Receipt Date vs Notice Date
This announcement may have been up for awhile, but I just found it today on the USCIS site. I had called the 800 number some time back to verify that my RD was, indeed, my RD. They HAVE to process cases based on Receipt Dates and not Notice Dates. It stated on the USCIS site that my RD was 8 days later than it said on my NOAs. So here is the notice for those who haven't read it. The Processing Date is the day they Received the package, not the Notice Date:
NOTE: Due to an unusually large volume of receipts at the Service Centers, it is taking longer than expected to enter cases into the system. Depending on the type of case and service requested, it may take approximately 14 days to generate and mail receipt notices. Once the receipt notice has been generated, it may take an additional 2 to 3 days for customers to receive their receipt notices in the mail. Per existing policies and procedures, requests for Premium Processing Service will continue to be processed within 15 days. USCIS wishes to assure all customers that the original received date will be honored and recorded on the receipt notice. This date will appear in the "Received Date" box on Form I-797, Notice of Action. The received date is different from the "Notice Date", which also appears on Form I-797. The Notice Date is the date the receipt notice was actually generated. USCIS has taken appropriate measures to address this situation.