Order of NOA2s?

[olafgypsy 0]

Why, if the applications are processed in "the order in which they were received," do some people get NOA2s before those who received earlier NOA1s have even been touched?

At first I thought it was just a fluke (random file falling out of the box and being replaced in a different box, boxes getting out of order) but it seems to happen a lot more than could possibly be fluky.

I suspect a conspiracy!!

[TimsDaisy 0]

Well, it's not too hard to see why this could happen - even if there aren't additional checks required or administrative processes that affect particular couples.

According to a former adjudicator that posts here now himself - if I recall correctly - files come in, get assigned a bar code, and get stuck in boxes. Those boxes get delivered to case staff. The boxes pile up. Say you have files 1-100 and they get split into boxes A and B. Government worker A works on box A and worker B on box B. A is extra speedy and gets through files 1 - 25 while worker B is going through files 26-35. That means files 1 and 26 are getting processed at the same time, even if they came in a week or two apart.

They are physical files - as opposed to phone calls coming into a customer service center that could more truly be answered in the order received.

And what happens if worker A gets a cold? Or worker B's babysitter cancels and B has to stay home one day?

I think there are a lot of reasons - good ones - why stuff takes different times.

Of course - none of that explains why the @$^@* CSC has to handle so many apps while Vermont staffers must take long lunches and enjoy inter-office bowling night with all their spare time whilst they process those files at lightening speed.

That makes me want to break things.

[olafgypsy 0]

Yes, that makes a lot of sense . . . and as for the VT situation, it's beyond me why files aren't sent to a central location and then assigned in equal numbers to various service centers. But then, nothing bureaucracy does ever makes much sense to me . . .