WEBVTT 00:01:21.207 --> 00:01:24.827 Please stand by. The webinar will begin momentarily. We thank you for your 00:01:24.827 --> 00:01:28.086 patience and ask that you please remain on the line. Please stand by. 00:03:42.954 --> 00:03:48.150 Greetings and welcome to the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration 00:03:48.150 --> 00:03:55.042 Services Ombudsman Webinar Series: Overview of USCIS Online Account for 00:03:55.042 --> 00:03:57.525 attorneys and accredited representatives. 00:03:57.525 --> 00:04:01.560 During the presentation, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. If at any 00:04:01.560 --> 00:04:05.295 time during the conference, you need to reach an operator, please press * zero. 00:04:05.665 --> 00:04:11.800 As a reminder, this call is being recorded Tuesday, August 16th, 2022. I would now 00:04:11.800 --> 00:04:15.499 like to turn the conference over to Phyllis Coven, CIS Ombudsman. 00:04:16.160 --> 00:04:17.339 Please go ahead. 00:04:17.752 --> 00:04:22.952 Yes, thank you, Operator, and good afternoon to everyone who's called in. 00:04:23.483 --> 00:04:28.993 Welcome to the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman's webinar providing an 00:04:28.993 --> 00:04:36.209 overview of USCIS online accounts for attorneys and accredited representatives. 00:04:36.249 --> 00:04:40.839 My name is Phyllis Coven, and I'm honored to serve as the as the seventh Citizenship 00:04:40.839 --> 00:04:45.063 and Immigration Services Ombudsman. Our office was created as part of the 00:04:45.063 --> 00:04:51.148 Homeland Security Act of 2002, and Congress gave us a unique 3-part mission. 00:04:51.188 --> 00:04:55.868 First, we serve as an office of last resort for individuals and employers who 00:04:55.868 --> 00:05:01.890 need to resolve a problem with USCIS review, and we do this through our case- 00:05:01.890 --> 00:05:07.661 work services. Second, we engage with individuals and employers - everyone who 00:05:07.661 --> 00:05:12.221 has an investment in the immigration system to learn about their issues and 00:05:12.221 --> 00:05:18.271 identify trends and systemic problems with the administration of USCIS benefits. 00:05:18.341 --> 00:05:24.334 Our casework and stakeholder engagement informs our policy work. Throughout the 00:05:24.334 --> 00:05:29.480 year, we make both informal and formal recommendations to USCIS regarding 00:05:29.480 --> 00:05:34.589 improvements to the immigration system, and this culminates in the issuance of the 00:05:34.589 --> 00:05:41.647 Annual Report to Congress, which we issue each year on June 30th. We are a component 00:05:41.647 --> 00:05:47.352 of the Department of Homeland Security. We are not part of USCIS, and we abide by the 00:05:47.352 --> 00:05:53.625 ombudsman’s principles of confidentiality, impartiality, and independence. I have 00:05:53.625 --> 00:05:59.343 really been energized by the creativity and enthusiasm that exists across the 00:05:59.343 --> 00:06:04.750 country to address the longstanding challenges stemming from our very complex 00:06:04.750 --> 00:06:11.660 immigration system. In our 2022 Annual Report to Congress, which we issued June 00:06:11.660 --> 00:06:19.061 30th, we covered progress that USCIS has made in advancing its digital strategy - 00:06:19.316 --> 00:06:23.930 this is the term it uses to describe its efforts to move the immigrant benefit 00:06:23.930 --> 00:06:30.408 process out of a paper environment and onto an electric platform. An electric 00:06:30.408 --> 00:06:36.493 platform would allow customers to file benefit requests online, for USCIS to 00:06:36.493 --> 00:06:41.874 adjudicate these requests electronically rather than on paper, and for the agency 00:06:41.874 --> 00:06:47.736 to communicate to its customers through secure online messaging. Our office has 00:06:47.736 --> 00:06:54.254 written about the digitization process for several years. This year, we expressed 00:06:54.254 --> 00:07:01.403 optimism that USCIS will soon hit an inflection point as it quickens its pace 00:07:01.403 --> 00:07:08.441 of intaking and processing forms digitally . We made two recommendations to USCIS on 00:07:08.441 --> 00:07:14.170 this subject that we believe you legal and accredited representatives will 00:07:14.170 --> 00:07:21.487 applaud; first, we recommend that USCIS create a central portal where G-28s may be 00:07:21.487 --> 00:07:25.930 sent to the agency. This would allow the official record of proceedings to be 00:07:25.930 --> 00:07:31.485 updated as you seek to make an appearance on behalf of your clients. I am well aware 00:07:31.485 --> 00:07:36.493 that G-28 problems have plagued all parties for decades, and we encourage 00:07:36.493 --> 00:07:43.713 USCIS to tackle this problem. Second, we recommended that CIS prioritize the 00:07:43.713 --> 00:07:50.137 development of an Application Program Interface (or an API) to enable immigratio 00:07:50.137 --> 00:07:56.370 -n service providers to use your current immigration case management systems to 00:07:56.370 --> 00:08:01.275 batch directly system-to-system with the agency. This would eliminate the need to 00:08:01.275 --> 00:08:07.446 key in each field in an online benefit filing submitted to USCIS. We look for- 00:08:07.446 --> 00:08:12.576 ward to working with USCIS on these recommendations, and we feel optimistic 00:08:12.576 --> 00:08:19.720 about their progress. But today's webinar will focus on USCIS' account for legal and 00:08:19.720 --> 00:08:24.600 accredited representatives as it exists today. We’re very pleased to be joined 00:08:24.600 --> 00:08:31.748 by our colleagues at USCIS. This webinar has been designed to provide an overview 00:08:31.748 --> 00:08:38.479 of USCIS online accounts for attorneys and accredited representatives, how the online 00:08:38.479 --> 00:08:44.728 platform can be used to file certain USCIS forms online and access customer service 00:08:44.728 --> 00:08:49.158 tools. We’re pleased to say that there also will be a few demonstrations. We 00:08:49.158 --> 00:08:53.809 estimate that this session will take approximately 75 minutes, including 00:08:53.809 --> 00:08:58.719 questions and answers. We really thank you for your time and interest in attending 00:08:58.719 --> 00:09:04.258 today's webinar. And, with that, I will turn the event over to Bertha Anderson, 00:09:04.258 --> 00:09:09.808 Chief of Public Engagement here at the CIS Ombudsman’s Office. Bertha, over to you... 00:09:11.559 --> 00:09:16.218 Thank you, Phyllis. Before we begin, members of the media who are joining us 00:09:16.218 --> 00:09:21.167 this afternoon are welcome to listen to today's engagement, but we ask that you 00:09:21.167 --> 00:09:29.228 contact the DHS Office of Public Affairs at MediaInquiry@hq.dhs.gov with any 00:09:29.228 --> 00:09:34.472 questions or clarification of policy before finalizing any publications. If 00:09:34.472 --> 00:09:38.974 there are any congressional staffers on the line with us today, you may contact 00:09:38.974 --> 00:09:48.200 the DHS Office of Legislative Affairs at Congresstodhs@hq.dhs.gov. Please note that 00:09:48.200 --> 00:09:53.554 we are recording this session. During the entire session, participants will have the 00:09:53.554 --> 00:09:57.944 option to submit written questions and suggestions through the chat box feature 00:09:58.597 --> 00:10:03.331 . This is the “Q&A box” that appears to the right of the slide deck on your screen 00:10:03.735 --> 00:10:08.818 . We will look at every question submitted and determine if there is more we need to 00:10:08.818 --> 00:10:13.938 do to address stakeholder concerns. If your question is not answered today, 00:10:14.192 --> 00:10:22.262 please feel free to email it to our office at cisombudsman.publicaffairs@hq.dhs.gov. 00:10:23.347 --> 00:10:28.287 After today’s webinar, we will post the summary from the engagement, the record- 00:10:28.287 --> 00:10:33.691 ing from this session, as well as relevant questions and answers as a result from 00:10:33.691 --> 00:10:38.601 this engagement. If you wish to access the summaries and materials from our past 00:10:38.601 --> 00:10:48.611 webinars, please visit the CIS Ombudsman’s website at www.dhs.gov/outreach. Now, I'm 00:10:48.611 --> 00:10:53.632 pleased to introduce the moderator for today’s event, Fred Troncone, Senior 00:10:53.632 --> 00:10:58.220 Advisor at the CIS Ombudsman’s Office. Fred, the floor is yours. 00:10:59.873 --> 00:11:07.200 Thank you, Bertha. And good afternoon, and on the West Coast, good morning. Again, I 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:12.162 want to thank our audience for joining today’s webinar. I also want to welcome 00:11:12.162 --> 00:11:18.170 representatives from USCIS who will speak about USCIS' online accounts experience 00:11:18.170 --> 00:11:23.948 for attorneys and accredited representat- tives and the agency’s online tools. We're 00:11:23.948 --> 00:11:28.720 joined today by Janna Evans and Leah Stewart, who work in USCIS’ Digital 00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:34.562 Services Division at the Office of Citizen -ship and Applicant Information Services, 00:11:34.562 --> 00:11:43.392 known as CAIS (C-A-I-S). CAIS oversees USCIS' Contact Center and website. They 00:11:43.392 --> 00:11:49.722 manage the development of online forms and USCIS online tools like Case Status Online 00:11:49.722 --> 00:11:57.510 , Case Processing times, e-Request, Change of Address, and more. We’ll also be joined 00:11:57.510 --> 00:12:02.632 by other USCIS subject matters from the Digital Services Division They are subject 00:12:02.632 --> 00:12:06.782 matter experts, and they’ll be listening in and, as and if necessary, they’ll help 00:12:06.782 --> 00:12:13.552 out Leah and Janna, uh, to respond to some of the questions posed during this 00:12:13.552 --> 00:12:18.102 presentation. We developed today’s materials to proactively address many 00:12:18.102 --> 00:12:23.617 common questions we’ve received here in the Ombudsman’s office, and as Bertha 00:12:23.617 --> 00:12:27.727 mentioned earlier, in the next few days, we'll be posting the PowerPoint slides 00:12:27.727 --> 00:12:37.964 from today’s session on our webpage at www.dhs.gov/outreach. Before we begin 00:12:37.964 --> 00:12:42.584 prepared presentation, I want to start off , however, by asking Leah to let our 00:12:42.584 --> 00:12:46.974 listeners know what we’ll be covering today. Uh, Leah? 