Immigration service revamps Web site to offer more interactive tools

Citizen and Immigration Services unveiled its new interactive Web site on Tuesday that includes an application that allows foreigners to track the status of their citizenship applications, keep records up to date, and access forms and other resources.

The Web site, which is available in English and Spanish, "provides the public with the latest tools to improve responsiveness and access to immigration services," said Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Homeland Security Department, in an announcement.

Those filing for immigration and citizenship benefits can submit applications online and enter their 13-character application receipt number at the My Case Status Web portal to track the status of the application, from initial acceptance through production of the citizenship document and scheduling of the oath ceremony. They also can register to receive automatic e-mail or text message updates, change their address and find estimated processing times for submitted forms.

The Web site offers a Where to Start feature that visitors can use to find what services are available. The application offers two drop-down menus, one allows a user to choose their citizenship status (U.S. citizen, green card holder, or citizen of a foreign country) and another gives the visitor a choice of what they want to do (find out how to become a permanent U.S. resident, gain a temporary visa, bring family members into the country, for example).

The site also provides access to a variety of resources, including study materials for the naturalization test and information about laws, regulations and interpretations controlling immigration. The search engine also was improved.

"The new USCIS site is clean, well-organized and seems to offer improved navigation with intuitive tools and a better system for case reviews," said Dave Lewan, director of government markets at ForeSee Results, a research firm that partners with the American Customer Satisfaction Index to issue quarterly reports on public opinion about federal Web sites. "But what's [most] important is the opinion of the actual site users. Now that USCIS has launched this new site, it will be absolutely critical for them to collect, analyze and act on the voice of visitors to make sure the site meets their needs and expectations."

President Obama announced in June plans to redesign the CIS Web site to simplify the immigration system. "The idea is very simple here: We're going to leverage cutting-edge technology to reduce the unnecessary paperwork, backlogs and the lack of transparency that's caused so many people so much heartache," he said.