How often to contact CO for updates?

[kwlzdk]

We were assigned to a CO about 2 weeks before Christmas. My husband's lease ends in 2 weeks, and it would be so helpful if we could get any sort of timeline to plan for next steps. Shall I contact her or is it too soon to ask?

Is it fair to check for updates once a while, but how long is it reasonable?
I think I'm going a little crazy thinking about this on the 2nd day of work

Thank you! Hope 2020 is gonna be good for all of us.

[deverett]

We were assigned to a CO about 2 weeks before Christmas. My husband's lease ends in 2 weeks, and it would be so helpful if we could get any sort of timeline to plan for next steps. Shall I contact her or is it too soon to ask?

Is it fair to check for updates once a while, but how long is it reasonable?
I think I'm going a little crazy thinking about this on the 2nd day of work

Thank you! Hope 2020 is gonna be good for all of us.

Part of me wants to go all Shawshank redemption on them. Writing every day got Andy Dufresne his library eventually

If your situation is changing it's not unreasonable to email them with the changes in your situation as they will need to know about them at some point.

[JandM]

Your case was assigned to a CO in mid-December, and we're not yet in mid-January, with the important public holiday season in the middle. Not a lot of time has passed, looked at realistically. Add to that the fact that at INZ, everything is managed in date-order queues, and your case would have joined your CO's rotating queue (of up to 100 cases in the allocation) at the back, and won't have got its first turn for her attention till it worked its way to the front. Also, a CO's first actions when beginning to verify the evidence in a case do not HAVE to include communicating with the applicant - s/he may begin with employer/work experience/landlord/educational provider (depending on the nature of the application) - so something may be happening without the applicant knowing about it. Nobody gets to know every step in the processing of their case, because the time it would take the CO to communicate that can be better used in verifying evidence, and getting their own or somebody else's visa another step towards being granted. At this stage, you have to sit back and let the CO do her job, remembering that EVERY applicant feels that their case is urgent, so every CO has a whole load of mental pressure coming at them from their whole case-load.

As deverett said, it's fair enough to email the information about the lease ending, being a significant change in your husband's situation. But it won't necessarily spark any noticeable extra action.

[kwlzdk]

Thank you deverett and JandM. Your words helped me calm down and be more realistic.
I'm setting my goal not to contact the CO when I feel the urge to do so until mid February. Thinking too much sometimes cannot get me think straight anymore, but thank you both for your response!
This forum not only provides updates but also the support during the long wait when everyone needs a lot.