00:12:48.346 --> 00:12:53.163 Thank you, Fred. Good afternoon, my name is Leah Stewart, and I work for the 00:12:53.163 --> 00:12:57.023 Office of Citizenship and Applicant Information Services. CAIS oversees the 00:12:57.023 --> 00:13:03.010 USCIS Contact Center and the uscis.gov website. We also manage the development of 00:13:03.010 --> 00:13:07.620 online forms and online tools like Case Status Online, Processing Times, and 00:13:07.620 --> 00:13:12.330 Change of Address. We’re happy you made the time to join us today. We will share a 00:13:12.330 --> 00:13:16.707 lot of very useful information that you probably have never heard before. And, 00:13:16.707 --> 00:13:21.397 during our time together, we will give you an overview of the USCIS online represent- 00:13:21.397 --> 00:13:26.385 -ative account and explain why having an account is so beneficial. We’ll show you 00:13:26.385 --> 00:13:31.549 some demos of how to upload evidence, add a paper case, and generate the 00:13:31.549 --> 00:13:36.299 representative passcode for your client. And lastly, we’ll talk about adding paper 00:13:36.299 --> 00:13:41.112 cases and how that process works. This will be a combination of slides and demos, 00:13:41.112 --> 00:13:45.562 and we’ve set aside time for Q&A at the end. We do have a lot to cover, so I’ll 00:13:45.562 --> 00:13:51.873 get right to it. There are many benefits to applying online compared to mailing us 00:13:51.873 --> 00:13:56.673 a paper form. In addition to submitting forms and paying fees online, you’ll be 00:13:56.673 --> 00:14:00.611 able to see case status and case history. And one of the best features of having an 00:14:00.611 --> 00:14:05.430 account is being able to access notices. When you apply online, every notice we 00:14:05.430 --> 00:14:09.037 issue will be mailed to you and posted to your account. In addition, with an 00:14:09.037 --> 00:14:12.708 account, if we issue a Request for Evidence, you can respond quickly and 00:14:12.708 --> 00:14:17.558 easily by uploading responsive evidence directly to the case. This saves time, and 00:14:17.558 --> 00:14:23.333 you can see your response and when we received it. This slide shows the online 00:14:23.333 --> 00:14:28.862 filing percentages for each form type we have online filing for. We now process 00:14:28.862 --> 00:14:32.770 11 of our most popular forms electron -ically. In the chart on the right, you 00:14:32.770 --> 00:14:37.502 can see that 64 percent of I-90s are coming in through online filing, and the 00:14:37.502 --> 00:14:45.898 N-400 is now right around 54 percent. I will point out that online filing by legal 00:14:45.898 --> 00:14:50.230 representatives is significantly lower than paper filing by representatives. 00:14:50.270 --> 00:14:54.131 There are some obvious reasons for this, including the fact that we do not yet 00:14:54.131 --> 00:14:58.159 process fee waivers in the account, and the current account structure does not 00:14:58.159 --> 00:15:03.094 support the software systems the legal community uses to prepare forms. But we 00:15:03.094 --> 00:15:07.625 have also heard that some law firms have a policy to not use the USCIS online 00:15:07.625 --> 00:15:12.314 account, and maybe some people feel skeptical. One of our goals today is to 00:15:12.314 --> 00:15:16.604 get you to consider using the online account. We believe using the account will 00:15:16.604 --> 00:15:21.254 give you and your client a better user experience as well as more visibility into 00:15:21.254 --> 00:15:28.240 the case. One of the best ways to give us feedback about your experience with the 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:33.260 online account is to take our exit survey. The exit survey invitation pops up as you 00:15:33.260 --> 00:15:37.824 leave the account, and we receive about 3,000 responses a month. Satisfaction 00:15:37.824 --> 00:15:42.114 scores are consistently strong, with about 80 percent of users reporting that the 00:15:42.114 --> 00:15:46.701 account was either extremely easy or somewhat easy to use. The exit survey asks 00:15:46.701 --> 00:15:51.615 3 questions where you can offer written feedback, and we do review every written 00:15:51.615 --> 00:15:59.930 comment each month. There are several ways to access the USCIS online account. 00:15:59.222 --> 00:16:04.675 On our USCIS.gov homepage, there is an activity tile called “File Online." This 00:16:04.675 --> 00:16:09.250 section has information on filing online and where to get started creating an 00:16:09.250 --> 00:16:13.477 account. It also has 3 videos that cover creating an account, the benefits of 00:16:13.477 --> 00:16:19.182 filing online, and our newest video is an end-to-end demo of filing an N-400 online 00:16:19.633 --> 00:16:23.213 . On the top right, there is a sign-in link where users can sign into their 00:16:23.213 --> 00:16:26.780 account, if they have one, or create a new account, if they don’t have one. 00:16:30.389 --> 00:16:34.659 When someone logs into the USCIS online account for the very first time, they see 00:16:34.659 --> 00:16:39.543 this screen. This page shows the 3 services available in the USCIS online 00:16:39.543 --> 00:16:43.793 account. There’s FIRST, the FOIA requesting service. There’s myE-Verify, 00:16:44.169 --> 00:16:48.459 and lastly, there’s myUSCIS… where applicants and representatives can submit 00:16:48.459 --> 00:16:55.863 immigration forms online. There are 3 types of accounts in myUSCIS. The 00:16:55.863 --> 00:16:59.853 applicant account where individuals can submit immigration forms on their own 00:16:59.853 --> 00:17:04.539 without a legal representative. We have a representative account where attorneys and 00:17:04.539 --> 00:17:08.580 accredited representatives can submit forms on behalf of clients, and this 00:17:08.580 --> 00:17:14.705 account requires a G-28 for every case. Lastly, we have an H-1B registrant account 00:17:14.735 --> 00:17:19.347 that is only open during cap season each spring. So, for today, we are going to 00:17:19.347 --> 00:17:27.932 focus on the representative account. When you create your account, we will give you 00:17:27.932 --> 00:17:32.111 a backup code. You should save this information. If you lose access to your 00:17:32.111 --> 00:17:36.543 email address or phone, the backup code can be used in place of the 2-step 00:17:36.543 --> 00:17:41.608 verification code. You will also be asked to enter personal responses for 5 question 00:17:41.608 --> 00:17:46.887 -s. These password reset answers allow you to change your password yourself. So, save 00:17:46.887 --> 00:17:54.391 these two bits of information! A few things to note before you start filling 00:17:54.391 --> 00:17:58.371 out your form… Our online forms are organ- ized a little differently than our paper 00:17:58.371 --> 00:18:03.673 forms, but both forms gather the same information. Also, our online forms have 00:18:03.673 --> 00:18:07.511 conditional logic, which means that your answers to some questions determine the 00:18:07.511 --> 00:18:12.465 questions that are asked later. For example, if I am filling out an N-400, as 00:18:12.465 --> 00:18:16.627 I indicate that I am a woman, the form will not ask me if I’ve registered with 00:18:16.627 --> 00:18:21.465 the Selective Service System. The account offers a more tailored and personalized 00:18:21.465 --> 00:18:26.220 experience this way. Please answer as many questions as you can, and, remember, we 00:18:26.220 --> 00:18:30.373 automatically save your answers so you can work at your own pace. If you need time to 00:18:30.373 --> 00:18:35.396 find a document, you can sign out and resume working on your form anytime. Draft 00:18:35.396 --> 00:18:40.447 forms are saved for 30 days from the last time you worked on your form. There’s an 00:18:40.447 --> 00:18:44.656 idle time limit built into this form. If you are inactive for 15 minutes, the 00:18:44.656 --> 00:18:51.988 system will log you out, and you’ll need to sign in again. One frequent question we 00:18:51.988 --> 00:18:55.988 get from legal representatives who are not familiar with the account is if they need 00:18:55.988 --> 00:19:00.872 an account for each client. Our represent- ative account allows legal representatives 00:19:00.872 --> 00:19:04.704 to create one account, which the representative can then use to serve 00:19:04.704 --> 00:19:09.370 multiple clients. Legal representatives do not need to create a representative 00:19:09.370 --> 00:19:15.451 account each time they have a new client. Some key points to remember: each client 00:19:15.451 --> 00:19:20.180 must have their own unique, individual applicant account created with a unique 00:19:20.180 --> 00:19:24.654 email address. For example, if a husband and wife are applying for naturalization 00:19:24.654 --> 00:19:28.924 together with a legal representative, they must each have their own email address and 00:19:28.924 --> 00:19:33.864 their own online account. They cannot share accounts or email addresses. And to 00:19:33.864 --> 00:19:37.894 get the one-time verification code via text message, they need their own cell 00:19:37.894 --> 00:19:45.408 phone. After a legal representative creates an account, they’re directed to 00:19:45.408 --> 00:19:51.290 this account home page. There are 4 tabs across the top: My Clients, Profile, Inbox 00:19:51.290 --> 00:19:55.470 , and Withdrawn G-28s. This view is different than what applicants see in the 00:19:55.470 --> 00:20:03.552 applicant account. I will now review each of these tabs in more detail. The My 00:20:03.552 --> 00:20:09.350 Clients tab allows you to: easily add and remove clients. You can search for clients 00:20:09.350 --> 00:20:13.485 by first name or last name, and you can sort your clients with filters. The 00:20:13.485 --> 00:20:17.755 filters we have now are for cases that require action (called “Action required”), 00:20:17.755 --> 00:20:23.190 and drafts that are about to reach the 30- day limit (“Draft expiring soon”). Both of 00:20:23.190 --> 00:20:27.289 these filters help you manage your cases more easily by pointing out those cases 00:20:27.289 --> 00:20:37.497 that need your attention. In the account profile tab, users can make a number of 00:20:37.497 --> 00:20:41.503 edits to their account. If you click on "Edit profile," you’ll be able to change 00:20:41.503 --> 00:20:46.273 your mailing address and change or add a bar number and jurisdiction. If you click 00:20:46.273 --> 00:20:50.467 on “account settings," you have the option to change things like: your primary and 00:20:50.467 --> 00:20:55.968 recovery email address, your password, how you receive the verification PIN, your 00:20:55.968 --> 00:21:01.298 phone number, password reset questions, and your backup code. At the bottom, under 00:21:01.298 --> 00:21:05.899 "Account Activity,” you can also see a historical view of when you accessed your 00:21:05.899 --> 00:21:06.879 account. 