Naturalization Processing Times & Elections

[PhillyNatz 39]

For those of us who are undergoing Naturalization right now, do you think the elections next year will impact processing times? Improve, or Worsen?

[Giovanna024 442]

Should improve, from what I Understood they want to have more people to Vote so they speed up the process, I dont know just my thoughts. 

[Georgia16 2,858]

It all depends. There could be more people trying to become a citizen because they want to vote doing the next election that would increase everything unless there were prepared for the extra workload. Who knows...

[Deagle 508]

I don't know why people rush to vote for a president since the electoral vote is what really matters...

[YecaCruz 386]

I sure hope that it wouldn't get worse. Waiting over a year for someone to dust off our electronic file is torture enough!

[dwheels76 5,475]

38 minutes ago, YecaCruz said:

I sure hope that it wouldn't get worse. Waiting over a year for someone to dust off our electronic file is torture enough!

I feel you pain. We been waiting for ROC= 1 year 6 months and 26 days. the 28th the 18 month Extension letter expires.

For Citizenship been waiting 206 days.

 

It will continue to get slower because we have more and more fliers and less people working to adjudicate cases. More butts in the seats will help the backlogs.

[N400NYC 380]

Worsen.

 

1. More people apply as an election approaches

2. The current administration (which ultimately has control over USCIS) has ZERO interest in increasing the number of citizens - it isn't a coincidence the process has become so SLOW in the past 2 years....

3. There is already a massive backlog of cases in various offices and there has been no sincere effort to address that (under the current administration) so don't expect that to change in an election year! 

[Sartre 123]

6 hours ago, Georgia16 said:

It all depends. There could be more people trying to become a citizen because they want to vote doing the next election that would increase everything unless there were prepared for the extra workload. Who knows...

Thousands more who have applied  for naturalization are approved and sworn in the month of September of every year due to when the constitution was signed.  I don't remember but I think in the month of September but I think 50 or 60 % more than any other month take their oath.  I'll try to find the exact percentage and post it later. Remember the day the Constitution was signed because it could be on the English test during the interview.

 

Here is a post about the constitution and the month of September:

 

"Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is observed each year on September 17 to commemorate the signing of the Constitution on September 17, 1787, and “recognize all who, by coming of age or by naturalization, have become citizens.” 

This commemoration had its origin in 1940, when Congress passed a joint resolution authorizing and requesting the President to issue annually a proclamation setting aside the third Sunday in May for the public recognition of all who had attained the status of American citizenship.  The designation for this day was “I Am An American Day.” 

In 1952 Congress repealed this joint resolution and passed a new law moving the date to September 17 to commemorate “the formation and signing, on September 17, 1787, of the Constitution of the United States.” The day was still designated as “Citizenship Day” and retained its original purpose of recognizing all those who had attained American citizenship. This law urged civil and educational authorities of states, counties, cities and towns to make plans for the proper observance of the day and “for the complete instruction of citizens in their responsibilities and opportunities as citizens of the United States and of the State and locality in which they reside.” 

In 2004 under Senator Byrd's urging, Congress changed the designation of this day to "Constitution Day and Citizenship Day" and added two new requirements in the commemoration of this Day. The first is that the head of every federal agency provide each employee with educational and training materials concerning the Constitution on September 17th. The second is that each educational institution which receives Federal funds should hold a program for students every September 17th." 

 

Edited December 14, 2019 by Sartre
mistake

[Sartre 123]

25 minutes ago, Sartre said:

Thousands more who have applied  for naturalization are approved and sworn in the month of September of every year due to when the constitution was signed.  I don't remember but I think in the month of September but I think 50 or 60 % more than any other month take their oath.  I'll try to find the exact percentage and post it later. Remember the day the Constitution was signed because it could be on the English test during the interview.

 

Here is a post about the constitution and the month of September:

 

"Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is observed each year on September 17 to commemorate the signing of the Constitution on September 17, 1787, and “recognize all who, by coming of age or by naturalization, have become citizens.” 

