Timing my RFE response

[austriacus]

Hi fellow AOS filers,

I'm trying to time my RFE response around my Aug. 9 - Aug. 29 vacation such that (1) it is likely that we get our interview letter before our vacation starts and (2) it is likely that the interview date is after we return.

The first criterion comes from the fact that nobody will check our mail for three weeks, therefore we'd rather not be surprised by an interview letter we received right after we left with an interview date shortly after we return. The second criterion of course comes from the desire to not have to go through the process of requesting an interview date change. Of course, if I had to pick, it would be more important that the interview date is after we return.

Based on our 5/16 receipt date, without RFE we should have probably expected the interview date to fall in the second half of August, just when we're out of the country!

I did some informal research on the time span between "case resumed" from an RFE and "interview letter received" and for the May filer thread this was anywhere from 15-25 days (admittedly not a statistical sample but a good start).

I figure about 7-10 days from mailing the RFE to when my case is resumed, therefore I expect an interview letter as soon as perhaps 22-35 days after mailing the response.

Here are a couple of options I've entertained:

(a) Send RFE response around July 9, expect interview letter perhaps around July 31 to August 13, so a good chance we'll still be here when it arrives, and the chance is small that the ID will be before August 29.

(b) Send RFE response just before we leave for vacation but early enough to track its arrival before our vacation, around August 3. Chances are the interview letter would not even arrive before we return, and if it did, the date shouldn't be close to after we return.

(c) To absolutely ensure no ID before August 29 ... have someone else drop the RFE off in the mail for us while we are gone in the second half of August. Very risky from a perspective of making sure we reply within 12 weeks.

Right now I favor option (a) or (b). Of course (a) is the safest in terms of ensuring a timely response to the RFE, but has a small chance that the interview could still be before Aug. 29. If it comes down to it, I'd even be ok with opening the mail Aug. 30 and finding an ID a couple days later. Maybe a date inbetween (a) and (b) would be good, when we might expect the letter to arrive during vacation but the ID should still be a couple weeks after we return?

Any thoughts or ideas? Thanks in advance!