00:21:13.846 --> 00:21:19.106 You can use a feature we offer called a secure inbox to send us messages. To send 00:21:19.106 --> 00:21:24.750 a message, click on the inbox tab and then select “new message.” You will then need 00:21:24.750 --> 00:21:32.215 to choose from 6 subjects and then choose a client. On the image on the left, you 00:21:32.215 --> 00:21:36.335 can see the 6 topics you can choose from, and, below that, you can see the client 00:21:36.335 --> 00:21:40.831 list. Then you can write a message with your question or issue. You’re limited to 00:21:40.831 --> 00:21:46.377 2,000 characters. Secure messages route to Immigration Services Officers at Tier 2 at 00:21:46.377 --> 00:21:50.677 our contact center. These officers have been to the Immigration Academy and 00:21:50.677 --> 00:21:54.943 have extensive training and systems access to resolve customer inquiries. 00:21:55.496 --> 00:21:59.956 However, these ISOs cannot answer any substantive legal questions or provide 00:21:59.956 --> 00:22:05.550 legal advice. The current response time for an urgent inquiry is 2 business days, 00:22:05.139 --> 00:22:10.412 and the response time for a non-urgent inquiry is about 30 days. Please do not 00:22:10.412 --> 00:22:15.604 inquire more than once about the same issue as that just adds to our already 00:22:15.604 --> 00:22:20.154 very long queue. When we respond to your inquiry, you will see our response in your 00:22:20.154 --> 00:22:24.940 inbox. Sometimes we’ll need to call you, and it’s important that you take the call. 00:22:24.940 --> 00:22:29.706 We make two attempts. If we miss you both times, we will close out the inquiry, and 00:22:29.706 --> 00:22:34.186 you will need to start over. The number our officers call from shows up as area 00:22:34.186 --> 00:22:45.523 code 202 in your caller ID. The withdrawn G-28s tab is pretty self-explanatory. It 00:22:45.523 --> 00:22:51.500 shows any G-28s that were withdrawn either by legal representative or the client. 00:22:51.500 --> 00:22:56.182 This is what you’ll see if you withdraw a G-28 for a client. Now we’re going to show 00:22:56.182 --> 00:23:00.412 you a demo what creating a representative account looks like, and how the legal 00:23:00.412 --> 00:23:05.235 representative completes forms and generates the representative passcode for 00:23:05.235 --> 00:23:06.465 their client. 00:23:23.988 --> 00:23:27.588 This is what the home page and the representative account looks like. There 00:23:27.588 --> 00:23:34.944 are 4 tabs across the top: My Clients, Profile, Inbox, and Withdrawn G-28s. We 00:23:34.944 --> 00:23:39.668 will also have any alerts we want you to take note of here on the top, marked with 00:23:39.668 --> 00:23:45.367 the yellow alert ribbon. When you're ready to begin filing a form for a client, you 00:23:45.367 --> 00:23:49.487 add that client to your account very easily. “Add client to my account,” 00:23:49.487 --> 00:23:55.554 indicate whether it's a person or company, and add their name. If I want to remove 00:23:55.554 --> 00:23:59.978 Andrew Jones as a client, I would just click this. Very easy. So, let's start a 00:23:59.978 --> 00:24:06.986 form for Andrew. I would again select which client, and then there's a dropdown 00:24:06.986 --> 00:24:12.624 list of all the available forms. I'll do the I-90 since it's easy to demo. All of 00:24:12.624 --> 00:24:17.325 our forms will begin with what we call an overview page. This is a high-level review 00:24:17.325 --> 00:24:22.924 of the steps and flow of the form. There's also legal disclaimers and a security 00:24:22.924 --> 00:24:28.227 reminder to work on your form at least once in the next 30 days, or the data will 00:24:28.227 --> 00:24:34.368 delete. After I've added the address, you can see that there is a address validation 00:24:34.368 --> 00:24:39.809 that appears with the U.S. Postal Service database. This is confirming that this is 00:24:39.809 --> 00:24:44.109 a valid address and is formatted in the way that the Postal Service likes things 00:24:44.109 --> 00:24:48.921 to be formatted. So, whenever possible, select “Yes, use this address,” because 00:24:48.921 --> 00:24:51.171 it's been validated and formatted. 00:24:51.171 --> 00:24:53.216 Natasha, are we having bandwidth issues? 00:24:53.216 --> 00:24:56.866 When you get to this portion where the form is asking for your client's email 00:24:56.866 --> 00:25:00.715 address (this is important), you must make sure that you're entering the email 00:25:00.715 --> 00:25:05.955 address that your client is going to use or has used to create their online account 00:25:06.165 --> 00:25:10.895 , their applicant account. This is to ensure that the representative passcode 00:25:10.895 --> 00:25:14.535 works. If you get a message like this, “Provide a valid email address,” 00:25:14.605 --> 00:25:17.698 This is what the home page and the representative account 00:25:17.698 --> 00:25:21.295 This is what the home page and the representative account looks like. There 00:25:21.295 --> 00:25:27.646 are 4 tabs across the top: My Clients, Profile, Inbox and Withdrawn G-28s. We 00:25:27.646 --> 00:25:32.660 will also have any alerts we want you to take note of here on the top, marked with 00:25:32.660 --> 00:25:38.320 the yellow alert ribbon. When you're ready to begin filing a form for a client, you 00:25:38.320 --> 00:25:42.422 add that client to your account very easily. “Add client to my account,” 00:25:42.422 --> 00:25:48.469 indicate whether it's a person or company, and add their name. If I want to remove 00:25:48.469 --> 00:25:52.749 Andrew Jones as a client, I would just click this. Very easy. So, let's start a 00:25:52.749 --> 00:26:00.235 form for Andrew. I would again select which client, and then there's a dropdown 00:26:00.235 --> 00:26:05.538 list of all the available forms. I'll do the I-90 since it's easy to demo. All of 00:26:05.538 --> 00:26:10.660 our forms will begin with what we call an overview page. This is a high-level review 00:26:10.660 --> 00:26:16.275 of the steps and flow of the form. There's also legal disclaimers and a security 00:26:16.275 --> 00:26:21.368 reminder to work on your form at least once in the next 30 days, or the data will 00:26:21.368 --> 00:26:27.580 delete. After I've added the address, you can see that there is a address validation 00:26:27.580 --> 00:26:32.746 that appears with the U.S. Postal Service database. This is confirming that this is 00:26:32.746 --> 00:26:37.960 a valid address and is formatted in the way that the Postal Service likes things 00:26:37.960 --> 00:26:42.310 to be formatted. So, whenever possible, select “Yes, use this address,” because 00:26:42.310 --> 00:26:47.360 it's been validated and formatted. When you get to this portion where the 00:26:47.360 --> 00:26:51.778 form is asking for your client's email address (this is important), you must make 00:26:51.778 --> 00:26:56.880 sure that you're entering the email address that your client is going to use 00:26:56.213 --> 00:27:01.192 or has used to create their online account , their applicant account. This is to 00:27:01.192 --> 00:27:06.560 ensure that the representative passcode works. If you get a message like this, 00:27:06.560 --> 00:27:10.820 “Provide a valid email address,” just check and see if you have any leading or 00:27:10.820 --> 00:27:12.224 trailing spaces. 00:27:14.700 --> 00:27:19.360 Listeners, we understand that some of you may not be receiving audio. We’re trying 00:27:19.360 --> 00:27:21.637 to work that matter. 00:27:24.490 --> 00:27:28.560 Now, we would need to select the reason for the application, and I'm going to 00:27:28.560 --> 00:27:32.704 actually skip it. I would normally select this when my card has expired or will 00:27:32.704 --> 00:27:37.586 expire, but I'm going to go ahead and move ahead. And it says you must provide a 00:27:37.586 --> 00:27:42.801 response. I'm just going to show you what happens. I'm going to jump ahead to Review 00:27:42.801 --> 00:27:51.117 and Submit… And this is a hard stop. It requires that I indicate the reason for 00:27:51.117 --> 00:27:57.030 the application. That's why there's no fee estimated, because the fee is based on the 00:27:57.030 --> 00:28:02.780 reason for the application. So, I need to go back up here and edit my responses. 00:28:08.721 --> 00:28:13.567 And here's where I will upload evidence. So, take note of the accepted file formats 00:28:13.567 --> 00:28:18.470 and also the accepted file name characters . The system will not accept any special 00:28:18.470 --> 00:28:23.261 characters, so just avoid those because the system cannot read those, and then we 00:28:23.261 --> 00:28:27.061 allow 12 megabytes per file, which is pretty, pretty good size. 00:28:27.061 --> 00:28:30.814 Sorry for this interruption. This is the Operator. We are still not hearing any 00:28:30.814 --> 00:28:34.587 audio. Would you like me to place the participants on music and bring you back 00:28:34.587 --> 00:28:36.242 into a private conference? 00:28:36.242 --> 00:28:40.248 And I need to do both sides of the green card. So, a green check mark is a good 00:28:40.248 --> 00:28:43.828 sign it uploaded successfully, so now I'll review. All right, so now my fee 00:28:43.828 --> 00:28:45.253 Let's go to the next slide. 00:28:45.253 --> 00:28:48.790 is calculated based on my reason for the application, and I have no alerts. 00:28:48.790 --> 00:28:49.690 Thank you. 00:28:49.690 --> 00:28:52.610 I have no more red alerts, so I can submit this application. 00:28:56.959 --> 00:29:02.280 Once a legal representative submits a form online for a client, they are directed to 00:29:02.280 --> 00:29:06.166 their account homepage where they can see information about the case they just 00:29:06.166 --> 00:29:11.110 submitted. We call this a “Case Card.” Each submitted form will have its own case 00:29:11.110 --> 00:29:15.525 card. At the top of the case card, you’ll see the receipt date and the receipt 00:29:15.525 --> 00:29:21.615 number. You can also access a PDF copy of both the submitted form and the G-28. 