What does this mean?

[Clariz 2]

4 months has passed for my friend and in his uscis account portfolio it still says-

Your case may have a new "Last Updated" date and you may receive an Email and/or text message notification of your case being updated, without the status of the case changing. This is due to internal USCIS processing being performed on your Case. This will be reflected in the "Last Updated" date, but may not result in a different status message.

What does this mean?

[benuk 18]

4 months has passed for my friend and in his uscis account portfolio it still says-

Your case may have a new "Last Updated" date and you may receive an Email and/or text message notification of your case being updated, without the status of the case changing. This is due to internal USCIS processing being performed on your Case. This will be reflected in the "Last Updated" date, but may not result in a different status message.

What does this mean?

It means that when you get a update it will show! nothing else...I had to wait almost 5 months to see a update and this was when my NOA2 came!no stress and probably you will check everyday 3 times a day to see if you have any update like all of us!The message or email will come when you get one.

[Clariz 2]

It means that when you get a update it will show! nothing else...I had to wait almost 5 months to see a update and this was when my NOA2 came!no stress and probably you will check everyday 3 times a day to see if you have any update like all of us!The message or email will come when you get one.

Thanks a lot.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

4 months has passed for my friend and in his uscis account portfolio it still says-

Your case may have a new "Last Updated" date and you may receive an Email and/or text message notification of your case being updated, without the status of the case changing. This is due to internal USCIS processing being performed on your Case. This will be reflected in the "Last Updated" date, but may not result in a different status message.

What does this mean?

It's a vague reference to what we on VJ refer to as a "touch".

Petition files sit in boxes at the service center. Each file has a bar code on it. Whenever a file is pulled for any reason, even if to move it to another part of the room, the bar code is scanned. This causes the location and/or status of the petition file to be updated in the USCIS internal computer system. A few times a day there will be a batch program run on the files in that computer system. Petition files that have been updated since the last batch run, and which aren't locked by an immigration officer, will have their status sent to the ECRIS system, which displays the status to USCIS customers on the internet.

The bottom line is that you will see the "last updated" date change if the bar code on your petition file has been scanned for any reason. Here at VJ we say that the file has been "touched". It may only mean that the file was moved from one shelf to another. It may also mean that an adjudicator has pulled the file and is getting ready to work on it. Most of the time, a "touch" is followed within a few days by a change in the status of the file. This is why VJ members usually watch their online case status for "touches".

When an adjudicator is working on a case file they will usually lock the computer record for that file. This will prevent other adjudicators or immigration officers from making changes to the computer file, and also serve as an indication that the adjudicator has the file and has begun working on it. The batch program doesn't send updates to the ECRIS system for any files that are locked. Occasionally, an adjudicator will forget to unlock the file when they're finished, which effectively stops any further updates on the file from being sent to the ECRIS system. This is why some VJ members have reported seeing their online status freeze at a particular point and never change again.

[Clariz 2]

It's a vague reference to what we on VJ refer to as a "touch".

Petition files sit in boxes at the service center. Each file has a bar code on it. Whenever a file is pulled for any reason, even if to move it to another part of the room, the bar code is scanned. This causes the location and/or status of the petition file to be updated in the USCIS internal computer system. A few times a day there will be a batch program run on the files in that computer system. Petition files that have been updated since the last batch run, and which aren't locked by an immigration officer, will have their status sent to the ECRIS system, which displays the status to USCIS customers on the internet.

The bottom line is that you will see the "last updated" date change if the bar code on your petition file has been scanned for any reason. Here at VJ we say that the file has been "touched". It may only mean that the file was moved from one shelf to another. It may also mean that an adjudicator has pulled the file and is getting ready to work on it. Most of the time, a "touch" is followed within a few days by a change in the status of the file. This is why VJ members usually watch their online case status for "touches".

When an adjudicator is working on a case file they will usually lock the computer record for that file. This will prevent other adjudicators or immigration officers from making changes to the computer file, and also serve as an indication that the adjudicator has the file and has begun working on it. The batch program doesn't send updates to the ECRIS system for any files that are locked. Occasionally, an adjudicator will forget to unlock the file when they're finished, which effectively stops any further updates on the file from being sent to the ECRIS system. This is why some VJ members have reported seeing their online status freeze at a particular point and never change again.

Thanks Jim... this "never change again" that you said at the end means that they could not make a decision? and it will be just like what my friend's received in his portfolio- (pls see statement above)

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Thanks Jim... this "never change again" that you said at the end means that they could not make a decision? and it will be just like what my friend's received in his portfolio- (pls see statement above)

No, it doesn't mean no decision is made. When you look at the case status on the internet you are not seeing the real USCIS file for the case. The computer system that holds those real files is not accessible via the internet because that would pose a security risk. The ECRIS system they use for online case status contains only a minimal amount of information about the case file. That information gets updated when new information is transmitted to it from the USCIS internal computer system. If the file in the internal system remains locked then you won't see any more updates when you check the online case status, but that doesn't stop internal processing on the file. It just stops you from viewing the status changes online.

There are a few VJ members whose online case status still says "pending" even though it was approved years ago.

What I'm saying is that it's possible for you to receive a letter indicating a change in the status of the case, even though the online case status hasn't changed. Don't rely on the online case status to notify you every time the file has been touched or the case status has been changed. The online case status isn't 100% reliable.

[Clariz 2]

No, it doesn't mean no decision is made. When you look at the case status on the internet you are not seeing the real USCIS file for the case. The computer system that holds those real files is not accessible via the internet because that would pose a security risk. The ECRIS system they use for online case status contains only a minimal amount of information about the case file. That information gets updated when new information is transmitted to it from the USCIS internal computer system. If the file in the internal system remains locked then you won't see any more updates when you check the online case status, but that doesn't stop internal processing on the file. It just stops you from viewing the status changes online.

There are a few VJ members whose online case status still says "pending" even though it was approved years ago.

What I'm saying is that it's possible for you to receive a letter indicating a change in the status of the case, even though the online case status hasn't changed. Don't rely on the online case status to notify you every time the file has been touched or the case status has been changed. The online case status isn't 100% reliable.

There was no reply yet (in my friend's USCIS account or no snail mail) if USCIS received the documents (requested rfe) last march 2012 but the postal system was able to document that that it was delivered to that USCIS office and the name of the person from USCIS who received it. The date of the last update of my friend's case is still 2010. What's the best thing to do? It's entering 5 months already of waiting.