How long should it take to for application to be received? (Los Angeles, CA)

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RC2

Registered Users (C)
Hello,

I am a dual British and American citizen. I moved to the U.S. in 2001 and finally received my citizenship and American passport at the beginning of 2008. I definitely know how long the system can take, especially in Los Angeles.

I am now applying for my wife's green card and work permit, but it seems like the process is taking an abnormally long time. I mailed out the package at the start of February, and by mid-March I have still not received any notification of receipt. As of today, the checks have still gone uncashed. I am not sure if this is considered normal for 2008 at the Los Angeles office, but I do know that my 2001 application at the same office was received much more quickly.

Is this normal? Should I be concerned? Can anyone else report recent receipt times at the LA office? I looked around the forum and noticed that people in other regions were having their applications received within 1 to 2 weeks, but I could not find anything relevant to my local office.

Thank you! :)
 
Hi, i am a bit confused by your post. You should have maiiled the application to the Chicago Lockbox. For some, it is taking around 10 days to get NOAs.
 
look at my timeline and how long things took and i mailed mid march too, this is normal. you need to supply more info to us howerver, like what documents you sent and where you sent them.
 
Oh, sorry for the lack of information. I'm not really very knowledgeable when it comes to this stuff. I had an immigration attorney take care of my own application, and I am doing the same thing this time around. I assumed the application was being sent to the Los Angeles office, but you guys know best. I trust that my immigration attorney knows the correct place to send the application, and I do know that he sent it 6 to 7 weeks ago.
 
I am not good with all the different application numbers, but I sent a petition for my wife's green card based on the fact that she is married to a now-American citizen, and a petition for a work permit for her also.
 
did your lawyer provide tracking info of the package delivered to USCIS, because these guys tend to slack a little bit. you might want to get that from him, otherwise i would wait til the end of the week to call uscis or your lawyer, stuff tends to happen usually thursday or friday around here.
 
No tracking. It was sent USPS. I am pretty sure he sent it at the time when I am claiming, because I hassled him several times to make sure it would get sent out ASAP. I know the guy is reliable because he did my applications a few years ago.
 
I guess I will call the lawyer in the morning to find out if he keeps tracking numbers for his own records. He didn't give me one, but maybe he did get one. I would certainly feel better if I at least knew the USCIS had received the application, or if I knew that processing times of this length were normal.
 
RC2, it's fairly typical that immigration forms are sent via certified mail, return receipt requested, to have proof of mailing and delivery. Maybe he's got a certified mail number that you can enter online to see if and when the package has been delivered.
 
Well, I just called and he was not able to provide me with a tracking or delivery confirmation number of any sort. He just assured me that he "took care of everything" and that "immigration is backed up right now". He told me to be patient at least 8 times, and advised me against refiling.

I heard the "immigration is backed up" excuse many times during my own application, but it seems that immigration is just always backed up. I had some seriously long processing times when I was waiting for my own GC and citizenship, but I figured this is the first step of the process and it should not be subject to long delays. Not sure what to do now, but wait.
 
RC2 said:
Well, I just called and he was not able to provide me with a tracking or delivery confirmation number of any sort. He just assured me that he "took care of everything" and that "immigration is backed up right now". He told me to be patient at least 8 times, and advised me against refiling.

I heard the "immigration is backed up" excuse many times during my own application, but it seems that immigration is just always backed up. I had some seriously long processing times when I was waiting for my own GC and citizenship, but I figured this is the first step of the process and it should not be subject to long delays. Not sure what to do now, but wait.
Click to expand...

They already cleared that backlog and in some cases, are generating receipts within 1 month.

Did you pay him by check/cash to him personally? or did you write the checks to DHS?
 
PraetorianXI said:
They already cleared that backlog and in some cases, are generating receipts within 1 month.

Did you pay him by check/cash to him personally? or did you write the checks to DHS?
Click to expand...

I wrote two checks to DHS and two checks to the attorney. The first check he cashed within one day, and the second check is post-dated to sometime in April. He's not getting that one until I see some action.

Wishing I had just filed on my own now...
 
USCIS just told me that it's taking around 8 weeks to issue receipts right now. I said I was told it would take about 2 weeks at the most, and USCIS said that was true about a year ago, but not anymore. I'm still puzzled to see others on this forum receiving receipts within 1 or 2 weeks, but I guess I will just listen to what USCIS told me and wait at least a couple more weeks.
 
It's true that USCIS is usually backed up to some extent, but that doesn't mean it's a good excuse for your attorney not to have better documentation on his part. If, God (or your favorite deity) forbid, you'd lose your status, you'd have no proof that an application was timely filed before you lost your status. Also, you have interim benefits like EAD and AP which become available 90 days from when USCIS receives your application. If your attorney has neither proof of filing nor proof of delivery to USCIS, you're basically waiting all this time just to find out if they even received it (sometimes the USCIS also just loses a file and doesn't know they ever received it). If not for USCIS, I think he should have some proof to show to the client.
 
Well, I trusted my attorney on this and I decided not to resubmit. I finally received a tracking number, and the tracking number reveals that the package was received by the office in Laguna Niguel way back at the beginning of February. These guys have been sitting on my application for more than 10 weeks.

I also question why it went to Laguna Niguel in the first place. I understand that CSC will just forward it to Chicago, so wouldn't it have been much quicker to send the thing straight to Chicago in the first place?
 
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