N400 backlog skyrockets under new administration

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

17 minutes ago, Chloraflora said:

Shall I get us back on topic here? Might be an idea. 

 

I filed my application on April 14th, did my biometrics in May, my interview was two Fridays ago, and my naturalization oath is set for August 7th. I'm in Vermont so I'm guessing it's less busy than most though.

That’s awesome.  (From the forums I’ve been reading, it’s taking many people over a year where I am. ) Good luck for your oath ceremony, exciting stuff!

 

 

[Chloraflora 14]

4 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

That’s awesome.  (From the forums I’ve been reading, it’s taking many people over a year where I am. ) Good luck for your oath ceremony, exciting stuff!

 

 

I mean, there's dozens of cities with more people than my whole state, so they were probably like OH HEY SOMETHING TO DO! haha. So perhaps there's a bigger backlog elsewhere, but not here I guess.

[Paul & Mallory 1,398]

49 minutes ago, Chloraflora said:

Shall I get us back on topic here? Might be an idea. 

 

I filed my application on April 14th, did my biometrics in May, my interview was two Fridays ago, and my naturalization oath is set for August 7th. I'm in Vermont so I'm guessing it's less busy than most though.

That just blew my mind a little LOL That's amazing! I never thought of that, though; it does vary more specifically based on where you are located/where your local office is.

 

We aren't as small as Vermont, but I'm hoping there aren't many other South Carolina applicants I think there is an office in Charleston and one in Raleigh, and we're kind of right smack in the middle of them both (our town is right at the NC/SC border). Raleigh is a much larger city, and probably takes in more surrounding towns than Charleston would. We're crossing our fingers for Charleston.

 

[Ben&Zian 4,398]

Think of the numbers also how they grew with the President's election. People who were satisfied and happy being GC holders all of a sudden panicked because of the "fear" instilled in them by the media to apply for citizenship. I'm sure that explains a lot of the increase in N400 applications also which, obviously can begin to cause backlog when offices get overwhelmed. Not the entire reason but possibly one factor into it all. 

[CarlHamilton 252]

8 minutes ago, Ben&Zian said:

Think of the numbers also how they grew with the President's election. People who were satisfied and happy being GC holders all of a sudden panicked because of the "fear" instilled in them by the media to apply for citizenship. I'm sure that explains a lot of the increase in N400 applications also which, obviously can begin to cause backlog when offices get overwhelmed. Not the entire reason but possibly one factor into it all. 

This is a major factor, and it's mentioned by both USCIS and its critics in the article, although it's kind of buried.  It explains why the backlog started increasing in the last months of the Obama administration, when many eligible folks started panic-applying.  The other big thing is the introduction of interviews for all AOS applications, which takes time away from officers who would otherwise do naturalization interviews.  But neither development is part of a sinister plot against immigrants.  USCIS has tried to streamline the process (by moving it online, among other things) but remains subject to staffing and funding constraints, like many government agencies. 

[Springrain22 427]

Trump is the best president ever.

[NYCruiser 423]

22 minutes ago, Springrain22 said:

Trump is the best president ever.

Watch it...or the censorship 'self-appointed' leader on here will get ya for being 'off topic'

[Kar_98 10]

After reading that article, I checked my account. Yay, the original estimated time of completion went from 18 months (Nov 2019) to 20 months, February 2020. But noooooo there is no backlog.

[Chloraflora 14]

4 minutes ago, Kar_98 said:

After reading that article, I checked my account. Yay, the original estimated time of completion went from 18 months (Nov 2019) to 20 months, February 2020. But noooooo there is no backlog.

 

It's just an estimate. From the outset of my application, it was estimated for January 2019, but it'll be all done with on August 7th. 

 

Have faith

[Kar_98 10]

I've been getting the monthly ""we're still reviewing your case" e-mails since January 2018, when I had my fingerprints done, and nothing since.

[bowens44 214]

13 hours ago, NYCruiser said:

NBC is another left wing rag TV station. They do nothing but try to make the President look bad in every way. Glad to see it is NOT working....

It's not NBC making Trump look bad...it's truth that makes Trump look bad. If Trump his way the only  immigration permitted will be 'merit based'.

 

 

[CarlHamilton 252]

12 minutes ago, Kar_98 said:

But noooooo there is no backlog.

Who said that?

[Kar_98 10]

From the NBC article in the first post:

[CarlHamilton 252]

5 minutes ago, Kar_98 said:

From the NBC article in the first post:

I see.  Well, the backlog is easily documented by looking at historic average processing times that USCIS publishes on its website.  Too bad the reporter didn't follow up.  Anyway, I think the real disagreement is over the delays being intentional or not.  The article suggests that they're an attempt to keep people from voting in 2020.  I disagree for the reasons explained above.

[Randyandyuni 2,682]

1 minute ago, shomer said:

I see.  Well, the backlog is easily documented by looking at historic average processing times that USCIS publishes on its website.  Too bad the reporter didn't follow up.  Anyway, I think the real disagreement is over the delays being intentional or not.  The article suggests that they're an attempt to keep people from voting in 2020.  I disagree for the reasons explained above.

appears the Washington Times disagrees with you on responsibility for the backlog

 

Legal immigrants lined up to apply for U.S. citizenship ahead of last year’s election, but the Obama administration let them down, as the agency responsible for approving applications botched the process, leaving tens of thousands of eligible people stuck in limbo.

The Department of Homeland Security blamed the problem on a spike in applications, but the numbers don’t bear out that explanation. Applications rose 14 percent compared with the 2012 election year, but the backlog surged 64 percent.

 

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/23/naturalization-delay-prevents-new-citizens-from-vo/