Fact Sheet: USCIS.gov Redesign Highlights

Background

On June 25, President Obama announced that in the next 90 days USCIS would launch a vastly improved USCIS.gov public website to help customers navigate the immigration system and remain up-to-date regarding their case status. USCIS has committed to delivering on this promise by incorporating both internal and external stakeholder feedback.

From March to June 2009, USCIS surveyed a broad range of users regarding general functionality of our website through focus group discussions, usability tests, and public surveys. Groups surveyed in this process included national and local stakeholders, customers and USCIS employees. 

The Redesigned USCIS.gov

Based on these findings, the redesigned USCIS.gov website is more customer-centric, providing customers with a “one-stop shop” for immigration services and information. The new site features clear language that meets the needs of our customers, makes customer service tools more accessible, simplifies website navigation and improves search capability.

New features on the redesigned site include:

• A customer-centric home page which allows customers to search for information either based on who they are and what they want to do in the new ‘Where to Start’ tool or by major immigration topics.
• ‘My Case Status’ replaced ‘Case Status Online’ and added a new option for customers to receive alerts through text messages sent to their mobile phones.
• Customers, for the first time, have access to national volumes and trends associated with key immigration petitions in the form of an information dashboard. In addition to increasing transparency, this adds context to the customer experience by enhancing their understanding of current level of receipts, completions, and number of applications pending. Customers are also able to download data supporting the dashboard.
• An improved and maturing search engine which employs a combination of technologies to enable better, faster searches on USCIS.gov. 

Existing website services that are enhanced with the redesign include:

• Reorganizing our existing content to make information easier to find.
• Transforming content so that it is written clearly and meets the needs of our customers. 
• Better context for customers about the adjudication process and how their case is progressing through ‘My Case Status.’ Information provided to customers regarding their case includes:
  • The processing step in which their case is currently located
  • How the current processing step relates to the overall process
  • National goals and average processing times
  • Specific processing times for the office where their case is pending

Web Redesign & Agency Transformation

This project closely aligns with USCIS multi-year business transformation initiative by bringing customers closer to an account-based model. Improvements made to the website in this redesign will accommodate any expansion of services, including those that result from the USCIS transformation initiative.

Related Files

• Fact Sheet: USCIS.gov Redesign Highlights (1KB PDF)