This commemoration had its origin in 1940, when Congress passed a joint resolution authorizing and requesting the President to issue annually a proclamation setting aside the third Sunday in May for the public recognition of all who had attained the status of American citizenship.  The designation for this day was “I Am An American Day.” 

In 1952 Congress repealed this joint resolution and passed a new law moving the date to September 17 to commemorate “the formation and signing, on September 17, 1787, of the Constitution of the United States.” The day was still designated as “Citizenship Day” and retained its original purpose of recognizing all those who had attained American citizenship. This law urged civil and educational authorities of states, counties, cities and towns to make plans for the proper observance of the day and “for the complete instruction of citizens in their responsibilities and opportunities as citizens of the United States and of the State and locality in which they reside.” 

In 2004 under Senator Byrd's urging, Congress changed the designation of this day to "Constitution Day and Citizenship Day" and added two new requirements in the commemoration of this Day. The first is that the head of every federal agency provide each employee with educational and training materials concerning the Constitution on September 17th. The second is that each educational institution which receives Federal funds should hold a program for students every September 17th." 

 

 

In the span of 10 days USCIS naturalized about 34,000 applicants which is 100% more than usual. Usually about 17,000 people are naturalized  in any other  10 day period during the year.

 

"USCIS to Welcome More Than 34,000 New Citizens in Celebration of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day

Release Date: Sept. 13, 2019 

WASHINGTON—

USCIS announced today that it will celebrate Constitution Day and Citizenship Day by welcoming nearly 34,300 new U.S. citizens during 316 naturalization ceremonies across the nation between Sept. 13 and 23. View a list of other notable 2019 Constitution Week-themed naturalization ceremonies.

“Two hundred and thirty-two years ago, our great country adopted the United States Constitution, and as we celebrate Constitution Week, it is important to underscore the significance of citizens’ responsibilities for protecting and defending the Constitution,” said Acting Director Cuccinelli. “These nearly 34,300 new U.S. citizens followed the law on their path to naturalization and now call the U.S. home. I can think of no better way to celebrate Constitution Week than to welcome thousands of new U.S. citizens who have assimilated, made a commitment to our great country, and have vowed to support the Constitution.”

On Sept. 17, the nation observes Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, as part of Constitution Week (Sept. 17 to 23 this year). The commemoration honors both the signing of the Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787, and an observance that began in 1940 as “I Am an American Day.” Citizenship Day began in 1952, based on a law signed by President Harry Truman, and in 1955, President Dwight Eisenhower proclaimed the first Constitution Week.

This time of year serves as an opportunity to celebrate the connection between the Constitution and citizenship and reflect on the meaning of becoming a citizen of the United States. USCIS welcomes approximately 650,000 to 750,000 citizens each year during naturalization ceremonies across the United States and around the world. In fiscal year 2018, USCIS naturalized more than 756,000 people, a five-year high in new oaths of citizenship.

To help applicants prepare to become U.S. citizens, USCIS provides study materials and resources available through the Citizenship Resource Center. In addition, the only official USCIS Civics Test application, USCIS: Civics Test Study Tools, is a mobile app that challenges users’ civic knowledge and is currently available for download in the Google Play and iTunesstores.  

Following each naturalization ceremony, USCIS encourages new U.S. citizens and their families and friends to share their naturalization photos on social media using the hashtags #newUScitizen, #ConstitutionWeek, and #WethePeople.

For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow them on Twitter (@uscis), Instagram (/uscis), YouTube (/uscis), Facebook (/uscis), and LinkedIn (/uscis)."

[PhillyNatz 39]

1 hour ago, Sartre said:

Thousands more who have applied  for naturalization are approved and sworn in the month of September of every year due to when the constitution was signed.  I don't remember but I think in the month of September but I think 50 or 60 % more than any other month take their oath.  I'll try to find the exact percentage and post it later. Remember the day the Constitution was signed because it could be on the English test during the interview.

 

Here is a post about the constitution and the month of September:

 

"Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is observed each year on September 17 to commemorate the signing of the Constitution on September 17, 1787, and “recognize all who, by coming of age or by naturalization, have become citizens.” 

