General Relief Policy - Department of Public Social Services

GR 42-405.2 –
Verification
Verification: USCIS documents that indicate an
approved petition, a prima facie or a pending
petition for self-petitioners are the I-797 or I-797C.
Some notices may state that they are valid for up
to 150 days. However, the case should not be
denied/discontinued due to the 150 day expiration.
The status must be verified by one of the
following methods:
• Sending the PA 42, VAWA Fax Inquiry, (an out of
drawer form) to the USCIS Vermont Service
Center at (802) 527-3159. Case Comments are
updated with the results of the inquiry.
• USCIS Case Status Online Service at
http://www.uscis.gov may be used to check the
status of a petition for lawful immigration status.
To access an individual’s petition status, the
application receipt number in input. The
application receipt number is found on the forms
provided to individuals after they have submitted
an application to the USCIS center. An update is
immediately provided, which is printed and
maintained in the case record. Case Comments
are updated with the results of the inquiry.
• USCIS National Customer Services Center at
(800) 375-5283 may be used to check the status of
a petition for lawful immigration status. To access
the petition status, the initial menu options are
followed to select language preferences, etc.
From the six menu options given, Option 1 for “all
questions about a pending case” is chosen. The
receipt number is entered, when requested. An
update on the status will be immediately provided.
Case Comments are updated with the results of
the inquiry.
GR 42-405.3 –
Approved Petition
What is an approved petition?
An approved petition may indicate that USCIS has
exercised the option to place the person in deferred
action. This is valid for the specified period of time as
indicated on the document. If a renewal/approved
petition is not approved and the time period has
expired, an inquiry is made.
Refer to GR 42-405.2 for inquiry methods.