USCIS I-485 Tracker for Green Card Applicants

Update 11/11/2009: USCIS did release pending I-485 data, but in a pdf document. We have turned it into an immigration tracker. Check it out!

USCIS is getting ready to launch its immigration tracker, maybe as soon as late September!

Aneesh Chopra, the first U.S. chief technology officer, mentioned it during a speech in Silicon Valley today:

‘Customer-friendly may not be at the top of your list of words to express how this agency [USCIS] operates,’ Mr. Chopra said. Still, he argued that the immigrant workers were ‘hungry’ to do better and should soon have tools to help them provide people with better information like how far along they are in the green-card process.

We discussed the tool in an April 27th post. And we are glad that USCIS is actually pulling it together already (vs. two years from now).

Regardless of what USCIS would name it, the “tracker” supposedly will provide real status information about I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. According to Mr. Aytes, USCIS Acting Deputy Director, it will be much better than the existing status checking system which mostly display one status: “your case is still pending.” Instead, the much anticipated web-based tool is capable of showing “how many people are waiting in line with pending adjustment applications or how long it may be before USCIS can process and approve his application.”

And according to President Obama, immigrants will not only get to check their case status online, but through email and text messaging as well.

Well over 500,000 people are now waiting for their green cards, and even more are waiting to get in line. They can certainly use a status tracker once in a while. Although it doesn’t fix visa retrogression, which is the reason why the line is so long, it hopefully can provide at least an insider’s view on when their ordeal may be over.

Now we just have to wait for the tracker, and see if it actually works.

Here is a sneak peak of the new “vastly improved” USCIS website, to be launched September 22, 2009:

Redesigned USCIS Website
Redesigned USCIS Website

6 thoughts on “USCIS I-485 Tracker for Green Card Applicants”

  1. And what good will this do? We already know there are to many in this country.
    It’s high time we close the borders and start enforcing the immigration laws. Stop luring them here with talk of amnesty and giving them freebies at the taxpayers expense which includes our social security and medicare. ENOUGH ALREADY! We are bankrupt! because of them!!!! This country is being invaded and our government allows it…..they welcome them. Where is the fence? Why has it taken near 4 years to build? Why extend visas and give out even more visas and let’s not leave out the LOTTERY of Kentucky! Why is this government spending 1 million $$$$ to REMOVE lookout posts along the Mexican border? Where is the National Guard?
    These are the questions the American people what answers to. If this country enforced the laws we wouldn’t need “trackers” we would know they were all deported..as they should be! This is a waste of yet more taxpayer money…..on immigration.

  2. @katiesue2

    It is because of narrow-minded jerks like you that several US nationals get a wrong image for immigrants. Let me try to get your facts right –

    1. When a immigrant works here legally, they pay for medicare and social security tax. However, since they are immigrants, they cannot take benefits from it. So, in fact, they are doing favor to people like you and you should be thankful for their charity toward your social security benefits.

    2. Legal immigration is expensive. So the money invested in these programs does not come from tax payers money. In fact, filing for immigration is so expensive that lot of unused funds gets used to pay for food stamps for people like you who are too lazy to work and blame everything on the government and now immigrants (a new fad).

    Other than these, there are several qualitative aspects that I will not get into because you are just too less educated and narrow minded to understand those arguments.

    Good luck! Untalented and lazy people like you should be weeded out of this country so that America can continue prospering. Compete or die. Guess Darwin made a very valid point, America should prosper on the philosophy of “Survival of the fittest.” In this case, intellectual and skills matter.

  3. @katiesue2

    You obviously have no idea how the process works.

    We came here, legally allowed by a certain number of Visas that are limited in number. Every Visa worker is checked for criminal background, history, studies and everything else. We work, pay taxes and have no benefit, such as Social Security and unemployment. We fill in the workforce whenever – and only if – there’s a lack of skilled people.
    In the meantime, we wait for 5-10 years to get a GreenCard.

    So, in two words: we pay for YOUR Social Security, and help YOUR Economy and have FEW rights is any at all.

    Does this explain something or sheds some light in your mind?
    Probably not. Unfortunately is because of people like you that legal immigration is treated badly.

    Let’s not confuse illegal immigration with legal Visa holders.
    Let’s not confuse criminals with hones workers.
    So I will not confuse your comment with pure stupidity.

    I hope one day you will understand…

  4. I think this sounds something like using a sponge to clean up a lake, where the lake represents the amount of difficulty faced by candidates applying for green cards. There is so little transparency. I see this as a big part of the reason why the eb5 green card visa remains underused.

  5. Great Article. Thanks for the info. Does anyone know where I can find a blank USCIS Form I-485 to fill out?

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