Biometric test

[Kirsty 0]

Hi, my NOA arrived on May 15 and I haven't heard about a biometric test yet, even though i see people who filed after me have received an appointment. When I get it, will be close to me (Im in Los Angeles) or will i have to travel?

Also, what does Touched mean? I see it on some peoples timelines - thank you!

[Bobby+Umit 161]

Hi, my NOA arrived on May 15 and I haven't heard about a biometric test yet, even though i see people who filed after me have received an appointment. When I get it, will be close to me (Im in Los Angeles) or will i have to travel?

Also, what does Touched mean? I see it on some peoples timelines - thank you!

They usually give you a location that is close to your address - but that varies sometimes.

Touched means they have seen progress on their case (online). Could mean they moved the package from one desk to another, or doing something on it, or moving it on to the next stop.

[Old Dominion 26]

It takes up to eight weeks after the NOA1 to be notified of a biometrics appointment. Depending on where you are located, it may be at a convenient location. Ours was not, because we are not in an urban area.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Hi, my NOA arrived on May 15 and I haven't heard about a biometric test yet, even though i see people who filed after me have received an appointment. When I get it, will be close to me (Im in Los Angeles) or will i have to travel?

Also, what does Touched mean? I see it on some peoples timelines - thank you!

You may be able to do an "infopass" appointment for walk in biometrics. It is not a "test" you simply give fingerprints and have a photo taken.

[JeremyR 8]

Touched means they have seen progress on their case (online). Could mean they moved the package from one desk to another, or doing something on it, or moving it on to the next stop.

To expand this a little, if you just go to the USCIS website, enter your case number in the little box and look up it's status, you won't see much info. However, if you create an account here and add your receipt numbers to that account then as well as the status message for your case, you will be able to see the date that the case was "Last updated". When it changes to the current date, that's what people refer to as a 'touch'.

From what I can gather reading the archives of VJ, every time someone at USCIS so much as picks up the file, they scan it's barcode and this action creates a 'touch'. Of course, what you can't tell is what they actually did with your file . I used to joke that a touch probably meant the office cleaner had picked it up, blown the dust off and put it down again

The system is imperfect though (understatement). Not everyone will see their touches but that does not mean no progress is happening.