Contact the USCIS by Calling the USCIS IVR Telephone System

Do you know how to contact the USCIS? The US Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, is an important part of the Department of Homeland Security as it oversees lawful immigration to the country. If you are a US citizen or permanent resident or employer, you file petitions for foreign-born citizens with this federal agency. Applications to change status from one nonimmigrant category to another, or to adjust status to permanent residence, are also adjudicated here.

Fairly recently, if you tried to contact the USCIS by calling them to ask why you have not yet received a reply regarding a petition or application, you would face an array of automated responses. Those times are long gone, well sort of.

Now you can actually talk to the USCIS. Your call will be among the 50,000 calls the USCIS receives on the average every day. But more on that later.

Get basic information on a Humanitarian Reinstatement before you file the waiver. 

An average day for communications

How many cases go through the USCIS on an average day? On an average day, the USCIS:

• Adjudicates 30,000 requests for various immigration benefits.
• Processes 3,000 applications to sponsor relatives and future spouses. This includes the I-130 Petitions filed by U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents for their qualified family members.
• Analyzes more than 700 tips, leads, cases and detections for potential fraud, public safety, and national security concerns.
• Processes refugee applications around the world in support of the refugee admissions ceiling of 18,000 refugees for fiscal year 2020.
• Grants asylum to 100 individuals already in the United States.
• Screens 400 people for protection based on a credible fear of persecution if they return home.
• Serves 1,430 people at informational appointments and interview 7,000 people in our 88 domestic field offices.
• Fingerprints and photographs 14,000 people at 133 application support centers.
• Approves applications and petitions to help unite 12 foreign-born orphans with the Americans who want to adopt them.
• Grants lawful permanent residence to 2,200 people and issue 4,000 Green Cards. This service covers the applications for adjustment of status of individuals already in the U.S. Green cards are mailed to the address indicated in an immigrant visa applicant’s DS-260 and paid for ($220) before departure from the country of origin.
• Welcomes 3,195 new citizens at naturalization ceremonies—that’s one every 27 seconds. Typically, about 15 of these new citizens are members of the U.S. armed forces.
• Ensures the employment eligibility of 100,000 new hires in the United States.
• Receives 800,000 visitor sessions to their website.
• Receives 50,000 phone calls to their toll-free phone line. 

Left unsaid of course is the waiting time you have to endure while waiting for a real person to talk to, or listening to the message to press the key you have to.

The latest way to contact the USCIS

But now you can talk to the USCIS. Instead of your fingers and keys to select keypad options, you can use your voice instead to communicate what you need.

You may now SPEAK to the IVR system instead. The system is the USCIS Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Telephone system. It is still a machine, BUT it’s interactive one at that. And, it’s housed at the USCIS Contact Center.

You get to choose English or Spanish calls to the IVR. In addition to be able to speak to the system, you may also:

• Receive links for forms and information by email or text;
• Provide real-time feedback through an optional survey.

The USCIS says it “will implement the IVR system in phases, so, therefore, not all callers will be able to interact with it right away. However, once fully operational, the system will increase efficiency for the USCIS Contact Center. Customer services is improve as IVR will allow you a greater range of self-service options.

Using the IVC will also reduce the time you might have to spend on a call repeating yourself because of background noise or if the person on the other end can’t understand your accent.

Other methods to contact the USCIS

There are of course, other ways you may contact the USCIS. First, the Contact Center’s toll-free numbers remain the same – 1-800-375-5283. If you reside outside the United States or a U.S. territory, call 212-620-3418, instead.

Second, if you have a hearing or speech disability, you may contact the USCIS at TTY 800-767-1833 and access automated information through an interactive menu 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Third, you may want to make use of your USCSI online account. And finally, if you have a question about your case, the USCIS provides online tools to help.