This commemoration had its origin in 1940, when Congress passed a joint resolution authorizing and requesting the President to issue annually a proclamation setting aside the third Sunday in May for the public recognition of all who had attained the status of American citizenship.  The designation for this day was “I Am An American Day.” 

In 1952 Congress repealed this joint resolution and passed a new law moving the date to September 17 to commemorate “the formation and signing, on September 17, 1787, of the Constitution of the United States.” The day was still designated as “Citizenship Day” and retained its original purpose of recognizing all those who had attained American citizenship. This law urged civil and educational authorities of states, counties, cities and towns to make plans for the proper observance of the day and “for the complete instruction of citizens in their responsibilities and opportunities as citizens of the United States and of the State and locality in which they reside.” 

In 2004 under Senator Byrd's urging, Congress changed the designation of this day to "Constitution Day and Citizenship Day" and added two new requirements in the commemoration of this Day. The first is that the head of every federal agency provide each employee with educational and training materials concerning the Constitution on September 17th. The second is that each educational institution which receives Federal funds should hold a program for students every September 17th." 

 

 

How did you arrive at that number of 17,000 though; if they naturalize 750,000 a year, assuming 5 day weeks, that's about 2900/day which is ~30,000 in a ten day period (on average)

Edited December 14, 2019 by PhillyNatz

[PhillyNatz 39]

There's also probably a surge in Applications since November in view of the impending fee increases

[Sartre 123]

27 minutes ago, PhillyNatz said:

How did you arrive at that number of 17,000 though; if they naturalize 750,000 a year, assuming 5 day weeks, that's about 2900/day which is ~30,000 in a ten day period (on average)

 

28 minutes ago, PhillyNatz said:

How did you arrive at that number of 17,000 though; if they naturalize 750,000 a year, assuming 5 day weeks, that's about 2900/day which is ~30,000 in a ten day period (on average)

The event occurs over a ten day period.  There are 36 10 day periods in a year.  I took the average of the two figures and came up with approximately 700,000 applicants approved per year.  I divided the 700,000 by the 36 10 day periods which gives me about 19,000 which is less than the 34,300 who took an oath during the 10 day Sept. 17 period.  

[PhillyNatz 39]

13 minutes ago, Sartre said:

 

The event occurs over a ten day period.  There are 36 10 day periods in a year.  I took the average of the two figures and came up with approximately 700,000 applicants approved per year.  I divided the 700,000 by the 36 10 day periods which gives me about 19,000 which is less than the 34,300 who took an oath during the 10 day Sept. 17 period.  

That’s assuming uscis is working 7 days a week which it isn’t. 

[N400NYC 380]

2 hours ago, PhillyNatz said:

There's also probably a surge in Applications since November in view of the impending fee increases

The flip side to that is there may be some people who hold off applying in 2020 (or can't afford to) once the increase is in effect 

[Sartre 123]

4 hours ago, N400NYC said:

The flip side to that is there may be some people who hold off applying in 2020 (or can't afford to) once the increase is in effect 

No matter how you work the numbers, number of work days  or attribute motives (fee increase, political events) to the applicants, there is a statistically significant increase in oath takers during the period designated "Signing of the Constitution".  There are 261 official working days in a year (excluding leap year).  Divide 700,000 by 261 and we arrive at a figure of 2,682.  The period referred to as Signing of the Constitution, Sept. 13-23, has 7 working days and when the actual number 34300 of oath takers is divided by 7 we arrive at a statistically significant figure of 4,900 per day.  The figure of 4,900 is almost double that of the daily average for the full year of 2,682.  

 

Based on the press release I think I can anecdotally interpret that USCIS for political reasons (under a lot of pressure politically and legally) wanted to appear that it  is doing its patriotic duty and processing people quickly. They used the Signing of the Constitution period to score political points with the politicians and the courts  that are pressuring them to process applications for naturalization within a 6 month period.  I think they backloaded the number of oath takers during that ten day period in order to appear humane and that it is doing its job. 

 

Phil, if you have another way of working the numbers please blow the dust off your crayons and produce the numbers :-)

 

However, when it comes to USCIS the second image in the meme applies: