Privacy Policy

Effective: September 6, 2026

CaseWhy ("we," "us," "our") helps people track U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) case status and understand what changes to their case mean. This policy explains what information we collect, why, and how it's protected. It works alongside our Terms of Service, which governs your use of CaseWhy more broadly.

1. Information We Collect

• Account information: the email address you sign up with, and a password (stored securely, never in plain text).
• Case information: the USCIS receipt number(s) you add, and the case status history and updates we retrieve on your behalf through USCIS's official Case Status API.
• Usage information: basic technical data (such as browser type and pages visited) used to keep the service working and improve it — we do not use invasive tracking or sell this data.
• Pre-launch notify-me email: if you join the waitlist on this site before CaseWhy is open for signups, we store only the email address you provide, so we can email you once at launch. It isn't linked to any account or case data unless you later sign up yourself.
• Mailing address (CaseWhy Plus escalation toolkit only): if you use the representative-lookup or letter-drafting tools, we store the name and mailing address you provide — encrypted at rest with the same standard used for your receipt number — so we can identify your congressional district and pre-fill your own letters. We don't use it for anything else, and it's never shared beyond the U.S. Census Bureau's public geocoding lookup (used only to resolve your district, not stored by them on our behalf).

2. How We Use Your Information

• To check your case status on the schedule you've set and notify you when it changes.
• To generate a plain-language explanation of what a status change means, using an AI service (see Section 4).
• To provide general, informational guidance about common next steps — never a personalized legal conclusion about your specific case.
• To operate, maintain, and improve CaseWhy itself.

3. What We Don't Do

• We do not sell or rent your personal information to third parties.
• We do not use your case data for advertising.
• We do not provide legal advice, and nothing in the app should be treated as legal advice — see the disclaimer on our home page.

4. Third-Party Services We Use

To provide the service, we share limited data with:

• USCIS's official Case Status API — to retrieve your case's status using the receipt number you provide.
• An AI service (Claude, by Anthropic) — to turn raw status text into a plain-language explanation. Only the case status text needed to generate your explanation is sent; we do not send your full account or contact details.
• An email delivery provider — to send account and status-change notifications.
• The U.S. Census Bureau's Geocoding Services API (CaseWhy Plus only) — to resolve a mailing address you provide to a congressional district, if you use the representative-lookup tool.

Each of these providers is contractually and/or technically limited to using your data only to provide the relevant part of the service.

5. Data Retention & Security

Case and account data is encrypted both at rest and in transit. We retain your data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, your case data is permanently deleted within 30 days.

6. Your Rights

You can access, correct, or delete your data at any time from your account settings, or by emailing privacy@casewhy.com. Depending on your state of residence, you may have additional rights under applicable state privacy laws, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) — including the right to know what personal information we hold, request its deletion, and opt out of its sale (we don't sell personal information, so there's nothing to opt out of). Contact us at the email above to exercise any of these rights.

7. Not Legal Advice

CaseWhy is not a law firm, is not affiliated with USCIS or DHS, and does not provide legal advice or representation. Information provided through CaseWhy is general and educational. For advice about your specific case, consult a licensed immigration attorney.

8. Changes to This Policy

We'll post any changes to this policy on this page and update the date at the top. Material changes will also be emailed to account holders.

9. Contact

Questions about this policy: privacy@casewhy.com