Follow Up Questions and Answers

The CIS Ombudsman’s Webinar Series: Overview of USCIS Online Accounts for Attorneys

and Accredited Representatives

August 16, 2022

Q1. How can someone ensure that all legal representatives at their firm or organization

have access to the same cases without having to log in to multiple accounts?

A1: As USCIS online accounts are currently configured, it is not possible for multiple users in a

law firm to access all cases represented by that firm because each account is tied to an individual

account holder. Account holders cannot share sign in information, passwords, or one-time PINS.

Each legal representative must have their own online account to submit forms for clients and

manage their cases. USCIS is in the process of exploring ways to enhance the USCIS online

account user experience to include organizational accounts that will enable multiple users in a

firm to file cases online, access cases filed online, and interact with the agency with regard to

those cases.

Q2. If someone files a paper form that gets a receipt number that begins with IOE, they

receive a notice with an online code to link the form to their USCIS online account.

However, sometimes the code has expired.

A2. The Online Access Code is valid for 90 days. If 90 days have passed, please use this link to

request a new Online Access Code: https://my.uscis.gov/account/v1/needhelp. We posted this

link in the links box.

Q2. For paper filed cases that are added to the USCIS online account, there seem to be two

categories of cases: (1) cases that have all myUSCIS functionality, and (2) cases with

minimal myUSCIS functionality. Can you explain this further?

A2. The features available in the USCIS online account depend on whether the form was initially

filed online or by paper, and which case management system is used to process it. Currently

USCIS has 12 forms available for online filing, and nine of those can be filed on paper and later

linked to the online account. Linking a paper case is only available for receipt numbers that

begin with the letters IOE. If an applicant or legal representative links an IOE case to their

account, they will have most of the benefits of the account as if they had filed online. They can

see case status, case history, view notices, upload additional evidence, respond to a Request for

Evidence, and send secure messages. The only thing they won’t have is the receipt notice for that

paper case. Currently, only receipt notices for paper I-90s are posted to the online account.

To sum it up, if you submitted a case directly online, you will have full access to all account

functionalities. If you submitted a paper case and received a receipt number that begins with

IOE, you will be able to access most account features except the initial receipt notice.

Now I will talk about what happens if an applicant adds a non-IOE case to their account.

Applicants who paper-filed a case that has a receipt number that begins with LIN, ESC, MSC,

SRC, WAC, or YSC, can add their case to their USCIS online account and they will receive case

status, case history, and automatic case notifications. They will not be able to view notices,

upload unsolicited evidence, respond to an RFE, or send us secure message. That is because the

case is not being processed electronically. For that reason, the full functionalities of the

account—such as being able to access notices, upload evidence, and send secure messages—are

not available.

Adding a non-IOE paper case is not currently an option in the representative account. Legal

representatives who have a legacy Case Status Online account (before October 2020) can add

those paper case receipt numbers to their legacy account to get case status and case notifications.

However, legal representatives who did not have a Case Status Online account before October

2020 must track cases by entering individual receipt numbers into our Case Status Online tool.

We are considering our options for adding this functionality to the account for representatives.

Q3. Does USCIS have any plans to allow people to file Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver,

online through myUSCIS? If so, approximately when will the form be added? We assume

that users will need to upload evidence of eligibility, but can you address this? Also, can

you confirm that users will be able to file Form I-912 concurrently with the underlying

benefit?

A3. We do not have online Form I-912 in development at this time. If you are requesting a fee

waiver, you must file a paper benefit form and a paper Form I-912. We will eventually have this

form online, but we do not have any timeframe for when that will happen. In recent public

engagements, USCIS has heard from multiple stakeholders about significant demand to make

fee waivers available for online filing. While we work to integrate fee waivers into our online

filing roadmap, USCIS is exploring ways to enhance messaging to educate the public about fee

waivers, eligibility requirements, and how to request a fee waiver via paper filing.

Q4. How do you reset a password if you do not have access to the email address that was

used to create the myUSCIS account?

A4. Accounts are intended for one person to use. When creating a new representative account,

we highly recommend you save the backup code, and your password reset responses. If you lose

access to the email address used to create your account, you can sign into the account using the

old email address. And instead of entering the two-factor authentication PIN, enter the backup

code we gave you when you created your account. This will give you access to your account and

then you can go to your account profile and update your email address under settings. The same

is true if you lose your cell phone and get a new one. You can sign into your account and use the

backup code instead of the one-time verification code. When you get into your account, go to

settings, and update the cell phone number associated with your account.