00:29:21.730 --> 00:29:26.747 Under the case actions dropdown, you have the ability to withdraw the G-28 if you 00:29:26.747 --> 00:29:31.718 need to. The case card in the represent- ative account has 4 tabs which you can see 00:29:31.718 --> 00:29:37.870 here: Case Status, Evidence, Notices, and Case History. What you see here is the 00:29:37.870 --> 00:29:43.124 Case Status tab. The information displayed in the case status tab is the same as what 00:29:43.124 --> 00:29:56.990 shows on our Case Status Online page. Here you see Evidence tab, which shows 00:29:56.990 --> 00:30:01.360 you all the documents that were uploaded as evidence to support the case and the 00:30:01.360 --> 00:30:05.296 date they were added. The documents are hyperlinked, so you can view them or down- 00:30:05.296 --> 00:30:10.510 load them. At the bottom of this page is a tool that allows you to upload unsolicited 00:30:10.510 --> 00:30:14.378 evidence to your case after the case was submitted, meaning evidence we did not 00:30:14.378 --> 00:30:18.338 specifically ask for. Although we do have this feature available, we strongly 00:30:18.338 --> 00:30:23.302 recommend that you submit a complete filing with all required evidence when you 00:30:23.302 --> 00:30:28.639 submit your case. Uploading unsolicited evidence does not alter the requirements 00:30:28.639 --> 00:30:35.502 for timely responses to USCIS’ notices. As a reminder, any response to a Request 00:30:35.502 --> 00:30:41.300 for Evidence or Notice of Intent to Deny, Terminate, or Revoke, must be provided in 00:30:41.300 --> 00:30:45.666 the required timeframes. We also encourage you to give your documents logical file 00:30:45.666 --> 00:30:50.186 names like birth certificate or marriage certificate instead of the automated scan 00:30:50.186 --> 00:30:54.996 name. This makes it easier for you to identify what you've uploaded, and for 00:30:54.996 --> 00:31:02.468 officers to identify what the document is. Once you see the "Notices" tab, which 00:31:02.468 --> 00:31:07.435 shows all the notices we have issued over the lifespan of your client's case. This 00:31:07.435 --> 00:31:12.169 case card was created in our demo environment, so the dates are the same. In 00:31:12.169 --> 00:31:16.509 a real case card, the dates you see here would reflect different dates as the case 00:31:16.509 --> 00:31:22.227 progresses over time. For online-filed cases that have an IOE receipt number, 00:31:22.227 --> 00:31:26.931 we mail the applicant and legal representative all notices, and we post an 00:31:26.931 --> 00:31:31.321 electronic copy of the notice to the online account. This convenient feature 00:31:31.321 --> 00:31:36.436 ensures you always have access to your notices. This is one of the most important 00:31:36.436 --> 00:31:44.660 benefits of using the online account. Here you see the "Case History" tab, which 00:31:44.660 --> 00:31:49.551 shows the status of the case at each stage . What’s unique about this feature is it 00:31:49.551 --> 00:31:54.786 allows you to see a case’s current status as well as any prior actions or statuses 00:31:54.786 --> 00:31:59.536 that were posted to your client’s case, including the date when they were posted. 00:31:59.986 --> 00:32:03.626 This feature is only available in the USCIS online account. 00:32:03.948 --> 00:32:08.148 As I said before, in a real case, the case history would show statuses and dates over 00:32:08.148 --> 00:32:14.260 time. And now I will hand this over to Janna to talk about linking paper cases. 00:32:17.190 --> 00:32:19.181 Thanks, Leah. Can you hear me all right? 00:32:21.206 --> 00:32:22.266 Yes, we can. 00:32:22.744 --> 00:32:30.814 Great. Just wanted to make sure my audio's not cancelled out. Okay, so… now we're 00:32:30.814 --> 00:32:36.280 going to talk about a topic that a lot of you are here to hear about, and that is, 00:32:36.280 --> 00:32:40.563 uh, linking paper cases to the representative account. So, legal 00:32:40.563 --> 00:32:48.487 representatives have an opportunity to link previously-filed IOE paper cases to 00:32:48.487 --> 00:32:53.949 their account, and this happens during account creation. This is a one-time 00:32:53.949 --> 00:32:59.669 opportunity. This is not going to ever hap -pen again after you create your account. 00:32:59.846 --> 00:33:06.223 And, once these cases are brought into your account, they will benefit from most 00:33:06.223 --> 00:33:10.630 online features, as if the case had been submitted online. 00:33:14.492 --> 00:33:21.500 One thing to note is that receipt notices from most paper cases will not post to the 00:33:21.500 --> 00:33:27.473 account. Only I-90s currently have a receipt notice posted in the account if 00:33:27.473 --> 00:33:31.823 the form was submitted on paper. So, here in the top right there’s an image of what 00:33:31.823 --> 00:33:37.355 the account looks like for an I-90, and you can see that the receipt notice, 00:33:37.355 --> 00:33:43.062 called Receipt Notice - Lockbox Extension, is posted. That’s a feature that we have 00:33:43.062 --> 00:33:50.241 now for I-90s. But, conversely, on the low -er right, for paper filed I-130s or other 00:33:50.241 --> 00:33:54.920 paper-filed cases, there is no receipt notice, so I just wanted to draw your 00:33:54.920 --> 00:33:59.973 attention to that. If you would like to request a duplicate of a paper receipt 00:33:59.973 --> 00:34:07.203 notice, you can write to lockboxsupport@uscis.dhs.gov, and 00:34:07.203 --> 00:34:12.463 you need to do that within 6 months of the filing date. They save that data to 00:34:12.463 --> 00:34:19.236 generate the paper receipt notices for 6 months, and then it’s purged. Now I just 00:34:19.236 --> 00:34:23.386 want to remind users, we’re going to switch to another video. If you don't hear 00:34:23.386 --> 00:34:28.396 it, we will be posting this to the Ombudsman’s engagement website, 00:34:28.396 --> 00:34:36.241 their outreach website. And if you can’t hear it, try increasing the audio on your 00:34:36.241 --> 00:34:48.694 computer, and hopefully that will help. This is where you'll have an opportunity 00:34:48.694 --> 00:34:53.726 to enter paper cases that you previously filed. If you look here, these are the 00:34:53.726 --> 00:34:58.894 forms that are eligible to be linked. If you submitted one of these forms previous- 00:34:58.894 --> 00:35:04.556 ly, and it had an IOE receipt number, you should’ve received an account access 00:35:04.556 --> 00:35:12.474 notice that has an online access code that you can use to link the cases. So, you're 00:35:12.474 --> 00:35:19.289 either going to link a paper case which (or cases), which will import your G-28 00:35:19.289 --> 00:35:24.429 information from that paper case and become your account profile, or you would 00:35:24.429 --> 00:35:31.641 skip that and just create your account profile, so it's one or the other. You can 00:35:31.641 --> 00:35:38.897 find the online access code on the top right of the notice that we sent you. And 00:35:38.897 --> 00:35:48.778 this has brought in a case that I submitt- ed earlier. You can check case status, any 00:35:48.778 --> 00:35:53.751 notices that were issued, and see case history. Here's the receipt number, and 00:35:53.751 --> 00:35:58.310 Case Actions allows you to withdraw the G-28 if you need to. I'd like to show you 00:35:58.310 --> 00:36:03.769 what has happened to your account profile now that you have imported this case. So, 00:36:03.769 --> 00:36:10.551 the information from the G-28 for this paper case is now your account profile, 00:36:11.706 --> 00:36:18.163 so it pulls in your name, the online account number, your address, everything. 00:36:18.163 --> 00:36:23.232 It basically populates your account profile, so that's why it's important for 00:36:23.232 --> 00:36:33.898 your G-28s to be consistent. So, in the next slide, I'm going to review what you 00:36:33.898 --> 00:36:43.908 just... Sorry, I had audio issues. 00:36:44.116 --> 00:36:48.326 Um, on this slide, I’m going to review what we just talked about in that video, 00:36:48.426 --> 00:36:54.648 and that is that when you link, when you create your account, you either link a 00:36:54.648 --> 00:37:02.743 paper case or you manually enter personal information to create an account profile, 00:37:02.765 --> 00:37:08.384 just like you would in many websites. So, what happens is if you link a paper case, 00:37:08.434 --> 00:37:14.274 it bypasses account creation, where you would do it manually, and it populates 00:37:14.274 --> 00:37:20.565 data fields in your account profile. So, people are asking in some of the questions 00:37:20.565 --> 00:37:27.758 : how can I link a paper case after I've created my account? And the way to do that 00:37:27.758 --> 00:37:34.548 , the best way to do that, is to have your G-28 match that original account profile, 00:37:34.711 --> 00:37:36.161 or that original G-28. 00:37:36.268 --> 00:37:42.218 Um, after account creation, there's no opportunity for you to add a paper case. 00:37:42.721 --> 00:37:48.610 We want your G-28 data to be the same, and it has to be an exact match. 00:37:48.610 --> 00:38:02.486 So that’s what I’m going to talk about in the next few slides. Um, right now, we’re 00:38:02.486 --> 00:38:07.466 going to show a video; this is our last video, of what it looks like in the 00:38:07.466 --> 00:38:13.332 account to respond to an RFE, and then we’re going to dive much deeper and give 00:38:13.332 --> 00:38:18.384 you quite a lot of information about the linking and the paper cases and the G-28 00:38:18.384 --> 00:38:24.998 matching rule. So, again, unmute your computer to hear the video. 