CAIPS are almost real time. I had approached NY VO through a Canadian MP on 10 November 2011 and VO responded to him. Content of this response is in CAIPS notes. They simply said that my file was in que for processing.
Khan101 said:i assume they've transferred applications to other offices (not all maybe) to start clearing up the backlog. You should be looking fwd to getting your meds in a few weeks time (Jan/Feb). CAIPS i guess are not real-time updated by them.