USCIS - Holidays

[JohnC811 4]

Does the USCIS normally slow down or delay the processing of K-1 Visa's for Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Years Holidays. I would think they would being they work for the Government and that this may delay the processing. I am coming up on 5 months and still no NOA2 or even any touches. I know it is early in the process and the waiting is killing me

[Inky 1,111]

USCIS is closed for thanksgiving, christmas and new years.

[JohnC811 4]

No what I was thinking, because of the closures and the holidays, is November & December like slow processing months for them, long weekend for thanksgiving no work done between Christmas and New Years kind of thing as might be common in the private sector

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Does the USCIS normally slow down or delay the processing of K-1 Visa's for Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Years Holidays. I would think they would being they work for the Government and that this may delay the processing. I am coming up on 5 months and still no NOA2 or even any touches. I know it is early in the process and the waiting is killing me

Yes and no. I will prefix this by saying our friends and neighbirs work at VSC in various positions so I am NOT guessing.

The Service Cneter is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's day. That is all.

That is the FACT. Now for the TRUTH.

I cannot speak so clearly for CSC or the others but I drive by the VSC frequently, by that I mean "not every day, but several times per week". Employees there work 10 hour days, 4 days per week. Some work M-Th and others work Tues-Friday. Generally they do not work weekends but there are always some cars there on Saturday. Sunday is a ghost town.

Since they have this 4 day schedule and since Thursday is a holiday, MANY will take four days off and have a 9 day vacation. They will do the same at Christmas and New Years. It is "open" but you could shoot skeet in there and not bother anyone.

even now the parking is lit is really light. why? Deer season. Only two weeks of rifle season in northern Vermont and it started last Saturday...follow that up with the 2nd week being the week of Thanksgiving in a place where nearly everyone hunts and what do you get?

Christmas and New Years are on Saturday which means they will get Friday off for the holdiay and likewise, the week between Christmas and New Years you may as well write off as a loss. Add in the general lower level of urgency that prevails everywhere at time of the holidays...office parties, etc. YES they have office parties...just like you do. It is also the PRIME ski season here, another thing that virtually everyone looks forward to. We have dozens of ski resorts, one just a mile or so from VSC, and they are ALL full during that week.

In short USCIS employees are just like everyone else. They have families and children who are off school, they enjoy winter sports with their family and this is the BEST time for them to tae off work and enjoy life with their family.

Even in private business it is difficult and I consider November and December in Vermont to be "one month" in terms of productivity.

Petitions, like everything else, get slowed down by holidays, vacations, illnesses, etc. So do visa interviews when you get to that part.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

No what I was thinking, because of the closures and the holidays, is November & December like slow processing months for them, long weekend for thanksgiving no work done between Christmas and New Years kind of thing as might be common in the private sector

You are thinking correctly.

Give a HUMAN a job and give them limited paid time off that job and they are guaranteed to take their vacation when they can get the most "days off work" for their limited vacation time. As in every other business, holidays are busy times for vacations and unlike what many seem to think...you petition is given to an adjudicator and stays with them unless there is some really strange occurance...extended illness or maternity leave for example, then it will be put into the pile of another adjusicator on top of what they already have. Actually on the BOTTOM of what they already have. This would result in a "touch" by the way.

Add to the fact that the VSC is a very good place to work for this area and the people there have mostly been there for a long time and have earned additional vacation time. Our friends (husband and wife) have been with the service for 27 and 16 years and report that it is common. One of them has 5 weeks vacation the other has 3 weeks. One is a department director who may look at your petition if there is a problem, the other is an adjudicator. Another neighbor is an adjusicator who has been with them more than 10 years and has three weeks vacation.