Question about how to interpret dates and processing times

[YRC]

I filed my N400 on August 10, 2017 and the receipt indicates PD of August 11, 2017. The cases status email I received stated that USCIS began the interview scheduling process on September 8, 2017 (biometrics were completed on September 6, 2017). I live in the jurisdiction of the Denver FO which has a current processing time of 13-16.5 months. Does the USCIS calculate processing times on the basis of priority dates or date on which they began the interview scheduling process?

[abuya]

processing times

I do not think anyone knows how the processing times are calculated. That is is the reason we are in this forum we are trying to inform each other about our PD so get some understanding. first it depend on your state. Some state processing times are faster than the other.
e.g I am October 2017 filer in Atlanta but still have not received any date for my interview. keep checking with your state filers and you have a better idea of when you will go to interview.

[cgbadamosi]

I filed my N400 on August 10, 2017 and the receipt indicates PD of August 11, 2017. The cases status email I received stated that USCIS began the interview scheduling process on September 8, 2017 (biometrics were completed on September 6, 2017). I live in the jurisdiction of the Denver FO which has a current processing time of 13-16.5 months. Does the USCIS calculate processing times on the basis of priority dates or date on which they began the interview scheduling process?

It took exactly a year from USCIS posting that we were ready to be scheduled for an interview until we received a notification on last Friday stating that our interview was now scheduled. Be prepared to wait a year or more.

[YRC]

I do not think anyone knows how the processing times are calculated. That is is the reason we are in this forum we are trying to inform each other about our PD so get some understanding. first it depend on your state. Some state processing times are faster than the other.
e.g I am October 2017 filer in Atlanta but still have not received any date for my interview. keep checking with your state filers and you have a better idea of when you will go to interview.

I was hoping that somebody had cracked the code! My question was motivated by the fact that USCIS claims that they process applications in the order that they are received. It also claims that their new method for calculating processing times is more accurate and that displaying them as a range is more helpful (see this URL: https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/more-info).

"We now show case processing times as a range. The first number is the time it takes to complete 50% of cases (the median). The second number is the time it takes to complete 93% of case."

So what happens to the 7%--a not insignificant number given the total number of petitions that they get? It seems to me that the USCIS is saying we cannot tell you how long it will take for a case to be processed. Nor can we tell you if we will process a case.....because if you are lucky you might make it into the 50%; somewhat less lucky, then in the 43%......but you could also be in the 7% that end up in a black hole. In other words, the new method is neither informative nor reassuring.

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

I was hoping that somebody had cracked the code! My question was motivated by the fact that USCIS claims that they process applications in the order that they are received. It also claims that their new method for calculating processing times is more accurate and that displaying them as a range is more helpful (see this URL: https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/more-info).

"We now show case processing times as a range. The first number is the time it takes to complete 50% of cases (the median). The second number is the time it takes to complete 93% of case."

So what happens to the 7%--a not insignificant number given the total number of petitions that they get? It seems to me that the USCIS is saying we cannot tell you how long it will take for a case to be processed. Nor can we tell you if we will process a case.....because if you are lucky you might make it into the 50%; somewhat less lucky, then in the 43%......but you could also be in the 7% that end up in a black hole. In other words, the new method is neither informative nor reassuring.

If you want to get a sense of the workload at your Field Office, then you might want to check out these data sets. https://www.uscis.gov/tools/reports-...naturalization

I thought I had gotten a pretty good sense of those charts but then of course, USCIS started scheduling AOS interviews for people who filed in January 2018 or after, even though they still had cases pending from mid or early 2017. So that threw off the numbers.

The time range is helpful, sure. But now that they take entire time range to declare that a case is outside processing times, that's ridiculous. The best anyone can do is submit an error free case, but even that is a challenge to most. You see people here rushing to submit without reading the instructions, and time and time again, they're issued RFEs for basic stuff which delays everything for everyone.

[Tezza]

If you want to get a sense of the workload at your Field Office, then you might want to check out these data sets. https://www.uscis.gov/tools/reports-...naturalization

I thought I had gotten a pretty good sense of those charts but then of course, USCIS started scheduling AOS interviews for people who filed in January 2018 or after, even though they still had cases pending from mid or early 2017. So that threw off the numbers.

The time range is helpful, sure. But now that they take entire time range to declare that a case is outside processing times, that's ridiculous. The best anyone can do is submit an error free case, but even that is a challenge to most. You see people here rushing to submit without reading the instructions, and time and time again, they're issued RFEs for basic stuff which delays everything for everyone.

I want to reiterate your point here about submitting an error free case. That's really important and very helpful. We decided to spend around a month on our package, getting everything together in an understandable order, using table of contents etc. We meticulously went through every detail, I checked and rechecked everyday like it was my full time job (I probably went a bit fruit loopy to those around me). I wanted to make sure everything was correct first time, because I was aware how long getting an RFE can hold you back.

I don't regret taking that month and filing in April instead of March, because I got my GC by July. I know it's not 100% down to us, there is some luck in there too in which officer you get, who they decided to interview etc, but I do believe taking extra time reading instructions, asking questions, checking and rechecking helped it along. If the officer sees a straightforward case that they understand, why wouldn't they want to get it done and close another case off for their target.

So that's the advice I'd give to people who are filing now, whether it's AOS, ROC or the N-400, just do your absolute best to provide a coherent and well thought out package. Think to yourself, would this make sense to a total stranger, or are they going to need to extrapolate and come up with their own conclusions, because if it's the latter, then you need to do it again. Don't leave it to chance.

[YRC]

If you want to get a sense of the workload at your Field Office, then you might want to check out these data sets. https://www.uscis.gov/tools/reports-...naturalization

I thought I had gotten a pretty good sense of those charts but then of course, USCIS started scheduling AOS interviews for people who filed in January 2018 or after, even though they still had cases pending from mid or early 2017. So that threw off the numbers.

The time range is helpful, sure. But now that they take entire time range to declare that a case is outside processing times, that's ridiculous. The best anyone can do is submit an error free case, but even that is a challenge to most. You see people here rushing to submit without reading the instructions, and time and time again, they're issued RFEs for basic stuff which delays everything for everyone.

Thank you. The link is certainly helpful for someone nerdy like me.....I took over a month to prep my N400 making sure to get all documents that I needed together. I also had an immigration lawyer friend go over it before submitting on August 10, 2017 (PD of August 11, 2017). The field office is Denver and from the chart you link to it seems that they are processing about 2200-2400 N400s per quarter. This is true of all quarters except Q1 and Q2 of 2017 when they were averaging 1200 to 1300. As of Q2 of 2018, they have backlog of about 10k applications. Denver's processing time had improved to 12.5-15 months from 12.5 - 19 months but has slipped again to 13.5 - 16. Based on the charts and processing time history for Denver, I should expect a call anytime between September 2018 and January 2019 (if the current times hold) or between September 2018 and infinity (if they revert back to their Q1-2017 and Q2-2017 performance)!