A year ago (or to many of you who boycott the word “ago”, a year ‘back’) I posted a thread regarding the rampant spread of a disease called COLTS (or Luditis) in the Trackitt community ( http://www.trackitt.com/usa-discussion-forums/i… ).

This was in response to a highly irritating obsession many have over these so-called “soft LUDs” and the unfathomable importance attached to these benign burps that are sometimes observed on CRIS portfolio pages. I figured that the endless posts by people who see a ‘soft LUD’ on their portfolio asking the rest of us to waste our time speculating with them as to what the ‘soft LUD’ means were distracting to many of us who come to Trackitt to offer meaningful advice and help solve real problems without have to encounter these childish posts about ‘soft LUDs’.

However, it appears that there is no use convincing people that ‘soft LUDs’ are nothing to worry about, get overtly excited about, or obsess about. Therefore, on the occasion of this, MY 1000TH POST on Trackitt.com, I have decided to relent a little and offer some guidance, in the form of Frequently Asked Questions, to those who still attach too much importance to these ‘soft LUDs’ in hopes that this thread can be referred to these people whenever they freak about about seeing ‘soft LUD’s.

Q1) What is a Soft LUD?
A1) A so-called ‘soft LUD’ is a term invented by members of forums such as these to refer to a change in the “Last Updated” date you see on your USCIS portfolio page WITHOUT an actual change in the status of your case. For example, you log into your CRIS account at USCIS.gov and notice that the date listed under the “Last Updated” column on your case has changed to today’s date, but the status is still “Application Received and Pending”.

Q2) What do you mean by “CRIS” and “portfolio page”?
A2) You can create your own “account” page on USCIS.gov to register your pending case(s) with USCIS so that you automatically receive an email whenever the status changes on your case. https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/jsps/index.jsp

Q3) What does the occurrence of a ‘soft LUD’ mean?
A3) As the USCIS portfolio page itself states, it simply means that there was internal processing done on your case. This can be as simple as shifting your file to another shelf where it will wait for another few months or years, or could mean that your file was looked into for purposes of casual checking, or that your file is being adjudicated.

Q4) How do I know if the ‘soft LUD’ on my case is an indication that my case is being actively adjudicated or not?
A4): There is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY to know what the ‘soft LUD’ means unless and until there is an actual change of status on your case (e.g. your status goes from “pending” to “approved).

Q5) But I read somewhere on this forum that somebody’s case got approved after seeing a ‘soft LUD’.
A5) What you must realize is that every case is different. It is a mistake to try to discern a ‘soft LUD pattern’ by looking at other cases and extrapolating what might happen with your case. Some cases might indeed see a status change within a day, or a week, of a ‘soft LUD’. Others do not. It is random.

Q6) I’m seeing a series of daily ‘soft LUDs’ on my case for the last few days. Should I get excited?
A6) It is your personal choice to get excited or not. However, there are two things you should keep in mind. One: a series of ‘soft LUDs’ might or might NOT mean that a decision on your case is imminent. Two: If you are checking your portfolio for LUDs that frequently, you clearly have the disease Luditis.

Q7) I saw a ‘soft LUD’ on a weekend. Does USCIS work on weekends?
A7) No, USCIS does not work on weekends (there may have been one period in the past where employees were asked to come in, and that was rumored to be in June, 2007). Generally, a ‘soft LUD’ on a Saturday or Sunday is just a system updating to reflect internal processing that may have happened on Friday. Many people have actually gotten approval emails on Saturday (or sometimes Sunday) stating that the case was approved on Friday! It is perfectly normal for a computerized update to occur a day or two after the actual processing occurred. By the way, you really need to get a life if you check your LUDs even on weekends.

Q8) I just saw a ‘soft LUD’ on one family member’s case today, but not on another.
A8) So what? Again, so-called ‘soft LUDs’ are random and can occur on anybody’s case or not at all. This is nothing to worry about.

Q9) But it can’t be THAT random. ‘Soft LUDs’ have to mean something. They give me hope.
A9) If it gives you hope, there is nothing anybody can do about that except to remind you not to fall victim to false hope.

Q10) Will I necessarily see a ‘soft LUD’ on my case before a decision?
A10) No, not necessarily. Some cases can show ‘soft LUDs’ in the days leading up to a decision, but other case statuses can change without ever having seen a ‘soft LUD’.

Q11) Is there any situation where I should expect to see a ‘soft LUD’?
A11) First of all you shouldn’t be spending your time tracking ‘soft LUDs’, that’s just silly. But yes, there are at least three (3) situations where one would NORMALLY expect to see a so-called ‘soft LUD’. These are: A- In the day(s) immediately following the receipt of the application or petition by USCIS. B- After your FIRST biometrics appointment (Code 3) – but NOT necessarily after any other biometrics appointment – only your first. C- After you change your address with USCIS (NOT AR-11, but actually change your address with USCIS for each of your pending applications).

Q12) Wait, I thought AR-11 is what you use to change your address.
A12) Filing AR-11 and changing your address for your USCIS applications are two separate things. Filing AR-11 is required by law for every alien (including permanent residents) within 10 days of moving. However, AR-11 is for a separate department at the Department of Homeland Security; it will NOT inform USCIS of your new address for applications you still have pending. For that, you will have to update USCIS separately.
**The online address change link on USCIS.gov will guide you through both sets of address changes, first the AR-11 form, and then once completed, for USCIS pending applications. But paper-filing AR-11 by itself will not update USCIS with your new address and will not generate a ‘soft LUD’. **

Q13) I am seeing ‘soft LUDs’ on my case even though it was just approved. What’s going on?
A13) What on earth are you doing still checking for ‘soft LUDs’ if your case was approved? It’s bad enough you had Luditis before, but what’s the point now? Anyway, to answer the question: Yes, it is normal (but not always the case) to see ‘soft LUDs’ after a case is approved. After all, the case still has to be processed as ‘approved’, archived, and filed away, doesn’t it?

Q14) I replied to an RFE recently but haven’t seen a ‘soft LUD’. What does that mean?
A14) It probably means nothing. Usually you should see an actual case change to inform you that the ‘Request for Additional Evidence Received, Case Processing Resumed’, but this doesn’t always happen. Your case has probably resumed processing though.

Q15) I did see my case status change to reflect that they received my RFE response, but I am still seeing ‘soft LUDs’ since that day. Why?
A15) Why not? If they receive your RFE response and are processing (or filing away or transferring) your file, you will invariably see a ‘soft LUD’.

Q16) Wait – but I didn’t see any ‘soft LUD’ after my ‘RFE received’ status change!
A16) Again, the occurrence of a ‘soft LUD’ is random, and its presence or absence does not indicate anything by itself. Two files can be processed together on the same day, and one will show a ‘soft LUD’ and the other will not – this happens all the time, and it is nothing to be concerned about.

Q17) I read on another thread here on Trackitt that a ‘soft LUD’ means that…
A17) Stop right there!! You are probably just as smart as the next person on this forum, and believe me, they do not know the significance of a ‘soft LUD’ any more than you do. They are guessing, which is something you are perfectly capable of doing as well. Their guesses will be just as good (or bad) as yours. Until you see an actual status change on your case, there is absolutely no way of knowing what a ‘soft LUD’ means and there is NO USE asking others what it could mean.

This thread may be updated as long as the ‘edit’ button appears for me. Once that is gone, it will be locked. I hope this helps and puts a lot of minds at ease. But the bottom line is that many of you are still hopelessly afflicted with Luditis.

from: http://www.trackitt.com/usa-discussion-forums/i485-eb/385818385/-faq-on-soft-luds