USCIS Online Case Tracking

Recently, USCIS announced some plans that it has to improve processing times for immigration applications and to reduce the major backlogs that they currently have.

This guide will talk about some updates that USCIS recently announced about its efforts and its plans to improve processing times.

On March 29, USCIS put out a news release in terms of what steps it plans on taking to help reduce processing times. The first thing that USCIS mentioned is that it’s going to attempt to improve its cycle times.

Basically, USCIS has this internal metric, this internal figure that they track that they refer to as a cycle time, which is essentially their way of identifying how long they expect the case to take.

The way that USCIS explained how it plans to reduce its cycle times is that they’re going to create new goals for what they want their new cycle times to be. They’re going to attempt to achieve those goals by increasing staffing, improving their technology, and in general, just increasing their overall capacity. With these changes, they expect to reduce their overall processing times.

Basically, what we’re looking at here is specific forms and what they want their goals to be for the overall processing time of these forms. For example, the form I-129, they’re projecting their goal to be two weeks with premium processing.

Form I-140

Form I-140, it’s another immigrant petition with premium processing. They’re also expecting it to be at around two weeks.

The Form I-129

For the non-premium, I-129, currently for many application types, under the current processing times, it could take anywhere from six months to eight months, or maybe even more.

But under this new goal that they’re setting for themselves, they are planning to get these I-129 processed without premium processing in two months.

Again, on three month category, we have the form I-765, which is the Application for Employment Authorization.

The Form I-131

There is form I-131, which is the form that somebody would use to apply for advanced parole, and other forms which they are planning their goal is to get these processed within three months. Before now, those forms are on six months plus period.

The N-400

The N-400, this is the Application for Naturalization. This is the application that somebody uses to apply for citizenship. These cases take nine to twelve or more months for these to get processed but USCIS is planning to get these processed within six months.

The Form I-485

The form I-485, which is the adjustment of status. This can take nine to twelve to 14 or more months. USCIS plans to get these processed within six months. And there’s more really impressive goals as well.

The form I-526

The form I-526 is the immigrant petition for somebody that’s planning on applying for an EB-5 investor visa. The form I-526 right now can take 18 or more months to process. It’s one of those forms that just takes a tremendously long time to process.

USCIS has set a goal to get these processed within six months. If that can actually happen, it would be a tremendous improvement from the current processing time.

If USCIS can actually leverage technology, increase its workforce, and increase its overall capacity to achieve these goals, it would be a tremendous benefit for people that are planning on applying for immigration benefits.

Above are just one of the sections of this news release that USCIS put out.

In addition to that, in addition to its overall plan of improving its Processing Times by tweaking its Internal Cycle Time Goals, in its latest news release, USCIS announced that it plans to expand the premium processing service.

Premium processing is an optional additional service that somebody can select to do, and it’s only available for certain cases.

What USCIS is announcing is that they plan to expand the types of cases that are eligible for premium processing. So basically, if there are more types of cases that are available and eligible for premium processing, it means that more people can take advantage of this service to get their cases processed in 15 days.

So among the various case types that USCIS plans to make eligible for premium processing are the EB-1C immigrant petition, which is a green card option for multinational managers and executives.

Basically, it’s a certain case type where somebody that’s working as a manager or an executive for a foreign company can transfer to a related company in the US, and also work as either a manager or executive.

In addition, USCIS plans to eventually make the EB-2 national Interest Waiver eligible for premium processing. The national interest waiver is a special green card option for somebody that’s going to be doing some sort of work in the United States that’s in the national interest, for example, like a cancer researcher or a doctor or some other type of professional that’s going to be doing something in the United States that’s in the national interest.

Again, the goal is that by making more case types eligible for premium processing, more people can get their cases processed faster.

Another point that was mentioned by USCIS in this news release is that it plans to make employment authorization documents more available to immigrants that are applying for them.

For example, they are working to extend the validity period of certain types of employment authorization documents, also known as EADs. They plan to improve overall processing times for Employment Authorization applications, along with other steps as well.

In Summary

USCIS has announced a multi-step kind of plan or a multi-pronged plan for improving processing times for immigration cases, for reducing overall backlogs, and in general, making immigration cases move faster.

The three items that were mentioned were that USCIS plans to improve its cycle time goals, and with that, eventually get to a point where actual processing times are improved by increasing staffing, better utilization of technology, and overall increasing the capacity that USCIS has.

