KT283294

Since Friday there has been little movement as well, seven approvals from 29th of October and a few more outliers with quick turnarounds. 
 
However something else that has caught my interest is the verbiage that the delay in getting your NOA-1 will not affect the receipt date of forms. Some googling showed a similar situation back in 2007 where USCIS had the same general verbiage that they will honor mailroom actual receipt dates. This is a complete assumption on my part but I'm thinking that they are processing items in whatever order they deem fastest with resources and restrictions at hand, rather than correct chronologically. The queue for adjudication is so long that a delay in getting our NOA-1 receipt won't affect how soon our cases are adjudicated for NOA-2, we are all still looking at July or August for our NOA-2, whether our NOA-1 arrives in November or February under this theory because our files still were delivered in November. As frustrating as this is there are other items that may take precedence for near immediate or quicker response times to prevent delays further in another process. Where really for us a two or three month delay in our receipt won't affect how soon our NOA-2 actually arrives since it will still, so to say "sit on a desk" for 4-5 months before adjudication anyway. Maybe our background checks will be submitted for later than otherwise, but I don't think background checks are what is creating the increases in NOA-2 adjudication wait times. 
 
I think the larger concern for us is if the original mailroom delivery date is or is not honored for NOA-2 priority order, and I'm hoping it is based on USCIS's verbiage and that all NOA-1 receipt notifications I'm reading are using the same verbiage as if it had been processed upon arrival rather than two months late. The void of information regarding our petitions is incredibly frustrating now, but if I'm right it won't make our cases take longer than if we had receipts in hand back in November. 
 
 

When you apply for a mortgage in the USA, you will tell the bank about your current debts.
 
The $400 a month you pay on your Thai debt will be part of your debt to income (DTI) ratio: the total monthly debt payments divided by the total monthly income. The mortgage (principal, interest, insurance, and property tax) is part of the monthly debt payment. As are nay credit card payments.
 
If your DTI is too high, you will be denied a mortgage.

So I did some digging, and it does appear they are bogged down with November and even still some October files as of today. 
 
It looks like they tend to process most of them over two or so days each week, though there has been little movement with the holiday weeks.
 
4th of December 78 were processed with receipt dates of mostly 28th of October 
11th of December 38 were processed with receipt dates of mostly 29th of October
17-18 of December 219 were processed with receipt dates of mostly 13th & 16th of November
 
After these dates there is quite a drop off with low single digit daily NOA1's spanning mostly 13th, 16th, and 30th November each day until 30th December where I'm seeing nine NOA1's from 13th of November, then back to low single digits until today where I'm seeing another 10 NOA's from October 29th and 30th. Some (very few) applications are seeing returns in as little as 1-2 weeks though, but as a general rule all of these have been processed outside of the bulk days I'm seeing. 
 
The October dates from today day are slightly unnerving, but confirms what we are seeing reported from members on this forum as well as input on other websites that folks with late October deliveries. 
 
 
 

You will have to report it as a liability on your I-944 when you adjust status.  I see no real impact on getting a home mortgage in the US.
 
https://learn.simplecitizen.com/immigration-support/form-i-944-required-supporting-documents/#:~:text=the asset's worth.-,Liabilities %26 Debts,unpaid child support%2C or liens.
 
"USCIS requires documentation for all liabilities and debts for the immigrant beneficiary. The most common liabilities and debts are mortgages, car loans, education related loans, credit card debt, personal loans, unpaid taxes, unpaid child support, or liens."

So I spoke with a representative today. As a side note, saying nothing when calling will result in a disconnected call without transfer. Stating technical problem will get you transfered. Hold time was pleasantly just a few minutes.
 
Representative has no record of my case and assumes it is due to it not having been entered yet. However while they don't have exact wait time information on the lockboxes currently items are being entered +/- 2 months after delivery, but they have been seeing some outliers of close to 3 months. 
 
Very little that can be done on the USCIS side as this is a lockbox issue. But they added a lockbox inquiry and created some sort of ticket profile saying I emailed the lockbox several weeks ago without response and called trying to find my case status. 
 
Ultimately the recommendation I received is to continue to give it more time, but to not begin worrying until 3 months that something has gone wrong with the case itself.