USCIS Case Tracker Automation in n8n: Google Sheets + Email Alerts

Automatically track USCIS case status changes from Google Sheets—and notify your team by email

This n8n workflow monitors immigration cases in your Google Sheets “Case Tracker”, polls USCIS case-status pages for active receipt numbers, and sends email alerts via SMTP when statuses change or when RFE deadlines are approaching. Each run updates your sheet with the latest results, so your tracker stays current.

What this workflow does

• Runs daily at 6am on a schedule.
• Reads all rows from the Google Sheets “Case Tracker” sheet and branches into two paths: status polling and RFE-deadline monitoring.
• Filters to active cases (not closed), then submits each receipt number to the USCIS case-status endpoint.
• Parses the returned HTML to extract the current USCIS status text.
• Compares newly polled status vs. the last saved status to detect changes, including RFE issuance/resolution.
• Calculates RFE deadline dates and records a last-checked timestamp.
• On status changes, prepares a client email and runs it through an Execute Workflow compliance/opt-out guardrail; the email is sent via SMTP only if approved.
• Identifies unresolved RFEs with deadlines within the configured lead time and emails an internal alert to the firm attorney address via SMTP.
• Appends or updates the matching Google Sheets row by receipt number with the latest status, RFE fields, and check timestamps (even if no email was sent).

Use cases

• Law firms or immigration teams who need reliable USCIS case tracking without manual checking.
• Automation engineers building an n8n workflow marketplace solution for Google Sheets-based operational dashboards.
• SaaS operators managing client communications that require opt-out/compliance guardrails before sending email.

Technical details

• Google Sheets: reads from the “Case Tracker” sheet and updates rows by receipt number.
• USCIS case-status polling: posts receipt numbers to the USCIS case status endpoint and parses HTML for status text.
• n8n nodes/logic: if, code, no op, filter, email send, sticky note, plus an Execute Workflow compliance/opt-out guardrail.
• SMTP email delivery: used for both client notifications (conditionally) and internal attorney alerts.

To set up, add Google Sheets credentials and configure IMMIGRATION_CASE_TRACKER_SHEET_ID to the spreadsheet containing the “Case Tracker” sheet.