Here’s something you won’t hear me say often. USCIS is moving fast – at least on Naturalization cases.
In February, we filed a Naturalization case for someone in Norfolk, Virginia. She had her interview in April – just two months later! In Atlanta, things are fast, though not that fast. This past week, I went to two interviews on cases that were filed in November 2021. Six months isn’t bad at all. As an extra bonus, both applicants were sworn-in as U.S. citizens the day after their interview. Compare this to where we were last year. It was taking over a year to get a Naturalization interview. It would then be another 3-6 weeks before the oath ceremony. The change is noticeable and is very much appreciated. If you’re preparing to file for Naturalization – be prepared. You could have your interview much faster than you think!
The downside to this is that we’re seeing a slowdown in other types of interviews. In May, for example, we’re scheduled for 10 Naturalization interviews and 6 green card interviews. We file more green card cases, so the scheduling is the opposite of what you might expect.
The increased efficiency with Naturalization gives me cautious hope. USCIS has talked about wanting to improve their processing times and it looks like they’re making a good start with these cases. Hopefully we’ll see more cases speed-up soon.
-Tracie