These are the reasons why there is huge backlog, like a snowball effect. Backlogs from uscis, nvc, local embassy, etc...
Anything they tell us well take it with a grain of salt. This is same tactic pilots tell us when theres a delay, they try to sugarcoat it so passengers dont get frustrated even more.
If I were to ask uscis about something, I want them to add noa1 issued in their stats as well. this information will give us better projection about our waiting times.