In addition, USCIS is planning on expanding the types of cases that are eligible for premium processing, and USCIS plans to improve access to employment authorization documents.

I hopefully you found this information very helpful.

DISCLAIMER: This guide/article and content is designed for general information only and is NOT legal advice. The information presented in this guide/article should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship. The information presented in this guide/article does not create an attorney-client relationship nor is it a solicitation to offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, you may contact an attorney. You should seek the advice of an attorney in your jurisdiction before taking any legal action.

Are you an F1 visa student who has applied for the OPT EAD? In this guide, you will learn what to expect after mailing your OPT EAD application to USCIS, what to do after applying for your OPT EAD and how long to get USCIS receipt notice.

If you have successfully submitted your OPT application to USCIS, as discussed in this guide (How To Apply For OPT EAD), you might be wondering what are the next steps to follow after submitting your OPT. In this guide, you will learn what you can do and what to expect after you’ve applied for your OPT.

Note: After applying for OPT, you are not allowed to start working until you have received our EAD card and the “valid from” date on your EAD card has been reached.

What to do After Applying for OPT EAD with USCIS

1. Tracking Delivery of OPT EAD Application

The very first thing to do is to track the delivery status of your OPT application. If you’ve mailed your OPT application, you should have requested the tracking number from your career service provider.

With this tracking number, you should be able to track the confirmation of delivery of your OPT application to USCIS.

If you experience any delays with the delivery of your OPT application, you should quickly contact the customer service rep of your career service provider or USPS.

Once you’ve confirmed the delivery of your OPT application on your current service provider’s website, keep a copy of this delivery confirmation for your records.

If you’ve paid for the OPT application fee using your personal check, keep an eye out on your bank account records just to see if USCIS has processed your OPT application fee.

2. Await Receipt of Form I-797C

Once you’ve confirmed the delivery of your OPT application, the next step is to await the receipt of a form called the Form I-797C Notice of Action. This form will be sent by USCIS.

Typically, you can expect to receive this Form I 797 C in about four weeks, and in some cases it might take slightly longer than four weeks.

But nevertheless, you should not panic if you have not received your Form I-797C after four weeks of the confirmation of delivery of your OPT application.

Usually, if you’ve paid for your opt application fee using a personal check, you can tell that USCIS has pre-processed your OPT application. If your bank account records can show that your OPT application fee has been cashed by USCIS.

On the top left corner of Form I-797-C, you would find your receipt number and with this receipt number, you can track the status of your case on the USCIS case tracking website. Read this guide (4 BEST Ways to Track/Check Your USCIS Case Status Online) to know the full detail about the four best ways of tracking your case status with USCIS.

3. Await Notice of Approval and EAD Card

If you’re successful with your opt application on the Case Status tracking website, your case status will indicate that your OPT has been approved.

Next, USCIS will mail you a Form I 797 Notice of Approval, followed by your Employment Authorization Document card. This Form I 797 Notice of Approval, will arrive in the mail before you receive your EAD card.

Responding to a USCIS RFE

In the unfortunate circumstance that your OPT application requires more investigation by USCIS, USCIS will send you a letter called a Request for Evidence (RFE). On this Request for Evidence, USCIS will explicitly define what documents you need to provide in order for your case to be adjudicated.

If you received a request for evidence from USCIS, make sure to contact your school’s international office as soon as possible, to proceed with next steps.

It is very important that when you respond to an RFE, make sure to submit all the requested documents by USCIS in a single mail.

4. Submitting Copies of EAD Card to your DSO

Finally, once you’ve received your ID card in the mail, make sure that information listed on the EAD Card is correct. And once that’s correct, make a copy of the front and back of the ID card and send that to your school’s international office.

You should also note that you’re not allowed to start working on OPT until the start date listed on your ID card is “Current”. Failing to do so will result in you violating your OPT status and your OPT could be terminated.

Those are what to do After Applying for OPT EAD with USCIS.

Frequent Questions About OPT EAD and Answers

Question: After getting your EAD and signing a job contract, who do you send your offer letter to?

Answer: For the OPT, you are only required to report your employment to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). Usually, there is no obligation here to show your offer letter for confirmation. You simply state the employer name, address, job role, and pay for your employment.

DISCLAIMER: This guide and content is designed for general information only and is NOT legal advice. The information in this guide should not be construed to be formal legal advice. For legal advice, you should consult an attorney.

