New and Improved Online Case management System

Please Check Out Our New and Improved Online Case Management System

Over the last few weeks we have spent a lot of time improving our online Case Management System to bring it right up to date with modern technology.

A major feature of your online case is that all documents can be uploaded rather than emailed to us as attachments. We have found in the past that simply attaching numerous documents resulted in a lot of time lost in having to organized these documents and in many cases having to re-name them. Also clients forgot which documents they had sent in and then re-sent in multiple documents and so forth. Some how we managed to get through this successfully. Now with these exciting new upgrades I’m sure that clients and the legal team will wonder how we ever managed in the past.

I’d like to walk you through your online case file a fresh so that you can work with us 24/7 on your case to get it completed as quickly as possible.

Logging In:

Go to www.ingramesq.net and select “Client Case Status”

Enter your last name and assigned case number.

Please make sure that you’re able to access your case file.

Your Online Case File:

Your case file is divided up into 8 sections or tabs so that you can review your case in a focused way.

1. Information
2. Overview
3. Fees
4. Prep Docs
5. Petition Bundles
6. Filed Cases
7. All Docs
8. Correspondence

Information:

This section basically is your contact information. Please check this from time to time to make sure we have your current contact information as this may change during the relocation process. Please let us know if changes need to be made.

Overview:

This is a snap shot as to what your case is about so that all team members working your case can quickly assess your case and take supporting action accordingly. You should make sure that the overview indeed reflects your understanding as to what your case is about.

Like many of the tabs to be discussed the overview feature is relatively new so older cases may not have had an overview commentary added. If you find that your case overview is blank give us a nudge to complete so that you can agree and approve the same.

Fees:

This tab enables you to keep track of how you’re doing with the Attorney Fees, Filing fees and Shipping and Handling fees.  Please make sure that this reflects your understanding of the fees as your case progresses.  Fees will be drawn down according to the terms of your retainer agreement so check your retainer agreement for details.

Prep Docs / Preparatory Documents:

Here you will find a Worksheet / Table of Contents where you can upload documents that basically covers your identification information for you and your family.  The Prep Docs are very important as it helps us appreciate who is coming to the US and what forms and other work will need to be done as the case progresses.

We have designed this new Case Management System so that clients can upload their documents directly into their case file. If you take your time and upload your documents carefully, we will be able to review them quickly and make comments as appropriate.

Do not merely email your documents directly to us to ‘upload’ as this will seriously slow down your case. If you have any problems in uploading your documents please take to us and we’ll certainly help you. Remember, in this modern Internet era we all have to be able to scan documents and upload them.  When your case is complete you will be able to download a copy of your entire case file as it was submitted to USCIS.

Your worksheet will begin by showing each line item required as being ‘Outstanding’, and then once you upload the document the line item status will show as being ‘Received to be check by Counsel’. Only when your uploaded document has been reviewed will the line item change to ‘Approved’. If the document is incomplete, the attorney will notify you by email as to what the issue is.

There will be some documents that you will not only need to upload, but you will need to send in the originals too. Typically this will be the Passport Photos. Sometimes, for National Visa Center (NVC) cases we will need you to send in original birth and marriage certificates, this office will advise you accordingly should your case be an NVC case.

Petition Bundles:

The attorney has to be able to determine precisely which documents will be required to form the actual case that will be submitted to USCIS. This is called the Petition Bundle. Over the course of your case and as your submitted uploaded evidence begins to take shape your Petition Bundle may change from time to time especially in more complicated cases so please check this list frequently.

By uploading your documents this will save a lot of time and enable us to expedite your case.

Additional Tips for uploading your documents

Scan, save and upload one document at a time. For example, if you’re uploading an article, upload the front page as a PDF and label it accordingly.  Then upload the article itself as a separate PDF and if you need to make a statement about the importance of the article then upload that as a separate PDF.

If you’re uploading ID information, do not upload your passport, birth certificate and marriage certificate as one PDF as we cannot break the PDF down to fit the various line items.

Try to name each upload as carefully as possible so that we know that the document is without having to open it to double check. E.g., if you’re uploading documents fort various family members label the name and the document. E.g., John Smith Birth Certificate, John and Sally Smith Marriage Certificate, Daughter Brodie Smith Birth Certificate and Son Mark Smith Passport Page. As you can see if you simply labeled each birth certificate as “birth certificate” it would be very difficult to tell them apart and this would require us to do multiple cross checking and verification to make sure these documents are correct.

Similarly to point 3 if you’re uploading information about yourself such as published material then label them carefully. For example for a magazine you could say “ June 23^rd 2010 People Magazine Front Cover”, then “June 23^rd 2010 people Magazine Article”, then June 23^rd 2010 People Magazine Circulation Figures” and so forth, this way this enables your uploaded information to be easily referenced.

The was a time when it was acceptable to give my accountant a shopping bag full of receipts of expenses and bank statements and he would some how produce a set of accounts. Today, my accountant will only accept my account information if it’s on QuickBooks or some other accounting software. With US Immigration they are moving to online case filing so we have to be in the mix in preparing our cases digitally. Remember, the better you upload your documents to us, the faster they can be reviewed and processed.

All Docs / All Documents:

If you are unsure as to where a document should be uploaded you can always upload it to the “All Docs” tab. The All Docs tab is a “catch all” / archive all the documents that have been uploaded. This All Docs tab is useful as not all documents uploaded to a case will ultimately be used at the time of filing, but they may be used in the future for other cases, of future elements of the same case. So if you’re in any doubt as to where a document should be uploaded please upload them to the All Docs section.  As documents are uploaded the office is notified to check it and take action. We can move documents around from section to section of your online case file to suite the needs of your case.

Filed Cases:

Once your case has been filed we expect to get correspondence form USCIS starting with at acknowledgement of receipt called a Receipt Notice, followed by other communication hopefully an Approval Notice.  As we receive communication from USCIS this will be uploaded to this tab. Also, should a written response be required to USCIS this will be uploaded for your kind perusal.

Correspondence:

The main form of communication between law office and client will be via email. If you have any questions at all please try emailing before calling in. Emails can be dealt with during the day at any time without concern or regard for time zone differences whereas phone calls can be disruptive unless they are scheduled as appointments. Sometimes, emails can be handled very quickly whereas some may require a more detailed investigation into the case before a response can be given. We will do our best respond to all emails in a timely manner. The bulk of emails exchanged will be posted to this correspondence tab, but not all. By reviewing your Correspondence tab you will be able to review the entire history of your case.

I hope you like these changes. We’re very excited indeed and can’t wait to bring your case up to date digitally.