Q5. Currently, customers must call the Contact Center to resolve some access issues with

myUSCIS, which can lead to long wait times. Are there any plans to change this process,

such as establishing a separate phone line for technical support or a dedicated email box?

A5. If you have a technical problem, you do not have to call us. In fact, we recommend you use

our web form to request technical assistance. The link for that is posted in our links box.

Technical support inquiries route to a special tech support team and are generally responded to

within two to three days. Sometimes it can take a little longer because of resource limitations,

and we hope to improve response times when our staffing increases.

Our online form is the quickest and most effective method to getting your inquiry resolved. Our

technical team has a robust knowledge base which allows them to resolve most basic technical

inquiries. Should you call and reach our Tier 1 line of service, they will route your inquiry to the

tech support team who will resolve your issue within two to three days. Customers who filed

online may submit a secure message via their account. In some rare cases, the inquiry goes

beyond the scope of our technical team and requires escalation to Tier 2, who will call the person

back. Please consider wait times for callback at Tier 2 are longer than those for our technical

inquiries. You will receive notification that your inquiry has been escalated to Tier 2 for

resolution. The best way to ensure there are no delays in responding to your inquiry is to be

ready to answer the call back from 202-838-2104.

Q6: How many people are currently assigned to provide tech support to myUSCIS users?

Are there people assigned specifically to support legal representative accounts?

A6: USCIS has a contact center that responds to messages sent from a user’s online account. The

Contact Center is staffed with several hundred contractors and about 200 Immigration Services

Officers.

Requests for technical support are routed to our Technical Help Desk, which is a dedicated team

of approximately 26 contractor agents that handles all technical inquiries, whether from

applicants or legal representatives. We are in the process of ramping up this group to 50+ agents

by the end of September. We do not have a team specifically assigned to support legal

representatives. The technical team usually responds to inquiries in about two to three days. Most

inquiries are resolved via email response with instructions and a link to rectify the customer’s

technical issue. If it is determined an urgent need for assistance outside of the technical realm is

required, the interaction may be elevated to Tier 2 for a call back. As we said before, it is

important that customers who need our help answer their phone. We will try to call twice, but

after two attempts, the customer will need to start the process over. The number we call from is

202-838-2104.

Q7. How should attorneys and accredited representatives inform USCIS about glitches and

missing information in online forms? For example, the drop-down list of professions in the

online Form N-400 is incomplete.

A7. We value feedback from the public and we base all our system design decisions on direct

user input. Anyone can sign up to attend our external webinars such as this one and provide us

with feedback. You can also complete one of several surveys that pop up during a session in the

online account. These surveys cover account creation, evidence upload, and other topics. We

also have an exit survey which will pop up as you log out of your online account. This survey is

particularly meaningful because it allows free text narratives of your experience. We receive

about 3,000 exit surveys every month and we review every single response. Please be sure to

specify which USCIS form you are commenting on and where in the form you would like to see

changes.

Q9. Does USCIS have any plans to add additional languages, besides English, to myUSCIS

(in particular, the instructions provided online and the pop-ups on the forms themselves)?

A9. We have no plans at this time to add additional languages to the USCIS online account. Our

forms and instructions are only available in English. USCIS forms include an interpreter section

requiring interpreters to certify that they are fluent in English and the language of the applicant,

if not English. Also, Title 8 Code of Federal Regulations (8 CFR) Part 103.3(b)(3) requires that

any document containing foreign language submitted to USCIS shall be accompanied by a full

English language translation which the translator has certified as complete and accurate, and by

the translator's certification that he or she is competent to translate from the foreign language into

English. Our main website, uscis.gov, has a Spanish companion site where most content has been

translated into Spanish. We also have a multilingual resource page:

https://www.uscis.gov/tools/multilingual-resource-center.

Q10. Does USCIS have a “best practices” FAQ available for attorneys and accredited

representatives? Would you consider creating one specifically for them?

A10. This is great feedback and we are developing a best practice FAQ for attorneys and

accredited representatives. Once we have that completed, we would like to share it with you and

get your feedback.