How to Track/Check Your USCIS Case Status Online: The process of obtaining your immigration document from USCIS is often complex, with several challenges. In order to ensure your pending case moves as quickly as possible, you need to stay up to date on your case status. If you’d like to track/check your USCIS case status online, there are several inquiry options available to you, including email, telephone, direct mail, apps, or in-person at your local processing center.

In this post, you will learn several options to effectively track your case with USCIS. You will also learn how to check the processing time for the USCIS Service Center where your case was filed.

4 BEST Ways of Tracking Your Case Status online with USCIS

Below are 4 BEST ways to Track Your Case Status online with USCIS.

1. USCIS Online Case Tracking

The first and simplest way you can track the status of your case is by going online to the USCIS Case Status web page. In order to track your case, you need to enter the receipt number found at the top of your form, I-797C.

What is the USCIS receipt number?

A Receipt Number is a 13-character code that is used to identify and track applications and petitions for immigration benefits. It can be found on the I-797, Notice of Action

2. Calling USCIS Customer Service

The second way to track the status of your case is by contacting USCIS over the phone. You can do this by calling USCIS Customer Service. One of the benefits of this method is that you can find out the status of your case without having your receipt number.

However, to do this, you need to talk to a USCIS agent and sometimes getting a hold of these agents could take as long as 2 hours.

3. Email USCIS Service Center

The third way you could track the status of your case is by sending an email inquiry to the USCIS Service Center where your application was filed with the following information:

• full name
• birth date
• alien number (if applicable)
• date your application/petition was filed
• location your petition/application was filed
• receipt number (if you’ve received one)

If possible, include a copy of your receipt with your inquiry letter to facilitate the case status update process.

4. Use Free 3rd Party Apps

The fourth and final way you can track your key status is by downloading the free app from the Google Play Store or the App Store.

One of the benefits of this method is that you get an immediate notification whenever there’s a change to your pending case.

How to Check Your USCIS Case Status by in Person

Lastly, you can inquire in-person about the status of your USCIS case. This will require you to make an appointment with your local processing center. Appointments can be made regardless of whether you are currently in the U.S. or not. To schedule an appointment, visit the USCIS appointment scheduling page.

Who Can Check Their USCIS Case Status

If you have submitted a visa application, extension, transfer or a green card application to USCIS, you will be able to check your USCIS case status online. USCIS also offers case status tracking for:

• Form I-140
• Form I-485
• Form I-765
• Adjustment of Status (AoS)
• Advance Parole
• Employment Authorization Documents (EAD)
• Citizenship

The types of applications you can check in the USCIS website include:

• H1-B Applications
• Green Card Applications

How to Check the Current USCIS Processing Time

You might also want to determine the current processing time of the USCIS Service Center where you filed your application. To do this, you want to go to USCIS.gov and on the homepage you want to click on Tools and on the topics you want to select USCIS Tools and Resources, and on the self-service Tools, you want to select case processing times.

To check the processing time for a specific form, you need to know:

• Petition/Form type
• Processing center
• Classification or basis of filing

For example, if we fought an I-765 application to the Texas Service Center.

On the forms, you select I-765 and on the field Office, you Select Texas Service Center and click on Get processing Time.

And now it’s going to display a table with an estimated time range and different form types received on different dates. See table below

Here’s how to interpret this table above.

The first number indicates how long it takes USCIS to process 50% of all the files received on April 22, 2020.

The second number indicates how long it takes USCIS to process 93% of all the files received on April 22, 2020.

For example if you take a look at the first row it shows that it takes 1.5 months for USCIS to process 50% of all the files petition for F1 students and five months to process 93% of all the petitions filed by F1 students on April 22 of 2020.

USCIS Case Status FAQ

Can I check my USCIS Case Status without a Receipt?

No, you cannot check your case status without a Receipt. If you do not have a Receipt, the status you are looking for will not be found online.

What is the USCIS receipt number?

A Receipt Number is a 13-character code that is used to identify and track applications and petitions for immigration benefits. It can be found on the I-797, Notice of Action

When will my USCIS case status be approved?

Different cases and forms take different amounts of time to process. A case can be processed in a few months or after more than a year, depending on the case. To look up the current processing time for a particular form, use the USCIS Check Case Processing Times page.

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DISCLAIMER: This post and content is designed for general information only and is NOT legal advice. The information presented in this post should not be construed to be formal legal advice. If you need legal advice, you may contact a licensed attorney.