When the unemployment rate goes up, immigration processing becomes  tougher as the government agencies take a position that the US labor market needs to be protected first. 

While both DOL and USCIS are issuing more requests for additional evidence and lengthening their review, the California Service Center stands out even further. Currently, California Service Center (CSC) may be the worst service center to file your case. Its Premium Processing Team is being noted for issuing a request for evidence on the 13th, 14th or 15th day. In addition, it is being commented by many practitioners that CSC issues a higher number of unreasonably lengthy and repetitive requests for evidence for nonimmigrant cases. If you are filing a case  with CSC, you may want to be prepared for additional requests for many seemingly unrelated or intrusive documents and ensuing delayed processing.