What to expect

[lovelylili 1]

Hello VJ forum,

I have been a member for a few years, and if ever I needed to research/confirm information about the process, or expected wait times for the various applications or field offices all I had to do was look back through the post and find the answer, but this situation is a little bit different. Maybe someone can shed some light on the Atlanta Field Office, and specifically how long it is taking to get an application (NS-400) through that office. It appears that the Atlanta office is way behind, and then you look at other offices and they are rapidly processing applications. What is the deal? Best guess from someone about expected length this final process might take?

Thank you in advance everyone.

[RICARDO4EVA2 194]

processing time there seems to be 5-6 months from what i've gathered.

[Inky 1,110]

Can take anywhere from a few months to a year or more.

Depends how busy the center is that you are at. All of them are different depending on how many people work, what kind of hours they work, how back logged they are.

[w8inglongtime 29]

Not to discourage you but my sister completed her N-400 journey 2 weeks ago through the Atlanta field office and the whole process took 9 months.

[NickD 203]

This is part of it:

Understanding Pay and Benefits

USCIS follows the General Schedule (GS) and Senior Executive Service (SES) salary tables.

Salaries may be adjusted to the geographical location of the job. Exact pay information is located in the vacancy announcement for each position or on the Office of Personnel¿s (OPM) website.

USCIS offers a well-rounded, comprehensive benefits package:

• Federal Employee Health Benefits Program
• Federal Employees Dental and Vision Program
• Federal Employees Retirement System
• Thrift Savings Plan
• Federal Employees Group Life Insurance
• Long-Term Care Insurance Program
• Federal Flexible Spending Account
• Paid leave (vacation, sick, federal holidays)
• Employee Assistance Program
• Student Loan Repayment
• Work/Life Programs (e.g., Telework)
• Incentive Awards
• Transit Subsidy

USCIS benefits are managed through the Office of Personnel Management. The links below direct to the OPM website.

• Employee Assistance Program
• Student Loan Repayment Program
• Insurance Programs
• Retirement Information and Services
• OPM: Federal Position Salary Tables
• Equal Employment Opportunity Data Posted Pursuant to the No FEAR Act"

As a short time federal employee had 20 days paid vacation, three weeks of sick leave could add to that, 14 days paid vacation, really no time sheets, could come in late, leave early, and make up for it while taking an extra long lunch hour. Why did I quit? At the time couldn't put up with the politics and other BS, but wish I didn't, really could use that huge retirement check. You can see long delays over Thanksgiving, Christmas as they use to call it, and over the summer months. Nobody is home.

Other factor is the number of applicants, if two apply during the same month, expect long delays, plus they tend to misfile applications. Really seen quite a variation in processing times for our own local office. And really tend to draw out the oath ceremony times.

If you really are in a hurry and check the processing dates every five minutes, it will take a much longer time, feel they track that with your IP address. If you send in your application overnight, expect another one month delay, get faster service if you send it first class mail. Best time to send in your application is in early February, not too much going on for paid vacations until Memorial day. Just like to observe stuff like this. But no way to determine the number of applicants they will get. If you hear about a fee increase, expect it to take you two years.

[lovelylili 1]

I wish that I were surprised by your post, but nothing surprises me about our governments various agencies. It appears to me that many things in Atlanta work much like the USCIS office there. Have you ever flown in and out of the Atlanta Airport? One word... NIGHTMARE!! I have personally heard agents in that airport speak to passengers in the most demeaning ways... They do what they want, when they want, and no amount of complaining will help, only hurt... To bad we could not file in another location. I am fully expecting that this last leg of the journey will be the longest. Thank you for the reply~

[LastSurvivor 0]

I suggest you check the various threads (november, december, january, etc....) to get an idea. There are usually one of two Atlanta filers in each month. My wife applied in November and took the oath the same day she had the interview in Atlanta on April 13th. No one on here can tell you exactly how long it will take. It will just be a guess and with the USCIS you NEVER really know.

LS

[PANAMA2011 0]

Hello VJ forum,

I have been a member for a few years, and if ever I needed to research/confirm information about the process, or expected wait times for the various applications or field offices all I had to do was look back through the post and find the answer, but this situation is a little bit different. Maybe someone can shed some light on the Atlanta Field Office, and specifically how long it is taking to get an application (NS-400) through that office. It appears that the Atlanta office is way behind, and then you look at other offices and they are rapidly processing applications. What is the deal? Best guess from someone about expected length this final process might take?

Thank you in advance everyone.

I SENT MY PAPERWORK ON 01/31 FP 03/01 YL 03/30 AND I STILL WAITING FOR MY INTERVIEW LETTER IN ATLANTA , UNFORTUNATELY HERE IS REALLY SLOW BETWEEN 5-6 MONTHS , GOOD LUCK