That is a common misconception, imo. Most all of the processing time is because petitions sit in a pile until a human can open them, check that the basics are there, process the payment, and finally send receipt notices. That is just to enter them into the system. When a petition arrives, there are already thousands of petitions in the pipeline awaiting processing. At the California Service Center, there is More waiting and sitting in another pile. There, every petition package must be scrutinized by human eyes to ensure that the petitioner and beneficiary meet the requirements to continue the I-129f process. I am also knowledgeable in IT. I see no way to take the human aspect out of the process. The only solution, in my mind is hiring more humans. To do that, fees would have to be an enormously increased. This part of immigration is self supported by us. ---Just my observations over the last 8 years here.