pamit73 said:
I have seen a few threads on Immigrationwatch data that question the validity of the data they present. Some people with approved cases were not able to find there case numbers on the site. They also list one of the last 4 digits of approved cases on their site. Which digit is shown is random depending on the time of the day etc. When tried at different times, people have reported that for the same case number, the digits they show are not the same every time. I have not tried this myself but this is what I have read. This casts a serious doubt on all the data that they present. Any thoughts on this?
Also, I am not sure that the average and std dev. of the approval times they show mean anything. They calculate the average time taken for case approvals based on the approved cases themselves. But what about the cases that have not been approved and have been waiting much longer than the average? As an example, if they indicate that the average time for approval based on 100 approved cases is 180 days. If there are a 1000 cases who have been waiting for more than 365 days, these cases are not being included in average calculations. In my opinion, this is flawed. Any thoughts?
Their calculation data is based on the Poisson statistical model, which assumes a smooth bell curve for all data, so based on the mean approval time, each approval fill fit into the curve. I diasgree with them on several fronts.
Firstly, all I-140's are lumped in together, and as we very well know, there are very different trends for each category.
Secondly, for the premium categories, even within each category, approvals are erratic. It seems to me as if service centers look at each case, and if all the legal blah is in order, it is approved quickly now. If this are not exactly in order, there seems to be a "second" review, probably by a more seasoned examiner. Proof of this thought? Look at all the really fast approvals in the premium categories, and some with the same RD that are approved much later.
Finally, I-485's are now hostage to priority dates for EB-3. This will delay I-485 approvals, and skew the statistical model.
Personally, I would ignore this site. I do think that processing is being done faster these days. Hopefully, this will be the case from now on.