Thousands of Cubans with residency cases stalled for months or years now have a specific tool to advance their applications: the e-request to USCIS. Immigration attorney Liudmila Marcelo explained step by step how to use it, both electronically and by phone.
The online process is the simplest. According to Marcelo, the USCIS website itself guides the applicant by indicating exactly what data to enter: the receipt number, the type of application, the applicant's name, and a brief description of the situation.
"The USCIS website itself asks you for what you need to include in the request. When you go to the USCIS page to make an e-request, it will prompt you to enter the receipt number, the type of application, your name, and then to briefly describe what happened," the lawyer explained.
In that description, Marcelo recommends being direct. "I applied for my residency on this date, it has been inactive for so many days, however many that may be, and I still haven't received any response, no updates on my case. That is one way to do it electronically, and it's quite simple."
The second option is by phone. Marcelo indicates that you can call 1-800-375-5283 from USCIS and, when the automated system offers it, select the "info pass" option to be transferred to a representative. The message to the agent is the same: how long the case has been pending without a response and what is happening.
However, the lawyer warns that for Cuban adjustment cases, this process does not always yield results, as USCIS does not have an official processing time defined for that category.
"It is happening that they are telling you that you are in the processing time, precisely because they do not have a defined one for the Cuban adjustment, and then they say we are still on time and that's how you remain," he pointed out.
Nevertheless, the phone call has an additional usefulness that Marcelo considers crucial: it allows you to find out which office is handling the case. "I want to know which office my case is in because I have new evidence to send. And once you know where your case is, you can also send a written one," he explained.
This written submission to the relevant office also allows you to attach updated evidence of the case. "You might send updated evidence of your presence, whatever you wish to send, but it’s important for the officer to understand that you are actively following up on the case," said the attorney.
Regarding the recommended types of documents, Marcelo specifically emphasizes certificates of good conduct and personal achievements, given that USCIS strictly enforces the eligibility requirement and the discretion of the officer in cases of Cuban adjustment.
"People who have taken courses, who have distinctions, in other words, those who have achieved things in their work, who have opened companies, that kind of thing—well, those are signs of good conduct... it's updated evidence and evidence that will help them when the official reviews the case," he stated.
It also recommends including an updated criminal background check, especially if there are none, to strengthen the applicant's profile before the officer reviewing the file.
This advice comes at a time of paralysis for Cubans with pending procedures. Green card approvals for Cubans dropped by 99.8% between October 2024 and January 2026, going from over 10,000 per month to just 15 cases.
A judicial ruling from June 2026 annulled four USCIS policies that had frozen applications and compelled the resumption of processing for nationals from 39 countries, including Cuba, and since May 2026, new interview appointments are being reported, which Marcelo interprets as a sign of easing tensions.
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