00:38:37.443 --> 00:38:38.603 You can check 00:38:38.603 --> 00:38:45.330 for any updates on cases by filtering your cases using this filter, and there's two 00:38:45.330 --> 00:38:50.324 types of alerts. One is either Action required or a Draft expiring soon, so I'll 00:38:50.324 --> 00:38:55.172 filter by action required. I only have 2 clients, so this case, Andrew Jones's case 00:38:55.172 --> 00:38:59.926 , is showing that there is some action required, and I click here on View Case 00:38:59.926 --> 00:39:05.620 Status. And you can see that an RFE has been issued. There's a red alert 00:39:05.620 --> 00:39:11.310 indicating action required, and you can respond here with evidence if you want to. 00:39:12.508 --> 00:39:16.968 Here is the hyperlinked Request for Evidence, and here's another place that 00:39:16.968 --> 00:39:21.109 you can respond to the notice. And then over here on Case History, you can see 00:39:21.109 --> 00:39:26.800 that the Request for Evidence was issued. This is what the Request for Evidence will 00:39:26.800 --> 00:39:35.200 look like, and to respond, click here, Respond with Evidence. Let's say that the 00:39:35.200 --> 00:39:40.418 Request for Evidence is asking for a better-quality image of the Green Card. We 00:39:40.418 --> 00:39:51.186 do have a limit of 5 documents total to respond to an RFE. So, I have both sides 00:39:51.186 --> 00:39:57.170 of my green card that are clearer and higher resolution. And just know that when 00:39:57.170 --> 00:40:03.486 you select Submit Evidence, the portal that will accept your response to the RFE 00:40:03.486 --> 00:40:08.550 closes. So that means that any other evidence that you submit using the 00:40:08.550 --> 00:40:14.722 unsolicited evidence tool will not have the label in our system as the RFE 00:40:14.722 --> 00:40:23.743 response. Okay, my upload was successful, and Case Status has updated to show that 00:40:23.743 --> 00:40:28.183 my response to the RFE was received. I love this feature in the account. So here 00:40:28.186 --> 00:40:36.982 you can see in Case History that we, USCIS , received the response, and also here you 00:40:36.982 --> 00:40:42.477 can see that USCIS received both copies for the front and the back side of the 00:40:42.477 --> 00:41:08.936 Green Card. Now we're going to talk about the issue that many, many of you want to 00:41:08.936 --> 00:41:24.128 hear about, and that is the multiple accounts issue… Sorry, I’m just trying to 00:41:24.128 --> 00:41:32.806 get my… here we go. Okay, so, um, legal representatives have shared their frustra- 00:41:32.806 --> 00:41:38.917 tion with not having access to all of their clients’ cases, and the reason is 00:41:38.917 --> 00:41:45.485 that there are variations on their G-28. So, for… after you create your account, 00:41:45.485 --> 00:41:52.108 and you link your paper cases… again, you can’t link it after the fact. It has to 00:41:52.108 --> 00:41:59.210 happen during account creation. The paper G-28s that you submit after you create 00:41:59.210 --> 00:42:05.714 your account and bring in those paper cases, it has to match. So, the data 00:42:05.714 --> 00:42:11.659 fields that have to match exactly are: first name, last name, the address (and 00:42:11.659 --> 00:42:16.616 that means all address fields), bar number (if you’re an attorney), state 00:42:16.616 --> 00:42:21.255 jurisdiction (if you’re an attorney), and the online account number. Um, if you're 00:42:21.255 --> 00:42:26.056 an accredited rep, we do not match on bar number or the state jurisdiction. 00:42:27.125 --> 00:42:33.287 And just so you know, we are working to address the linking issues, and I think 00:42:33.287 --> 00:42:37.920 what we’re going to do is probably have another engagement that USCIS hosts in a 00:42:37.920 --> 00:42:44.290 few months and provide some updates to what, y'know, the potential solutions are. 00:42:47.193 --> 00:42:52.946 So, here's kind of a high-level flow, if you will, of what happens when you submit 00:42:52.946 --> 00:42:58.441 a paper case. So, you submit a paper G-28, the form for your client, and any 00:42:58.441 --> 00:43:04.298 supporting evidence, mail it to our Lockbox. The Lockbox will upload it, scan 00:43:04.298 --> 00:43:10.456 it and upload it, to our case management system, which we call ELIS, and then ELIS 00:43:10.456 --> 00:43:18.908 tries to find a match. So, it compares the incoming G-28 to an account profile 00:43:18.908 --> 00:43:26.765 already in the system, and if it finds a match, an exact match, then it adds that 00:43:26.765 --> 00:43:32.287 case to the account. Nothing is required by the legal representative. Paper cases 00:43:32.287 --> 00:43:39.809 just start dropping to the right account. So, there’s no adding a paper case after 00:43:39.809 --> 00:43:46.630 account creation. It happens automatically when your G-28 matches. So, what many of 00:43:46.630 --> 00:43:51.275 you are experiencing is what I’m going to show now, where there’s an incoming G-28. 00:43:51.275 --> 00:43:56.230 That’s a little bit different. There’s more data on this particular G-28, and the 00:43:56.230 --> 00:44:01.648 system is not finding a match for it. There’s not an existing match, and so what 00:44:01.648 --> 00:44:07.321 happens is the system creates a new account for that case. And what happens 00:44:07.321 --> 00:44:12.513 is because each account is linked to a unique email address, you’re not going to 00:44:12.513 --> 00:44:18.071 be able to access that case unless you create a new account with a new email add- 00:44:18.071 --> 00:44:21.941 ress. So, with your existing account and your existing email address, you’re not 00:44:21.941 --> 00:44:27.551 going to be able to access that. The rea- son we have these rules is basically to 00:44:27.551 --> 00:44:33.630 ensure account integrity. We know that you have many questions about it, so feel free 00:44:33.630 --> 00:44:41.210 to enter them into the question, the Q&A box, and we will get to as many as we can, 00:44:41.210 --> 00:44:47.609 as we go forward. So, this is the slide that I think you're going to want to pay 00:44:47.609 --> 00:44:52.745 the most attention to. And, again, we are going to post the PowerPoint. Um but these 00:44:52.745 --> 00:44:57.626 are the data fields that have to match. So , the online account number should be incl 00:44:57.626 --> 00:45:06.616 -uded every time. The last name and first name need to match. So, if you are Robert 00:45:06.616 --> 00:45:13.842 Smith, don’t do Rob Smith or Robert Smith, Senior. It needs to be identical. All the 00:45:13.842 --> 00:45:19.034 address fields have to match, so the, you know, and separate out, you know, your 00:45:19.034 --> 00:45:24.354 street address with any suite number. And if you… And the country actually matters. 00:45:24.400 --> 00:45:28.580 So, if you say U.S.A. on one, and United States on another, it’s not going to match 00:45:28.919 --> 00:45:33.848 . And then, lastly, for attorneys, just include the 2-letter abbreviation of your 00:45:33.848 --> 00:45:38.659 state. We see a lot of mismatches happen because people are including, you know, 00:45:38.659 --> 00:45:46.010 Judicial Circuit Court of whatever. Just the state abbreviation is fine, and then 00:45:46.010 --> 00:45:51.377 your bar number. So, when we say it has to match, it has to match exactly. 00:45:53.386 --> 00:45:59.668 Because the system is scanning to try to load that incoming G-28 to something 00:45:59.668 --> 00:46:05.434 already in the system. It needs to match exactly because there’s too many variables 00:46:05.434 --> 00:46:11.270 for partial matches. So we don’t work with partial matches. And again, this slide 00:46:11.270 --> 00:46:16.506 might be something you want to, you know, print out and post in your office just to 00:46:16.506 --> 00:46:21.512 remind everybody that these are the fields that match. So, once you, you have them in 00:46:21.512 --> 00:46:31.691 there, don’t fiddle with them. Don’t change them. Another reminder for you all 00:46:31.691 --> 00:46:36.795 as legal representatives is right now there is, um, no functionality in the 00:46:36.795 --> 00:46:44.558 online account for you to add a non-IOE paper case. So, if you have paper cases 00:46:44.558 --> 00:46:54.588 that begin with the receipt prefix showing here (ESC, LIN, MSC, SRC, WAC, or YSC), 00:46:54.588 --> 00:47:00.236 you’re not going to be able to add those paper cases to your account to track case 00:47:00.236 --> 00:47:06.592 status. If you have a legacy Case Status Online account, you should be able to 00:47:06.592 --> 00:47:14.444 enter those there. Um, also we currently do not receive… We do not do case alerts 00:47:14.444 --> 00:47:19.805 within the representative account for cases filed online because, actually 00:47:19.805 --> 00:47:25.963 during usability testing, uh, the users who responded indicated that getting a 00:47:25.963 --> 00:47:31.078 generic email or a generic alert to login into their account would not be that 00:47:31.078 --> 00:47:41.387 helpful, so just a reminder about those 2 functionalities. And here are a couple of, 00:47:41.387 --> 00:47:48.106 kind of tips and tricks. If you’re gonna file online, it’s a good idea to sit down 00:47:48.106 --> 00:47:52.216 with your clients and explain to them what they’re going to need to do, such as 00:47:52.216 --> 00:47:56.517 create an applicant account; they’re going to need to be able to get a representative 00:47:56.517 --> 00:48:01.274 passcode from you and then enter it, and then they should save their back-up code 00:48:01.274 --> 00:48:06.460 and their passwords. And you also may want to indicate to them that the reason you’re 00:48:06.460 --> 00:48:11.640 going online is because it gives you greater visibility and access to notices. 00:48:11.875 --> 00:48:17.783 You can respond to an RFE electronically, which actually saves time. And, in the 00:48:17.783 --> 00:48:24.174 video, of the RFE video, you can see right when it was received by us. Case Status 00:48:24.174 --> 00:48:29.904 Online updates immediately when we receive your RFE, which is not the case when you 00:48:29.904 --> 00:48:37.622 mail something back to us. So, it’s just a better experience for all the users. 