I lodged my application for residency with the Washington DC branch just about exactly 3 months ago. From what I have read, processing times are 3-6 months for the embassy in Washington DC. I had to call them to request that my documents not be mailed back to me because I had to move recently. I told them that I would instead come to Washington DC to pick them up with I get the notification from them.
The lady I spoke to asked if I had a case officer, which I do not yet. She found my application and saw that it has not been allocated to a case officer yet, then she said that they were swamped with student visa applications and they would get into the residence visa apps once they were finished with student visa processing.
I keep thinking that no news is good news, but they apparently haven't reviewed my application yet. I assume that someone at least opened it because she looked my name up in their system to locate my application. When applications for residence are received, do they give it a quick run through so they can send it back immediately if the application is going to be declined or do they generally not review it at all?
My other question is in regards to the 3-6 month processing time estimate: Is it 3-6 months from the time the application arrives at the embassy, or is it 3-6 months from the time someone actually reviews it and a case officer is allocated?
I would like to get to New Zealand sometime in May, but I don't know if that is going to be possible!