wsj78, Good question !! I guess from my profile, you can see that I am myself waiting for the PPR and hence I would like to get it as soon as I can ??? I have been reading many other threads and it is highly unpredictable. Of recent cases, the earliest that Buffalo issues a PPR after medicals reach Ottawa has been 5 weeks, but those have been rare cases. Typically it has been taking 7 weeks to 14 weeks and most cases have been in the 8-9 week range. There are primarily 2 reasons for the wide variation. One is that, if the background checks hadn't completed when the medicals were requested. Second is the method that was used to transmit the results of the medicals from Ottawa to Buffalo. Seems there are 3 methods available. Professional1 had done a research on the 3 ways. 2 of the methods cause further delays. The lucky people get the 1st method of transmitting and hence a faster PPR. Typically, after the passport request there has been a little less fluctuation in timings. Typically, if you send them by mail, they will send it back to you in 2-4 weeks at the most. But, there have been stray cases in which the passport return took 3-4 months. However, there is a way that you can beat the risk, by taking your passport to Buffalo in person and you will be stamped the same day. They do it Tuesdays and Thursday 8 - 11 AM. So, the more important step is to get the passport request ;D