00:48:41.044 --> 00:48:47.293 Secondly, a reminder that when you’re filling out a form online for your client, 00:48:47.549 --> 00:48:52.029 there’s usually two places where you’re going to need to enter your client’s email 00:48:52.029 --> 00:48:58.821 address. Some of the forms ask for it, but the G-28 in the online account definitely 00:48:58.821 --> 00:49:04.707 asks for it. And it’s very important that you make sure, absolutely positively sure, 00:49:04.707 --> 00:49:10.147 that you’re entering the email address your client is going to use or has used to 00:49:10.147 --> 00:49:14.853 create their online account. It has to be the same so that the representative 00:49:14.853 --> 00:49:19.567 passcode will work. Otherwise, if, oh, and if… In this example, it’s 00:49:19.567 --> 00:49:28.411 je_app_35@test.com. If I wrote 36, your, all your information that you’ve prepared 00:49:28.411 --> 00:49:32.721 is going to go to that email address, and your client isn’t going to be able to get 00:49:32.721 --> 00:49:36.856 the passcode, so it’s going to be kind of out there in the ethernet. So, that’s 00:49:36.856 --> 00:49:40.816 another reminder; just make sure you’re very methodical about it. And, remember, 00:49:40.816 --> 00:49:46.804 you have an opportunity to review all your work before you submit. You can print out 00:49:46.804 --> 00:49:53.278 that PDF, and review it, and save it even. So, this is the point where you need to be 00:49:53.278 --> 00:50:00.712 cautious. We're again recommending, um, as Leah recommended a bit earlier, to give 00:50:00.712 --> 00:50:04.942 your documents simple, descriptive names. Don’t use the scan name because this 00:50:04.942 --> 00:50:11.377 doesn't tell you, 722.PNG doesn’t tell you what that [document] was. Uh, whereas 00:50:11.377 --> 00:50:16.260 wedding photo or Jane passport or Tom bank statement… those are very descriptive. It 00:50:16.260 --> 00:50:21.810 helps improve accuracy on your end, to understand and see what you’ve uploaded, 00:50:21.810 --> 00:50:28.679 and, also, it helps our officers when they're reviewing cases. Another reminder 00:50:28.679 --> 00:50:35.231 that when you hit Finish and Continue… with, when you're filling out let's say an 00:50:35.231 --> 00:50:40.071 I-90, and then you go to the G-28. Each time you hit that button “Finish and Cont- 00:50:40.071 --> 00:50:46.838 inue," the form is locked for editing. You cannot make any changes to it. It sort of 00:50:46.838 --> 00:50:52.634 goes into a hold. And the only way you would be able to edit it after that is if 00:50:52.634 --> 00:50:59.684 the client declines that form. So, just keep in mind that you have an opportunity, 00:50:59.684 --> 00:51:04.194 as I just said, to review. When you get down here to the end, you have a chance 00:51:04.194 --> 00:51:08.721 to review all that information before you actually click on “Finish and Continue.” 00:51:09.389 --> 00:51:15.652 You have a chance to review your work before you send it. And then, a little bit 00:51:15.652 --> 00:51:22.869 about the G-28 best practices… is to have your template and don’t change it. Don’t 00:51:22.869 --> 00:51:29.096 fiddle with the top portion. There’s no need to have a variety of templates in the 00:51:29.096 --> 00:51:37.597 office. Um, now that the data has to be identical and that consistency is really 00:51:37.597 --> 00:51:43.260 paramount, make sure that all your staff are using the exact same template. So, if 00:51:43.260 --> 00:51:48.340 you have old versions, get rid of ‘em. Use the exact same template for everything, 00:51:48.612 --> 00:51:53.420 and don’t change this top portion unless you absolutely have to. Don’t make 00:51:53.420 --> 00:51:58.782 aesthetic or cosmetic changes. Don’t put a dot; you know, don’t abbreviate street. 00:51:59.181 --> 00:52:05.739 Just leave it as it is and continue to use it until you move or your name changes or 00:52:05.739 --> 00:52:11.327 your bar number changes. Otherwise, just leave it as it is, and tell your staff to 00:52:11.327 --> 00:52:15.647 do the same. That’s one thing that we’ve noticed is that where there’s a great 00:52:15.647 --> 00:52:20.565 variety, and the staff don’t all get onboard with using the same G-28, that 00:52:20.565 --> 00:52:25.487 can create a lot of additional accounts. And now I'll talk a little bit about the 00:52:25.487 --> 00:52:31.148 standalone G-28 process. So, here, this is a reminder. These are the forms that are 00:52:31.148 --> 00:52:38.584 available to be filed online. I apologize. The formatting is a little off in this, uh 00:52:38.584 --> 00:52:46.085 Adobe format. But we have the I-90, I-130, I-134, I-539. All of these forms are avai- 00:52:46.085 --> 00:52:54.416 lable for applicants to submit online. And all of them except the I-134 and I-539 are 00:52:54.416 --> 00:53:00.302 available for representatives to file online on behalf of clients. So, all these 00:53:00.302 --> 00:53:08.192 can be filed online by you except the I-134 and I-539 at this time. So, 00:53:08.290 --> 00:53:14.190 also, I want to remind you that, I don’t know if you knew this, but the I-821, TPS 00:53:14.190 --> 00:53:20.680 Application, and the I-821D, DACA Application, can be submitted online 00:53:20.680 --> 00:53:26.608 concurrently with Form I-765. This is a really nice experience. I was talking with 00:53:26.608 --> 00:53:31.665 an attorney who said she really liked it because once you finish the primary form, 00:53:31.665 --> 00:53:37.359 let’s say the I-821 or the I-821D, it automatically populates a lot of the 00:53:37.359 --> 00:53:43.578 data into the 765, which she really liked. And, at any point, legal representatives 00:53:43.578 --> 00:53:51.686 can submit a standalone G-28, either online or via paper, for any online-filed 00:53:51.686 --> 00:53:59.045 form, except, as I noted, the I-134 and the I-539. I know that’s a lot of inform- 00:53:59.045 --> 00:54:03.375 ation. Again, we’re gonna post the slide deck so that you’ll be able to refer to it 00:54:06.199 --> 00:54:15.540 Um, kind of a word of caution is that when you sign up for an account, you sign a… 00:54:16.052 --> 00:54:22.601 you sign and agree to terms and conditions , and we expect for you to follow those 00:54:22.601 --> 00:54:26.571 terms and conditions and to follow the rules. And we are aware that some 00:54:26.571 --> 00:54:31.906 practitioners are not following the rules by creating applicant accounts when 00:54:31.906 --> 00:54:36.146 they’re legal representatives, and you should really only have one legal 00:54:36.146 --> 00:54:40.390 representative account. Um, also, providing insufficient electronic 00:54:40.390 --> 00:54:45.796 signatures. So, this is not in accordance with how we set up the representative 00:54:45.796 --> 00:54:51.875 account, and we may take action and suspend your account if you violate the 00:54:51.875 --> 00:54:56.955 terms and conditions, so just a word of caution to, to not do that. 00:55:00.461 --> 00:55:05.372 We became aware during H-1B Cap season last year that the US Treasury Department 00:55:05.372 --> 00:55:14.458 limits credit card transactions to $24,999.99 per card per day. And what 00:55:14.458 --> 00:55:19.720 happened is when certain practitioners were submitting a large volume of cases 00:55:19.720 --> 00:55:26.468 and payments at once, they ran the risk of their transactions being declined, and so, 00:55:26.468 --> 00:55:31.512 to avoid that, we’re suggesting here in the Customer Solutions section, try to use 00:55:31.512 --> 00:55:36.266 other forms of payment, such as ACH withdrawal from any US bank account. We 00:55:36.266 --> 00:55:41.204 will take an ACH withdrawal. You can use debit cards, as well as credit cards, and 00:55:41.204 --> 00:55:49.905 then pay over multiple days whenever possible. And then the last slide before 00:55:49.905 --> 00:55:56.192 we move over to Q&A is… uh, this is where you can get technical support. So, this 00:55:56.192 --> 00:56:03.723 link will be posted in the links box at the end of our presentation, and this is 00:56:03.723 --> 00:56:07.723 where you can request technical support. So, you can go to that link. 00:56:07.723 --> 00:56:16.085 There’s a short web form where you indicate who you are, and fill out a few 00:56:16.085 --> 00:56:22.779 details. And then you'll get to this sect- ion, and you can, um, ask for help getting 00:56:22.779 --> 00:56:27.653 new online access codes… Those codes are valid for 90 days, so if yours has expired 00:56:27.653 --> 00:56:33.185 , you can request a new one. You can change how the one-time PIN is delivered 00:56:33.185 --> 00:56:37.655 to you by changing your phone number or your email address. Resetting your pass- 00:56:37.655 --> 00:56:42.502 word, and unlocking an account that’s locked. So those are the services that you 00:56:42.502 --> 00:56:47.896 can get, and those again route to our tec- hnical helpdesk, and the response times 00:56:47.896 --> 00:56:52.581 are pretty quick. I actually did a demo… I think it was Monday or Tuesday, and kind 00:56:52.581 --> 00:56:57.910 of created an inquiry, and I got an email the next day. So, those general timeframes 00:56:57.910 --> 00:57:06.292 are two to three days, but they’re pretty quick on those. And now, I think, Fred, 00:57:06.292 --> 00:57:10.552 I'm going to turn it back over to you for some Q&A. 00:57:11.719 --> 00:57:21.116 Uh, yes, thank you very much. Um, I want to first apologize for any audio or visual 00:57:21.116 --> 00:57:28.402 issues that you, the listeners, may have encountered during this session. Um, a 00:57:28.402 --> 00:57:34.537 copy of the PowerPoint that we just went over will be made available, as well as a 00:57:34.537 --> 00:57:41.193 recording of this session in a few days. So we apologize again for any technical 00:57:41.193 --> 00:57:46.939 issues that you may have experienced. Uh, oh, in general, I will say that we have 00:57:46.939 --> 00:57:58.758 received a bevy of questions and comments and concerns expressing, you know, both 00:57:58.758 --> 00:58:04.241 questions as well as points of frustration with the system, especially regarding the 00:58:04.241 --> 00:58:11.821 G-28 and exact matching. Uh, before we go any further with some of the other 00:58:11.821 --> 00:58:19.314 questions, can you please go over the matching issue again, just, just break it 00:58:19.314 --> 00:58:26.187 down as to what needs to match, and how exact does the match need to be? Just so 00:58:26.187 --> 00:58:28.752 our listeners can absorb it slowly. 00:58:29.627 --> 00:58:34.804 Okay. I’m going to go back to Slide... ‘cause I think the visual is helpful… I’m 00:58:34.804 --> 00:58:42.766 gonna go back to Slide 34. Sorry, Slide 33 . Um, these are the fields that have to 00:58:42.766 --> 00:58:48.724 match. I made like a cheat sheet for you. So, the online account number always has 00:58:48.724 --> 00:58:54.587 to be exact. I do see sometimes variations in the online account number. Of course, 00:58:54.587 --> 00:58:59.442 those didn’t drop to the right account if they made a typo in that. That’s why… Get 00:58:59.442 --> 00:59:04.781 a template and just use it. Don’t have, don’t create new templates of the G-28 for 00:59:04.781 --> 00:59:10.160 each case. That’s just, you know, that’s not a great practice. The last name, again 00:59:10.160 --> 00:59:15.829 , has to match. First name has to match. So, as I said earlier, if you are Robert 00:59:15.829 --> 00:59:21.039 Smith, you’re Robert Smith every single time. You’re not Rob Smith or Rob Smith 00:59:21.039 --> 00:59:26.913 the 3rd. You’re Robert Smith. Every single time. The address is where we see the most 00:59:26.913 --> 00:59:34.648 variation. Uh, for example, 123 Main Street. If it was St. instead of Street 00:59:34.648 --> 00:59:43.411 spelled out, that would be a mismatch. Um, I, I don’t know how to… I mean, this is 00:59:43.411 --> 00:59:49.451 the state and the zipcode, we don’t often … We don’t see very much variation in that 00:59:50.253 --> 00:59:54.753 . Um, country, we do see some. Sometimes it’s USA, sometimes it’s United States. 