checked cashed on mine on march 18, 21 i called yesterday and left message.
Now, I don't have a crystal ball or any insight into the Form 4 processing aside from my personal experience which also included engaging a constituent service staffer of my Federal Senator and the replies from both ATF and FBI and how I got it resolved.
But, I would bet some large green that Form 4's that are held up far beyond the current processing backlog, as is yours, are caught up in a DELAY by the FBI's ATF NICS Transaction department.
No telling why some are put on DELAY. But the AFT, once they actually fucking look at your submittal, sends a NICS transaction to the FBI's section that handles ATF requests for background checks.
If there is any issue whatsoever, neither the ATF nor the FBI seem to give a flying fuck and will do nothing to clear it up nor will they even tell you its detailed status. All you get from the AFT is "Pending" which means fuck all.
If you are put on DELAY by the FBI, you have zero process for recourse. If you are DENIED, there is an appeal process. DELAY....you are in purgatory.
Why can a NICS check, in response to an ATF Form 4 request, is put on DELAY is anybody's guess. Could be there is someone else with your name out there who has some sort of FBI file and they can't determine if its you or them. Could be that its just sitting under a box of donuts on someone's desk.
The later is my guess at what happened to mine. Senator's office pinged the ATF who came back and actually provided some useful information....to wit, that I had been on DELAY with the FBI NICS for months (and yes, nobody seems to have any responsibility to actually tell you this so you can work to clear it up). The AFT merely told my Senator's office to advise me to contact the FBI....all 35,000 of them? Sigh.
For the average citizen, there is no help desk number for FBI NICS and in particular the section that handles ATF transactions. All you can do is request your FBI file (needs fingerprint card and $$ if I remember correctly...its on their website) and see what's in it that is holding your background check up. Chances are, you don't have an FBI file with any derogatory information in it.
In my case, I found a help desk email for the UPIN (unique personal identifier number) team. I explained that I understood that this does not fall under their team's responsibility but perhaps they could tell me who I could contact as I have absolutely ZERO FBI file to the best of my knowledge. I attached all relevant documentation and correspondence.
I was lucky and hit the jackpot and actually got a live wire in the UPIN team who responded the very next day. He/She told me that they reached out to the supervisor of the NICS ATF Transaction section and that my NICS check was "recently approved and a PROCEED was sent back to the AFT".
I thanked them profusely and asked "by the by, what does "recently" mean exactly and was told "yesterday when I asked about it".
Yeah, those are our fucking tax dollars at work....our local ATF apologist nothwithstanding (look back in this thread and you will see who I'm talking about...I'm not tagging this shithead as I don't want to hear any more of his BS).
So, suddenly my Form 4 was broke free and my FFL got my stamp...oh, about two weeks after prying my background check out of the FBI.
Personally, I intend to file for a UPIN. Again, finger prints and $$.
I have never been put on DELAY before COVID and I've been put on DELAY for every NICS check since. But here's the kicker, they call my FFL back....been anywhere from an hour or so to 15 fucking minutes...and provide an approval. My FFL, who is a way cool gal, told me that they used to have actual examiners answer the phone and if there was any confusion or issue (like someone with same name but different DOB, SS #, state of residence, etc) they would clear it up instantly (yeah, that's what the I stands for in NICS). She tells me now they have people who just answer the phone and if the computer chokes on anything at all, it goes to DELAY and sent to an examiner who apparently actually has a bit of grey matter and can look at the details, your FBI file (if any actually exists), etc.
This process is not only fucked by incompetence and flawed bureaucratic process, you really have no recourse for due process and some shithead civil servant deprives you of your 2A rights.
Yes, I'm not a fan of the Federal government.
Hope this is helpful....made me feel better to vent about it all! hahaha
Best of luck and I advise you to contact your Federal representative's office and initiate an inquiry. Remember, stay POLITE and COURTEOUS at all times and don't use the profanity or express the contempt that I did in this post on the Hide. Pissing them off won't help.
Cheers
I guess I'll call back on that one around Thanksgiving.
I hope Jessica gets a hold of my 2 eForms (5/17 & 8/19) for my OCL Hydrogen L & S cans and batch-approves them! That would be great for hunting season!
