Tips On Interactions With USCIS

Author: Immigration Attorney Alena Shautsova

Immigration attorneys and immigrants are interacting with the USCIS on a regular basis, whether they want to or not. Here are some practical tips that may be useful to those who receive and send forms to the USCIS and follow up on them.

• • G-28 Form has to contain original signatures of attorney and the represented. Why? I do not know. The same form sometimes can be filed online, but if you mail the application, the signature must be original or the service will return the whole submission. They return it even if they just suspect the signature not to be an original (lightly pressed writing for example). So, to avoid delays in the process, make sure that both signatures are definitely and clearly originals.
  • USCIS implemented Saturday hours for its 800 number. However, those hours are not for attorneys. Only for general public. So, if you are an attorney, do not wait to make your phone calls to the USCIS on Saturday: you will not get through to anyone. Read more here
  • Checking your case status. Recently, some of my clients complained that they cannot check their case status online, because after they punch in the receipt number on the USCIS website it displays a message stating that the system does not contain information on their case. It happens because now the USICS often uses receipt number on the fingerprinting appointment notice to track the case. It is true so far for the form I-751, might be true for other forms as well.

Finally, it is always good to fax, email or mail to the USCIS because phone calls do not leave any track, and are hard to follow up with. These are just basic tips, but they can save a lot of time and money.