00:59:55.191 --> 01:00:01.678 Sometimes it’s US. So, just get your template and make it stick. Don’t vary it. 01:00:01.678 --> 01:00:05.918 Don’t change the top portion. There’s literally no need to change the top 01:00:05.918 --> 01:00:12.407 portion of the G-28. Um, we don’t see variation often in the bar number, 01:00:12.508 --> 01:00:17.228 although we do sometimes see people not put in the bar number. Um, but we do 01:00:17.228 --> 01:00:22.618 see variations in the licensing authority or the state jurisdiction. Instead of list 01:00:22.618 --> 01:00:29.641 -ing the state, such as Kentucky or DC or California, which would preferably be 01:00:29.641 --> 01:00:37.720 the 2-letter abbreviation, we see Third Circuit Judicial Branch or Supreme Court 01:00:37.720 --> 01:00:43.401 of Whatever. And so, each… and if you change it, then that’s a mismatch, and 01:00:43.401 --> 01:00:49.515 that’s another new account. So, just get your template fixed and just stick with it 01:00:49.673 --> 01:00:53.863 . Don’t change it from case to case. There's really no need to. 01:00:55.220 --> 01:01:01.566 Yeah, thank you for that. Um, I’m seeing some other questions here that ask this 01:01:01.566 --> 01:01:08.026 same question generally. And it tails on to what you just described in terms of the 01:01:08.026 --> 01:01:17.968 matching. So G-28s may have been submitted in the past by attorneys for their clients 01:01:17.968 --> 01:01:25.012 , and on paper cases, and before they set up their online accounts, and now when 01:01:25.012 --> 01:01:32.669 they’re trying to match the G-28 on their, on those old cases may have been 01:01:32.669 --> 01:01:39.816 different in any of those critical respect -s, uh, to the current G-28 that’s matched 01:01:39.816 --> 01:01:47.836 to their profile. So there’s that, those preexisting cases where the G-28s might 01:01:47.836 --> 01:01:55.583 not match because you can’t go back in time. We understand, and I just want to 01:01:55.583 --> 01:02:06.146 punctuate that, that going forward, consistency and exactitude is needed. But 01:02:06.146 --> 01:02:11.822 can you address, just very briefly, and if not here, maybe we can do it in, uh, post- 01:02:11.822 --> 01:02:19.423 presentation discussions that we post online, what to do about those old cases? 01:02:20.470 --> 01:02:27.217 Those old paper cases, where the G-28s were done, you know, perhaps years ago, or 01:02:27.217 --> 01:02:30.827 months before the online account was set up? 01:02:30.827 --> 01:02:35.120 If… yeah. There’s, I mean, there’s one opportunity. The way the account works now 01:02:35.120 --> 01:02:42.041 , the way it’s set up, is there’s one opportunity to bring in paper cases. And, 01:02:42.041 --> 01:02:49.198 so, if you have a lot of those, access, um , the account access notices, you may want 01:02:49.198 --> 01:02:54.010 to check and see which account number. If you see a repeating account number, 01:02:54.417 --> 01:02:59.307 then pick that one, but you’re only going to be able to add paper cases that are 01:02:59.307 --> 01:03:06.117 linked to one account. So, if your paper cases in the past had a variety of G-28s, 01:03:07.691 --> 01:03:11.731 you’re not gonna be able to link those. At least not the way the account is set up 01:03:11.731 --> 01:03:18.856 now. I regret that it caused so much frustration for you, and, um, but this is 01:03:18.856 --> 01:03:25.178 kinda like a date-forward fix from here on out. You can go clean up the G-28. Make 01:03:25.178 --> 01:03:31.696 sure everyone on your staff uses the exact same template. They should purge all prior 01:03:31.696 --> 01:03:40.549 versions of their G-28, and, and use a unified G-28, which could be ours, or it 01:03:40.549 --> 01:03:45.049 could be, you know, the one that you all use with your software. But use a 01:03:45.049 --> 01:03:49.482 consistent one going forward. We are working to make this process better. 01:03:50.228 --> 01:03:55.184 That’s one of the slides that I referred to earlier. Um, it’s not going to stay 01:03:55.184 --> 01:03:59.524 like this forever, but it’s going to be like this for a bit. 01:04:00.929 --> 01:04:06.152 Thank you for addressing that. Um, here's another question… How can someone ensure 01:04:06.152 --> 01:04:12.682 that all legal representatives at their firm or organization have access to the 01:04:12.682 --> 01:04:18.169 same cases without having to log in to multiple accounts? 01:04:20.839 --> 01:04:25.691 Uh, I’ll take that one, Fred. Um, so, again, remember it’s one account per each 01:04:25.691 --> 01:04:29.911 email address, and you’re not supposed to be sharing accounts. Among other things, 01:04:29.911 --> 01:04:34.558 you get a one-time PIN every single time you log in. We don’t want you sharing PINs 01:04:34.558 --> 01:04:39.017 with other attorneys. So, the way the account is configured now, it’s not 01:04:39.017 --> 01:04:45.217 possible for multiple users in a law firm to access all cases represented by that 01:04:45.217 --> 01:04:50.919 law firm because each account is tied to an individual account holder, which, who 01:04:50.919 --> 01:04:55.902 has a unique email address. So, we don’t want you sharing sign-in information, 01:04:55.902 --> 01:05:00.411 passwords, or the one-time PINs. Each legal representative must have their own 01:05:00.411 --> 01:05:06.033 online account to submit forms for clients and manage their cases. We are exploring 01:05:06.033 --> 01:05:13.273 ways to enhance the online account user experience to include other features that 01:05:13.273 --> 01:05:19.438 would enable multiple users in a firm to file cases online and access cases filed 01:05:19.438 --> 01:05:24.156 online and interact with the agency with regard to those cases. That’s the best 01:05:24.156 --> 01:05:30.276 I’ve got for you now. We’re, we’re definitely not going to keep everything 01:05:30.276 --> 01:05:36.216 the way it is now in perpetuity. We know it’s, um, not fully meeting the need, so 01:05:36.216 --> 01:05:41.100 just stay tuned. We will come back to you with further updates. 01:05:43.847 --> 01:05:50.454 Thank you for that. In just a moment we'll … Trying to find another good question 01:05:50.454 --> 01:06:16.506 for you here… Now, there’s quite a few questions… 01:06:16.506 --> 01:06:29.993 Just a moment… Okay, let’s see… 01:06:32.368 --> 01:06:37.642 Now, here’s a good one. Here’s a good one. If someone files a paper form that gets a 01:06:37.642 --> 01:06:42.893 receipt number that begins with an IOU [IOE], they receive a notice with an 01:06:42.893 --> 01:06:50.984 online code to link that form to their account. Um, does that, does that code 01:06:50.984 --> 01:06:56.904 expire, is there a way to, to, um, uh… how do they resolve that? 01:07:03.723 --> 01:07:09.253 Um, so the Online Access Code is valid for 90 days. You should be getting it in the 01:07:09.319 --> 01:07:15.315 mail. Uh, we mail those out within 2 weeks of filing. Um, but, you know, in the case 01:07:15.315 --> 01:07:19.575 of when there were frontlogs or if there's , you know, some delay… It shouldn’t 01:07:19.575 --> 01:07:23.596 be fully expired by the time you get it. It doesn’t take 90 days for us to mail 01:07:23.596 --> 01:07:28.493 that out. But, in any case, if the 90 days have lapsed, and the code is no longer 01:07:28.493 --> 01:07:33.881 valid, then you can request a new one. And that is that, the technical support 01:07:33.881 --> 01:07:38.515 link that I showed you earlier (https://my.uscis.gov/account/v1/needhelp) 01:07:38.515 --> 01:07:42.675 that is in the links box that I believe we are going to send out at the end of the 01:07:42.675 --> 01:07:47.136 presentation. It is also highlighted in the slide deck, so you can see it there. 01:07:47.757 --> 01:07:51.517 Um, we get those requests all the time. Sometimes people don’t fully understand 01:07:51.517 --> 01:07:55.393 that notice. You know, they’re like “what is this linking?” “What does this mean?” 01:07:55.393 --> 01:07:59.944 And they don’t realize until later. It's basically giving them online access 01:07:59.944 --> 01:08:05.557 to a paper case. And I will say… this is complicated stuff. We’re the only agency 01:08:05.557 --> 01:08:10.871 in the federal government doing anything remotely this sophisticated. So, you know, 01:08:10.871 --> 01:08:17.962 we know it’s, um, been frustrating. But, I mean, it’s an amazing, it’s an amazing 01:08:17.962 --> 01:08:22.362 feature to be able to have that, and we’re the only ones doing it. So, they 01:08:22.362 --> 01:08:26.602 can request the new online access code at that webform link. 01:08:26.958 --> 01:08:34.381 Okay, thank you. It, I, I see that that’s there. For paper-filed cases that are 01:08:34.381 --> 01:08:43.045 added to the online account, there seems to be 2 categories of, uh, functionality: 01:08:43.045 --> 01:08:50.842 cases that have full functionality and cases that have more limited… Uh, uh, 01:08:50.842 --> 01:08:54.214 um… Can you go into that a little bit? 01:08:57.178 --> 01:09:02.484 Sure. So, the, the features that are available in the online account depend on 01:09:02.484 --> 01:09:07.743 whether the form was initially filed online or by paper, and which case 01:09:07.743 --> 01:09:14.470 management system is used to process it. So, we have 11 forms available for online 01:09:14.470 --> 01:09:19.831 filing, and 9 of those can be filed on paper and then later linked to the account 01:09:19.831 --> 01:09:25.777 . So those are cases that begin with the letters IOE. If an applicant or legal 01:09:25.777 --> 01:09:31.930 representative links an IOE case to their account, they will have almost all of the 01:09:31.930 --> 01:09:36.612 benefits and functionalities of the online account as if they filed online. Like, I 01:09:36.612 --> 01:09:44.137 like to call it the bells and whistles. You can see case status and case history, 01:09:44.137 --> 01:09:50.339 and send secure messages. The only thing that you won't have is the receipt notice 01:09:50.339 --> 01:09:56.916 for that paper case. So, to sum it up, if you submitted a case directly online, you 01:09:56.916 --> 01:10:01.356 will have full access to all the account functionalities. Everything we mentioned. 