I-130 August 2021 Filers

[Troy B 223]

Huh,  they just changed USCIS processing times site and now for my 8/31/2021 PD it is saying "Your case is processing normally."  and I can submit a ONPT request on July 31, 2022.

They also removed the table that was there previously.

[Educ8r 39]

6 minutes ago, Troy B said:

Huh,  they just changed USCIS processing times site and now for my 8/31/2021 PD it is saying "Your case is processing normally."  and I can submit a ONPT request on July 31, 2022.

They also removed the table that was there previously.

Were you able to make an inquiry before it changed?  I know your PD is a few weeks after mine...

 

[Troy B 223]

Yes, though I have not gotten any response to the Service Request yet.

[Educ8r 39]

1 minute ago, Troy B said:

Yes, though I have not gotten any response to the Service Request yet.

Me either.  I hope we don't get the standard, "You're within current processing times", because we weren't when the inquiry was made.  According to the processing times site, they are taking 8.5 months to process the 130s.  I got news for them, we're already at 8.5 months so why do we have to wait until July to contact them?  I'll be at 9 months in 5 days...

[Mimicherie 142]

1 hour ago, Educ8r said:

Me either.  I hope we don't get the standard, "You're within current processing times", because we weren't when the inquiry was made.  According to the processing times site, they are taking 8.5 months to process the 130s.  I got news for them, we're already at 8.5 months so why do we have to wait until July to contact them?  I'll be at 9 months in 5 days...

Exactly! We already surpassed the 8.5 months. If we are to make an inquiry in July then that means we can potentially be waiting almost a year for a final decision? 
 

This really annoys me because NVC has a wait as well even after that decision making and all documents submitted. Haiti, which is the embassy my case will finish processing out of, is already all over the place with interviews and severely back logged. Only God knows when we’ll have visa in hand.

[Educ8r 39]

1 minute ago, gsdc23 said:

Exactly! We already surpassed the 8.5 months. If we are to make an inquiry in July then that means we can potentially be waiting almost a year for a final decision? 
 

This really annoys me because NVC has a wait as well even after that decision making and all documents submitted. Haiti, which is the embassy my case will finish processing out of, is already all over the place with interviews and severely back logged. Only God knows when we’ll have visa in hand.

I told my husband it would have been faster for me to emigrate to England...

[hopeJourney 14]

4 hours ago, Educ8r said:

Me either.  I hope we don't get the standard, "You're within current processing times", because we weren't when the inquiry was made.  According to the processing times site, they are taking 8.5 months to process the 130s.  I got news for them, we're already at 8.5 months so why do we have to wait until July to contact them?  I'll be at 9 months in 5 days...

The 8.5 months quoted on the processing times pages doesn't mean all cases will be processed in 8.5 months. I explain what it means in this post: Understanding USCIS I-130 processing times - IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports - VisaJourney

 

After considering the processing times, I think the best metric is what is reported on the USCIS Historical Processing Times page. Currently, for I-130 for Immediate Relatives, the median time for approval across all service centers is 9.5 months (for Fiscal Year 2022). I like this metric because USCIS shifts cases around to balance the workload, and this will capture that. It also uses the "processing time" methodology rather than the "cycle time" methodology, which I think is better (and explained in my linked post).

 

I think the way they present the processing time data isn't great and leaves more questions than answers. Like you, I am frustrated at how long it takes, but the backlog is insane. As of Dec 31, 2021, there were 308,775 pending IR1/CR1 cases across all service centers. From Oct 1-Dec 31, 2021, they processed 61,861 cases (about 20,620 per month). So even if they completely stopped accepting new cases, it would take them 15-months to process the cases they currently have. And this is only for IR1/CR1. It is considerably more when you add the other categories.

 

It is even worse for those who are applying today because the backlog is the highest it has been since at least Dec 2018 (and probably longer but I don't track it before 2018). For perspective, there were 223,249 pending cases on Dec 31, 2018 (which is 32% lower than Dec 31, 2021). In other words, the backlog has grown by 32% over 3 years.

 

Luckily the Biden administration is giving USCIS more funding and committed to reducing the backlog. We would be in a much worse situation if Trump got 4 more years, or thinking ahead, if a different conservative administration gets elected in 2024. Because after the IR-1 process, most beneficiaries will apply for citizenship, which is also extremely backlogged. Elections have consequences and at least for me, I will vote for candidates who are committed to fixing the US immigration system, because it is broken. We deserve better.

Edited May 5, 2022 by hopeJourney

[Ctavarez90 244]

I am hoping that by end of July or a little bit before that my husbands petition will be approved. NVC is not too bad because I think they are caught up and my husbands interview will be in the Dominican Republic I think they have a 2-4 month wait time for his visa. Hoping the total process takes a little less than 2 years. I think that is realistic

[Ctavarez90 244]

Any more approvals or news from my fellow august filers?

[Ctavarez90 244]

On 5/5/2022 at 11:32 AM, Troy B said:

Huh,  they just changed USCIS processing times site and now for my 8/31/2021 PD it is saying "Your case is processing normally."  and I can submit a ONPT request on July 31, 2022.

They also removed the table that was there previously.

Same for me. My PD is the same as yours and I can submit an ONPT same day as you. Hopefully we get our approvals before then

[InpatientSpouse 4]

On 5/5/2022 at 11:32 AM, Troy B said:

Huh,  they just changed USCIS processing times site and now for my 8/31/2021 PD it is saying "Your case is processing normally."  and I can submit a ONPT request on July 31, 2022.

They also removed the table that was there previously.

At least you’re said July, I’m July 2021 and they’re telling me not to contact them before October 2021 for Texas service center

[Educ8r 39]

28 minutes ago, InpatientSpouse said:

At least you’re said July, I’m July 2021 and they’re telling me not to contact them before October 2021 for Texas service center

I'm torn on this one...the table said 8.5-10.5 months. Now they're saying 8.5 which was the low end, but you can't inquire until 11 months which is near the high end.  Did they actually change anything or just make it look pretty and basically say, "Don't bother us until it's been a really long time"?  They were probably getting a lot of inquiries as soon as people could make them...

[Ctavarez90 244]

23 minutes ago, Educ8r said:

I'm torn on this one...the table said 8.5-10.5 months. Now they're saying 8.5 which was the low end, but you can't inquire until 11 months which is near the high end.  Did they actually change anything or just make it look pretty and basically say, "Don't bother us until it's been a really long time"?  They were probably getting a lot of inquiries as soon as people could make them...

Where are you finding the table at to show the range for the processing times?

[Educ8r 39]

17 minutes ago, Ctavarez90 said:

Where are you finding the table at to show the range for the processing times?

I'm referring to the way the information was presented previously on the website with a table and " inquiry" date.

Edited May 8, 2022 by Educ8r
Wording

[Tereza 27]

On 5/8/2022 at 7:43 AM, Ctavarez90 said:

Any more approvals or news from my fellow august filers?

Nothing at all. We filed August 3rd 21, Nebraska, transferred to VSC. I have seen several people getting approved who filed around this time as well, but no approval for me. I checked the official uscis tracking site the other day, after I read somewhere that they changed some things ... turns out, our date for inquiry is February 2023! I seriously don't know what to think anymore, I see people who got married this year and filed in February getting approved, but some people from early 2021 are still waiting. I got my hopes up in January, when we got the active review status, but since then... nothing