My H1B petition is pending with the USCIS. Today, the online system was updated to say “Name Was Updated.” My employer says they did not submit any type of name change request. What should I do?

Answer

The USCIS has been using this strange “Name Was Updated” status alert for a number of years, and it has long created confusion. It is not entirely clear what this actually means, but it appears to at least sometimes be used by the USCIS as a catch-all phrase. For instance, we have seen this used when a case is upgraded to premium processing. It also is rumored to be used by USCIS when simple clerical work is done on a case (e.g., correcting a typo in the USCIS system). In short, this type of status update does not necessarily mean anything in particular. (03.Jun.2020)

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