and getting pressure from political bigwigs, a very effective, low-risk strategy would be to do damage control: claim the complainant is faring better than most people, present a scenario that is worse than reality so as to be able to under promise and over deliver, etc. Also, I'm so less inclined to believe VSC when they've been inconsistent in processing service requests, quoting dates that are currently being processed, given us the run-around from 6 months to 24th February then back to 6 months... etc. I'm going to go by what the objective, no-agenda evidence tells me! :-)