01:10:01.595 --> 01:10:06.270 And if you submitted a paper case and received a receipt number that begins 01:10:06.270 --> 01:10:11.024 with IOE, you should be able to, you know… linking at the beginning of your 01:10:11.024 --> 01:10:14.734 account creation, you will be able to access most account features except that 01:10:14.734 --> 01:10:19.533 original receipt notice. So, one thing I want to mention is about, Case Status 01:10:19.533 --> 01:10:26.173 Online… If you have a legacy Case Status Online account, um, that’s great. 01:10:26.324 --> 01:10:32.783 We disabled new account creation in October 2020. So, if you’re a new attorney 01:10:32.783 --> 01:10:37.858 , just beginning to practice and just wanted to create an account, you can 01:10:37.858 --> 01:10:44.391 create a USCIS online account, but, as I mentioned before, it’s not possible to add 01:10:44.391 --> 01:10:50.454 a, um, like a LIN case, or ESC, or MSC. It may be one day, but right now that’s not 01:10:50.454 --> 01:10:55.443 possible. So, the only alternative for you is to check Case Status for those 01:10:55.443 --> 01:11:04.192 individual cases. So, let’s see… I’m just looking here, um, yeah. Adding a non-IOE 01:11:04.192 --> 01:11:09.266 paper case is not currently an option in the representative account. So, either use 01:11:09.266 --> 01:11:16.397 that Case Status Online account that you had before October 2020 or individually 01:11:16.397 --> 01:11:20.827 monitor the cases. I’m sorry it’s not a, not a better service right now. 01:11:24.865 --> 01:11:37.050 Thank you. Uh… Does the USCIS currently have a Form I-912 in development (the 01:11:37.050 --> 01:11:39.650 Request for Fee Waiver)? 01:11:41.465 --> 01:11:46.029 No, we don’t currently have it in develop- ment at this time. If you are requesting a 01:11:46.029 --> 01:11:53.505 fee waiver or a reduced fee, you need to file a paper benefit form and a paper Form 01:11:53.505 --> 01:11:58.002 I-912. We'll eventually have this form online, but we don’t have any timeframe 01:11:58.002 --> 01:11:59.992 for it right now. 01:12:00.821 --> 01:12:05.211 In some of the engagements that we do externally, we have heard from stakeholder 01:12:05.211 --> 01:12:11.812 -s about a significant demand to make fee waivers available in the account. Um, and 01:12:11.812 --> 01:12:15.902 while we work to integrate fee waivers into our online filing roadmap, we’re 01:12:15.902 --> 01:12:20.437 exploring ways to enhance messaging to educate the public about fee waivers, 01:12:20.437 --> 01:12:25.162 eligibility requirements, and how to request a fee waiver by paper. 01:12:27.593 --> 01:12:32.478 So, I have a couple questions regarding the Contact Center and how to resolve 01:12:32.478 --> 01:12:39.934 access issues. Um, can you address that? Um, there appears to be, uh, long wait 01:12:39.934 --> 01:12:42.724 times with what we’re seeing. 01:12:44.020 --> 01:12:50.375 Definitely. So, um, yeah… So this is… I mean, we’re all kind of dealing in a post- 01:12:50.375 --> 01:12:54.905 COVID world where we have, um. We’ve had, um, some staffing shortages. We are hiring 01:12:54.905 --> 01:12:59.255 up now, so the future looks bright! Um, that’s one of the great benefits of the 01:12:59.255 --> 01:13:04.020 account, is that, in the representative account, you can send us a secure message. 01:13:04.195 --> 01:13:08.968 You don’t have to sit on the phone and on hold or trying to get, you know, 01:13:08.968 --> 01:13:14.378 through to a live person. You can send us a secure message from your account. Now, 01:13:14.378 --> 01:13:18.398 granted, it will take time for us to respond to it, but we do respond to every 01:13:18.398 --> 01:13:23.373 one. And, um, it’s going to take time, but again, you’ve saved, you know, an hour or 01:13:23.373 --> 01:13:27.042 two of being on hold on the phone. So, that's another advantage of the, of the 01:13:27.042 --> 01:13:30.983 representative account is that you can… Once you create that account, you can send 01:13:30.983 --> 01:13:36.263 us secure messages. We do respectfully ask to marry up your inquiries with our 01:13:36.263 --> 01:13:40.996 processing times webpage. Don’t inquire about a case that you know is within 01:13:40.996 --> 01:13:46.755 normal processing times because that’s a huge workload for us. And, um, it doesn’t, 01:13:46.755 --> 01:13:50.735 it doesn’t move. When it’s within normal cycle times, we’re not. It doesn’t do any- 01:13:50.735 --> 01:13:57.280 thing. It’s not of value. Um, so, yeah. So, the secure messaging feature that's 01:13:57.280 --> 01:14:01.060 built into the account is one of the great benefits, especially for attorneys. 01:14:02.865 --> 01:14:06.485 Thank you. Uh, it looks like I got one more question here that I can pose. 01:14:06.485 --> 01:14:10.462 There's... We have many, many, many questions, and really some very good ques- 01:14:10.462 --> 01:14:19.550 tions, and we'll share them with USCIS after this call. Um, does USCIS have any 01:14:19.550 --> 01:14:27.606 best practices, kind of FAQs, or, uh… for attorneys and accredited representatives? 01:14:30.610 --> 01:14:36.125 Um, we have some, but we’re developing more. So, one of the things that we kind 01:14:36.125 --> 01:14:41.520 of realized is when we were developing the slide deck is that we had a lot to 01:14:41.520 --> 01:14:47.597 share with you all. And I know it was kind of dense, and we did a lot of talking, but 01:14:47.597 --> 01:14:52.837 we felt that every one of those pieces of information was relevant to your practice 01:14:52.837 --> 01:14:57.818 and to the issues that you’re encountering in the account. So when we post that slide 01:14:57.818 --> 01:15:05.449 deck, we do have, like, 5 kinda tips in there. Probably the biggest tip is: keep 01:15:05.449 --> 01:15:10.828 your G-28s consistent. There’s… As I’ve said, there’s really no need to alter your 01:15:10.828 --> 01:15:16.787 G-28, the top portion, each time you submit a case. So, just to have good 01:15:16.787 --> 01:15:22.883 housekeeping practices, to have some kind of shared drive, where the team can pull a 01:15:22.883 --> 01:15:29.251 consistent G-28 every single time. And, other than that, we will, on our File 01:15:29.251 --> 01:15:35.049 Online page, let me just… I’ll forward to that, Fred, which I had up, but I moved 01:15:35.049 --> 01:15:44.817 back... But here, on our File Online page, you can take a picture of this QR code, 01:15:44.957 --> 01:15:50.912 and that will take you to the File Online page, which, the URL is up here. This does 01:15:50.912 --> 01:15:57.248 have some helpful questions and answers, FAQs... We have some videos and other 01:15:57.248 --> 01:16:03.139 resources. So I definitely would bookmark that and keep checking it from time to 01:16:03.139 --> 01:16:08.416 time. When we come back in the next few months with another engagement, I hope 01:16:08.416 --> 01:16:14.450 that we have a few more resources for you all to help navigate some of the, some of 01:16:14.450 --> 01:16:19.422 the issues with the account. But the ones that we focused on were kind of the top 01:16:19.422 --> 01:16:26.012 ones. We did talk to some attorneys who do like online filing. They, um, recognize 01:16:26.012 --> 01:16:30.230 that it can be, as some of you commented in the poll, it’s a little cumbersome, 01:16:30.230 --> 01:16:35.224 there’s some duplicate data entry… But they felt that it was well worth the extra 01:16:35.224 --> 01:16:40.446 time because of the benefits. Because you get every notice in the account. You have 01:16:40.446 --> 01:16:45.485 secure messaging. You can respond to an RFE very quickly and easily, and it goes 01:16:45.485 --> 01:16:52.643 directly into the case. Um, you can update , the address. The, clients can update 01:16:52.643 --> 01:16:56.603 their address in their own account, and it takes immediately. They still have to do 01:16:56.603 --> 01:17:01.422 the Change of Address Online, but that address update takes immediately in the 01:17:01.422 --> 01:17:05.733 case management system. So, there's so many benefits to having an account that 01:17:05.733 --> 01:17:10.101 some of the representatives I’ve spoken to are like, “Yeah. This is definitely the 01:17:10.101 --> 01:17:16.315 way to go. Because it’s worth it. It’s worth an extra 10 minutes to, to do it.” 01:17:20.605 --> 01:17:28.248 Okay, well, uh… it looks like we’re… We've used up our full 75 minutes here. Uh, I 01:17:28.248 --> 01:17:36.820 would like to thank our USCIS speakers today, and, uh, turn this back over to 01:17:36.820 --> 01:17:39.410 Bertha Anderson. Bertha…? 01:17:41.346 --> 01:17:46.350 Thank you, Fred, and I want to take this opportunity to thank Phyllis, Fred, Leah, 01:17:46.350 --> 01:17:52.000 and Janna for making this session possible . Just a reminder that if you haven’t 01:17:52.000 --> 01:17:56.580 subscribed to receive our event notifications, please do so by using the 01:17:56.580 --> 01:18:02.036 link that we made available on the screen for this webinar. For your awareness, we 01:18:02.036 --> 01:18:07.610 are providing links to all the content that was covered in today’s session. You 01:18:07.610 --> 01:18:12.980 should be able to see the information on the screen. Also, as I mentioned at the 01:18:12.980 --> 01:18:17.460 beginning of the engagement, we will post on our website a summary of today's 01:18:17.460 --> 01:18:22.480 engagement along with the recording of this session and relevant Q&As, so stay 01:18:22.480 --> 01:18:26.960 tuned for that information. If you need to email the CIS Ombudsman regarding a case 01:18:26.960 --> 01:18:34.306 assistance request, the email address is cisombudsman@hq.dhs.gov. 01:18:35.182 --> 01:18:39.272 For information relating to stakeholder engagements, the email address is 01:18:39.272 --> 01:18:47.914 cisombudsman.publicaffairs@hq.dhs.gov. This concludes today’s webinar. Thank you 01:18:47.966 --> 01:18:49.696 and have a great day! 01:18:50.761 --> 01:18:54.621 That does conclude the webinar for today. We thank you for your participation and 01:18:54.621 --> 01:18:56.720 ask that you please disconnect your lines.