What is the N400 priority date?

K

kellyoc

Registered Users (C)
Quick question: does USCIS assign the priority date based on the date the packet is signed for, or the date the check is cashed?

Our packet was accepted by VSC on April 25 (according to the return receipt, although US postal services says it was delivered on April 24) but as of today the check has not been cashed.

Will our priority date be April 25 or into May?

Thanks


K
 
kellyoc said:
... and USCIS begins processing as of the priority date or after the check is cashed? Does it even matter for family-based N400s?

Thanks for the enlightenment.

K
Click to expand...
Priority date is essentially the date that your application hits their mailroom. Processing begins as soon as they open your application, cash your check and enter your information into their system. In many cases, people who applied last summer have a PD of July or August, but their checks were not cashed until November or December, meaning that the USCIS did nothing with their applications until long after they were received. PD is one indicator of where you are in the queue, but a more useful measure is when all of your background checks are complete - at that point, it seems you are put in the queue for an interview.

USCIS claims to process applications in the order in which they are received, but there are many many exceptions to this. There is, at best, a rough correlation between PD and processing time. Not sure I understand your question about "family based N-400s". All N-400 applications, even those from the same family, are adjudicated separately. There are many instances of family members with the same PDs having different processing times.
 
kellyoc said:
... and USCIS begins processing as of the priority date or after the check is cashed? Does it even matter for family-based N400s?

Thanks for the enlightenment.

K
Click to expand...

They are supposed to start processing from the PD, but that idea has gone out the window as USCIS processes newer cases faster than older cases at many DOs.
 
yummyk said:
Priority date is essentially the date that your application hits their mailroom. Processing begins as soon as they open your application, cash your check and enter your information into their system. In many cases, people who applied last summer have a PD of July or August, but their checks were not cashed until November or December, meaning that the USCIS did nothing with their applications until long after they were received. PD is one indicator of where you are in the queue, but a more useful measure is when all of your background checks are complete - at that point, it seems you are put in the queue for an interview.

USCIS claims to process applications in the order in which they are received, but there are many many exceptions to this. There is, at best, a rough correlation between PD and processing time. Not sure I understand your question about "family based N-400s". All N-400 applications, even those from the same family, are adjudicated separately. There are many instances of family members with the same PDs having different processing times.
Click to expand...

I guess what I meant by "family based" (in our case, I am the USC and the petitioner is my spouse) is that most of the information I found on priority dates had to to more with employment or lottery type applications where that date was important for determining cut-offs.

It only feels weird to me that the application was received on April 24 (tracked on the US postal service site) and the check still hasn't been cashed. I've noticed that recently, most people's checks are cashed the next day or at most two days after the packet is received. Ours is going on 5 days.

Just worried I might be seeing my packet returned to me, even though I double, tripled and quadrupled checked everything before sending.

K
 
kellyoc said:
I guess what I meant by "family based" (in our case, I am the USC and the petitioner is my spouse) is that most of the information I found on priority dates had to to more with employment or lottery type applications where that date was important for determining cut-offs.

It only feels weird to me that the application was received on April 24 (tracked on the US postal service site) and the check still hasn't been cashed. I've noticed that recently, most people's checks are cashed the next day or at most two days after the packet is received. Ours is going on 5 days.

Just worried I might be seeing my packet returned to me, even though I double, tripled and quadrupled checked everything before sending.

K
Click to expand...
OK, I understand what you mean about family-based. That should not have any impact on processing time unless you or your spouse are in the military. Applications from military applicants are fast tracked, although I am not sure about spouses of military personnel (my guess is that these are not fast tracked).

Well, I personally would not worry too much about a check not being cashed within 5 days of receipt by the USCIS. While they are doing initial receipts much faster now than before (it took them 2.5 months to cash my check last summer), I would give it at least 2 - 3 weeks before getting worried. In dealing with an agency like the USCIS, and the types of processing times they throw around, a one month time frame is a "rounding error" to them meaning that the best estimate they will ever provide you with is still + / - one month. To them, five days is nothing - it's an extended coffee break. If you double checked your application, as I am sure you did, then you should be fine.

By the way, are you applying from Orange County, California? If so, you can check out the timelines on the Santa Ana, CA DO thread. My timeline, and a few others, are posted on there.
 
yummyk said:
OK, I understand what you mean about family-based. That should not have any impact on processing time unless you or your spouse are in the military. Applications from military applicants are fast tracked, although I am not sure about spouses of military personnel (my guess is that these are not fast tracked).

Well, I personally would not worry too much about a check not being cashed within 5 days of receipt by the USCIS. While they are doing initial receipts much faster now than before (it took them 2.5 months to cash my check last summer), I would give it at least 2 - 3 weeks before getting worried. In dealing with an agency like the USCIS, and the types of processing times they throw around, a one month time frame is a "rounding error" to them meaning that the best estimate they will ever provide you with is still + / - one month. To them, five days is nothing - it's an extended coffee break. If you double checked your application, as I am sure you did, then you should be fine.

By the way, are you applying from Orange County, California? If so, you can check out the timelines on the Santa Ana, CA DO thread. My timeline, and a few others, are posted on there.
Click to expand...

hey Yummyk

thanks for replying. I know I shouldn't be worried, but I'm just hoping this time it goes without a hitch.

We are processing through the Buffalo DO and VSC. But I've been checking all the timelines recently. Good luck and godspeed to us all!

K
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top