Which USCIS offices are processing citizenship applications fastest and slowest – (and what that means for the November elections)

If you are planning to apply for US citizenship by naturalization during this month of January, it is very likely that you will be able to exercise your right to participate and vote in the presidential elections on the first Tuesday of November this year. Will be able to.

A review of Form N-400 processing times by the Office of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) shows that, in 78 of the agency’s 88 offices across the country, the processing time will allow new citizens ample time to complete the process. Taking oath as new citizens, registering as a voter, and voting.

And on average, it takes 8.25 months for all offices located across the country to process citizenship applications.

The office with the longest processing time is located in Charlotte Amalie, Virgin Islands, with a delay of 13.5 months, followed by the Norfolk, Virginia office, with a wait time of up to 13 months.

In turn, the office with the shortest processing time is located in Cleveland, Ohio with a delay of 5.5 months, followed by the Cincinnati, Ohio office with a delay of 6 months.

Processing Time Tool ( time processing) USCIS shows that the offices with the longest processing times for Form N-400 are:

• Charlotte Emily (Virgin Islands): 13.5 month
• Norfolk (Virginia): 13 month
• New Orleans (Louisiana): 12.5 month
• Nashville, Tennessee): 12 month
• Fort Meyers (Florida): 12 month
• St. Louis, Missouri: Eleven month
• Lawrence (Massachusetts): 10.5 month
• Memphis, Tennessee): 10 month
• Newark (New Jersey): 10 month
• Raleigh (North Carolina): 10 Month.

• Cleveland (Ohio): 5.5 month
• Cincinnati (Ohio): 6 month
• Columbus, Ohio): 6.5 month
• Spokane (Washington): 6.5 month
• Boston, Massachusetts): 7 month
• Dallas, Texas): 7 month
• Hialeah (Florida): 7 month
• Kendall (Florida): 7 month
• Los Angeles, California): 7 month
• Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania): 7 month
• San Bernardino (California): 7 month
• Senior signed. Canyon (California): 7 month
• San Jose (California): 7 month
• Seattle, Washington): 7 month
• Yakima (Washington): 7 month

According to a report by Univision Noticias, 26 months ago, in November 2021, the scenario was completely reversed. The procedure for receiving and approving Form N-400, taking as a reference the delays recorded in 2016 It took 4 to 6 months, But between 2017 and the end of 2019, the process more than doubled and the reasons were unclear.

In 2020, after the coronavirus pandemic was declared, delays increased again due to the closure of federal government agencies, including USCIS.

In early 2021, Univision Noticias reported that some immigrants living in Brooklyn, Atlanta, Miami or New York City were likely not to be able to vote in the 2022 midterm elections if they had applied for citizenship at that time.

However, ten months later, those prospects dwindled, affecting the majority of residents (green card holders) who planned to submit Form N-400 as wait times remained longer, rather than shorter, despite the fact that That was, at that time, midterm elections were a year away.

For example, at the USCIS office in Albany (New York), delays were up to 17.5 months in January 2021, while in Atlanta (Georgia) the wait was up to 16 months. According to the USCIS processing time tool, there were delays of approximately 20 months in Chicago and 24 months in Seattle.

The USCIS database shows that as of September 30 last year, the agency had 400,908 N-400 citizenship applications and 7,126 requests made by armed forces personnel pending resolution. In turn, 1,933,785 I-130 forms were registered, corresponding to applications for permanent residence based on family request.