Online updates & the whole 'touched' thing!

[marie09 5]

So our NOA's are here - so excited/relieved!

I went on the USCIS website and signed up for e-mail alerts, it wouldn't let me do both e-mail and mobile for some reason?!? But i'm sure e-mail is more than enough!

When I put in our form numbers individually it says they are under initial review and lists the date of our NOAs - 11/10. However under my account where i signed up for the alerts: It lists all our forms as updated on 11/12. So I know they worked on them on 11/12.

So I am confused where the "touched" phrase comes from? Is this something our e-mail alerts will show? Or is it another page I need to look at?

Thanks guys!!!

[marie09 5]

I went on the USCIS website and signed up for e-mail alerts, it wouldn't let me do both e-mail and mobile for some reason?!? But i'm sure e-mail is more than enough!

To update I did manage to request mobile updates too...

[juliava 80]

The "touches" could have millions of reasons and unfortunately we don't have a way to find them out. My case was last time "touched" on 10/29 and still nothing...The good thing about this touches is that this way you know that your paperwork is not lost!!!

Plus...It is great that you can see all your cases online!

In my case it took a while to see all of them. Anyway at this moment it doesn't even show that I had an AOS interview, it is "stuck" under "Acceptance".

Good luck Marie, you will be fine!!!

[Otto 83]

When I put in our form numbers individually it says they are under initial review and lists the date of our NOAs - 11/10. However under my account where i signed up for the alerts: It lists all our forms as updated on 11/12. So I know they worked on them on 11/12.

That is what is referred to as a touch - when (or if) the Last Updated date changes, we call a 'Touch.'

Here's what happens.

Your case is received at USCIS - it is put into a file folder and assigned a label - the label has a bar-code that can be scanned. Whenever that bar code is scanned, the 'Last Updated' date will change (I imagine it is possible to get scanned multiple times in a day, but the date would obviously change only once, for example). I would also imagine there are a lot more reasons than someone actually working on a file/case that would trigger a 'Touch', things like moving the file, counting the file or otherwise tracking it through the process.

It is a nice tool to calm our nerves so we at least know they have our case and they (usually) know where it is at any given time (spending most of it's life in a stack most likely), but usually there's not much other meaning to it than something like what I described.

Hope that helps...

[Otto 83]

...but usually there's not much other meaning to it than something like what I described.

Edited to Add:

..don't mean much until you get close to your projected adjudication date-range (then it gets interesting... but even then you might not get 'Touched' until the day you get approved).

[marie09 5]

Thanks you guys - all makes sense now