In late 2023, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced an update to its myProgress tool, an online platform that will eventually replace the Check Case Processing Times web page and perhaps merge with the Case Status Online tool, which you can currently access with or without a myUSCIS account. The new USCIS myProgress tool is part of administrative overhaul efforts ordered by President Joe Biden to reduce the staggering backlog of petitions and pending cases that accumulated during the previous administration.
Once the myProgress project is completed and fully implemented, it will be the main tool for checking the status of immigration applications and petitions for benefits. The scope of myProgress is currently limited to seven USCIS forms and cases involving special immigrants from Afghanistan. This emerging system is expected to cover about 50 percent of all USCIS forms by late 2024. In the meantime, here are the current methods you can use.
Your Immigration Law Firm
Immigration attorneys make it a point to check on the status of their clients’ cases frequently, so they’ll always be a good source for this information. Depending on the terms of your legal services agreement, the law office you retain may use the myUSCIS account credentials you created to submit forms and petitions. Plus, they can also see how your case is progressing. If for some reason you can’t get a case status through the methods below, your San Diego immigration lawyer can certainly help you.
USCIS Case Status Online
This is the official USCIS website for checking case status. You’ll need your 13-character receipt number to use this tool. The number appears on the receipt notices the agency sends to confirm your forms and packets have been received. Anyone with the receipt number can use this online tool. Although you don’t need a myUSCIS account, you can log in from the Case Status Online page for greater convenience.
Case Tracker Mobile Apps
If you have an iPhone or an Android smartphone, there are a few apps from third-party developers that let you check the status of one or more cases. In essence, these apps automate the process of entering the 13 characters into the USCIS Case Status Online web page. Some of them allow you to configure status checks as a background process so you get a mobile notification when the case has been updated. Make sure to check the disclaimers and data privacy clauses of these apps before using them. Better yet, ask your immigration attorney for an opinion on whether they’re safe to use.
USCIS Processing Times
If you know the form number of your petition or application, you can visit the USCIS Check Case Processing Times page and select it from the drop-down list along with the category and the field office or regional service center where it was submitted. This tool provides estimates. For example, a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative filed by a green card holder for her minor daughter will take about 34.5 months to complete.
myUSCIS
You can do more than check the status of cases with your myUSCIS account. The information provided by the Case Status and Processing Times web pages is consolidated within myUSCIS, and you even get an informative case timeline. When the myProgress tool is completed, you’ll need a myUSCIS account for access.
If you have questions about any aspect of the immigration process, contact the immigration lawyers San Diego residents trust. The attorneys at KS Visa Law have vast experience with every aspect of immigration law, and they’re the attorneys to call on when you need the most up-to-date information about immigration regulations. Call KS Visa Law today to schedule an appointment.
