Here is a 2018 article from the same IMI daily that undermines their own statement of 12 month processing times. SEF has been effectively closed since April 2021. GV backlog is probably at 6,000 if not higher right now and I would estimate 90% of the applicants have no appointment scheduled. SEF has signaled that they would start taking appointments again in November. If you push that date out 6 months, you are at June 2022. But even now there is still a COVID situation and SEF has not given any indication they are staffing up as they did in 2018. Based on this rudimentary analysis, the average GV applicant will not get their appointment before July 2022. Sorry, its just the reality unless something drastically changes. (and keep in mind I am talking about people who applied first in 2020 or prior. There are still many people who applied in March 2020 without appointments. Those who are just applying now, who knows?)