I need a bit of help understanding the FCC logic. After completing my Amateur Extra license I started looking for a shorter vanity callsign. I diligently watched AE7Q's website for a callsign I'd like. Only July 1, 2020 one came available. I posted the application to the FCC website that day. The callsign was noted as available for assignment, and a search of both the FCC and QRZ showed no records. After filing, a search of my record showed my application pending. I'd been checking every few days to see how it was going, and each day it said "Pending." Today I see that the callsign I was applying for was granted to another ham. However, in reviewing his record and application, I find this his file number is 134 applications AFTER mine, and the date he applied was July 6, 2020. I applied July 1, 2020. I was under the impression that the callsigns were granted on a first-come, first-served basis based on the date you applied. There doesn't appear to be any family ties or any other reason this grant would go to him and not me. What gives? Did the FCC screw me out of a callsign? Sorry to sound like sour grapes, but this doesn't seem right.