If you have submitted an immigration petition to the USCIS, of course you want to know the status of your petition. Whether you’re waiting for authorization for employment, a visa to travel to the US, or another type of immigration petition, you are generally waiting for an immigration decision before making future plans. It can feel like your life is on hold while waiting for the outcome of an immigration petition, and of course you will want to know about the status of your petition so that you can adapt your plans as necessary. Fortunately, the USCIS makes it possible for you to check your status in a number of ways:
- Online. You can simply visit to the USCIS website (https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/Dashboard/CaseStatus.do) and sign in using your 13-character application receipt number. Your application receipt number is generally available on any correspondence you have received from the USCIS about your immigration petition. When you check your case status online, you will get a status update immediately, detailing where your immigration petition stands currently. The advantage of checking online is that you can check from virtually anywhere, and can check as often as you like. The website also allows you to check typical processing times for your specific type of immigration petition.
- Sign up to receive automatic case status updates. You can visit the USCIS website in order to sign up to receive automatic case status updates via e-mail, mobile device, or text. This is very convenient, as it ensures that you are notified immediately as soon as there are any changes in your application. Rather than having to check the website regularly, you’ll automatically be notified, ensuring that you will not miss an important update.
- By phone. If you do not have access to the Internet, you can get case status updates about your immigration petition by telephoning the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283. You will need your application receipt number handy, and you will need to be able to follow the English voice prompts in order to check your status.
- By mail. If your immigration petition was filed with a USCIS field office, you can write to that particular field office in order to get an update about your case status. You will need to send a letter to that office, including your contact information, date of birth, details about the application, your alien number, your application receipt number, and other details. Unfortunately, since it can take some time to get a case status update by mail, this can be a less convenient way to get information about your immigration petition. That is, by the time you receive your letter from the USCIS, changes to your immigration petition may already have occurred. For this reason, many immigration petition applicants prefer to check their case status by phone or through the Internet.
- In person. You can also check the case status update by making an appointment through InfoPass to speak to an immigration authority directly. You will need to bring many things your appointment, including your application receipt number, your alien number, details about where and when your application was filed, and any notices that the USCIS has sent you regarding the application.
