Processing Times- How is it calculated

[JustinS 44]

All, 

I was hoping for a little clarity.  I haven't seen the USCIS site update in months for the Nebraska Service Center (or any others). Do we know how often they update. 

 

Also, for processing times on this site, multiple people have gotten approval past November 5 but the date still shows Nov 5. Is that a fluke or some underlying thing I am not thinking about?

 

Thanks!

[SabRob 154]

Hi there! 

 

This is how USCIS claims they handle cases: 

We generally process cases in the order we receive them. This page shows estimates of how long each office is taking to process different types of cases. We update this page every month (around the 15th of each month). Please note that these data may change without notice. (https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processTimesDisplayInit.do)

 

There could be a lot of factors that influence the processing time of a particular case such as: which office is handling your case, the beneficiary's home country... I've seen a lot of comments made my VJ members stating they have called USCIS and reps told them that they were undergoing background checks at that time..so background checks could also be a cause for delay. 

 

But honestly..I don't think anyone knows for sure how they process cases. Some folks receive a response in less than 3 months, while for some it takes close to a year. 

 

The only thing you can do is wait it out. If it gets past the 6 month mark, call USCIS and ask to speak to a supervisor. If that doesn't forward your case, get your senator involved. Or try https://www.dhs.gov/case-assistance

 

The VisaJourney timeline is helpful but not always accurate. Mine was telling me that our case would be adjudicated sometime between May 11 and May 28 and we got our approval on April 1st. 

 

I know it's not the answer you were hoping for but I hope it explains some stuff. Bottom line is... be patient. Very, very patient. 

 

 

 

[JustinS 44]

Well, 

I guess I should be happy my case is fairly cut and dry, coming from a low-fraud country. I'll keep the 6 month bit in mind though. Thank you for that. 

[JBMG 890]

15 minutes ago, jseals0421@gmail. said:

Well, 

I guess I should be happy my case is fairly cut and dry, coming from a low-fraud country. I'll keep the 6 month bit in mind though. Thank you for that. 

Also depends on who is petitioning for you. If they have a popular last name, could take longer to get a background check on them.. so many factors.. really sucks.. We were  stuck in Nebraska for 7 months...  They were saying 4-5 months when they received our file.. then 5 months, then 6 months...  This will most likely take an entire year.  Because the NVC is the next step, and they're currently processing 8-11 weeks.. But it will take at least a a few weeks to get your case sent to them and your paperwork to them.. You can add a month there.. Then you have another 6 weeks to get your interview date but could wait up to 60 days to get the interview date.. but the average is about 2 weeks.. So add 8 weeks there.. Then another 10 days to get your visa.. 

 

So 7 months at USCIS, plus 1 month to get your paperwork to the NVC, plus 3 months to process at the NVC, plus 2 months to get your interview, plus 2 weeks to get your visa.. So yeah, a good year to possibly 13-14 months.. And of course this is only if you have NO errors and are not required to resubmit any paperwork... 

 

Bookmark the following.. Reference this when you get to the NVC Stage.. 

 

 

[JustinS 44]

20 minutes ago, JBMG said:

Also depends on who is petitioning for you. If they have a popular last name, could take longer to get a background check on them.. so many factors.. really sucks.. We were  stuck in Nebraska for 7 months...  They were saying 4-5 months when they received our file.. then 5 months, then 6 months...  This will most likely take an entire year.  Because the NVC is the next step, and they're currently processing 8-11 weeks.. But it will take at least a a few weeks to get your case sent to them and your paperwork to them.. You can add a month there.. Then you have another 6 weeks to get your interview date but could wait up to 60 days to get the interview date.. but the average is about 2 weeks.. So add 8 weeks there.. Then another 10 days to get your visa.. 

 

So 7 months at USCIS, plus 1 month to get your paperwork to the NVC, plus 3 months to process at the NVC, plus 2 months to get your interview, plus 2 weeks to get your visa.. So yeah, a good year to possibly 13-14 months.. And of course this is only if you have NO errors and are not required to resubmit any paperwork... 

 

Bookmark the following.. Reference this when you get to the NVC Stage.. 

 

 

Thankfully I am the petitioner, last name Seals...... not ridiculously common, especially coupled with my first name. 

[SabRob 154]

20 minutes ago, JBMG said:

Also depends on who is petitioning for you. If they have a popular last name, could take longer to get a background check on them..

 

Do you know that for a fact? I'm not saying you're wrong, just wondering...I thought that since USCIS has the petitioner's SSN they can easily run a background check. I'm thinking basic stuff like police record, see if the information they filled in on the I-130 is truthful, maybe check vital records, see if they were married before and stuff like that. 

[JBMG 890]

1 minute ago, jseals0421@gmail. said:

Thankfully I am the petitioner, last name Seals...... not ridiculously common, especially coupled with my first name. 

Hi, you can join the following forum. 

 

 

ps.. would also advise you to change your display name on here, you don't want to get your email spammed..  You can do so by clicking on the following link. 

 

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/settings/

 

[JBMG 890]

Just now, SabRob said:

Do you know that for a fact? I'm not saying you're wrong, just wondering...I thought that since USCIS has the petitioner's SSN they can easily run a background check. I'm thinking basic stuff like police record, see if the information they filled in on the I-130 is truthful, maybe check vital records, see if they were married before and stuff like that. 

No, it's not "factual", just what i've read on the forum.. but i don't remember where I saw it.. But you'll notice some cases get stuck in "background check"... Some cases get processed faster than others.. i'm from i130 August 2016 filers.. took me 7 months.. The last post got approval in May.. 9 months... 

 

 

[JustinS 44]

All of this is super great when I'm about 7-8 days in........ :-(