Case Status Monitor Application
- Thread starter custer
- Start date
It's a great program and well thought out design. I use it all the time, you defenitely deserve to get your GC much faster.
The only worry I have though is, if the BCIS server admin could identify if this as a hit from outside of their web site. In that case I don't know if it is a wise choice to use it.
I would appreciate your answer to this.
The only worry I have though is, if the BCIS server admin could identify if this as a hit from outside of their web site. In that case I don't know if it is a wise choice to use it.
I would appreciate your answer to this.
BCIS web Monitoring
To the best of my knowledge the BCIS does monitor the IP address of those people accessing their site. However they seem to have set a limit of 1000 inquiries per day, per IP address. If you search for the word, 'script' on this site you will see that there are people who run excel vba macros that make hundreds of hits per day on the site.
My design attempted to be mindful of the load on the BCIS servers (I really don't want to upset these guys) that’s why I limited it to look at only 20 receipt numbers. That is the number I figured that a family of 5 would have with I-140, I-485, I-131 and I-765 filings. So the maximum number of hits that it will do on the server is 160 per day. If someone uses the default setting then it is only 80. Personally I only hit it 16 times per day (4 cases, every 6 hours).
My thoughts are if this is used responsibly, then the risk of upsetting the BCIS is fairly low.
To the best of my knowledge the BCIS does monitor the IP address of those people accessing their site. However they seem to have set a limit of 1000 inquiries per day, per IP address. If you search for the word, 'script' on this site you will see that there are people who run excel vba macros that make hundreds of hits per day on the site.
My design attempted to be mindful of the load on the BCIS servers (I really don't want to upset these guys) that’s why I limited it to look at only 20 receipt numbers. That is the number I figured that a family of 5 would have with I-140, I-485, I-131 and I-765 filings. So the maximum number of hits that it will do on the server is 160 per day. If someone uses the default setting then it is only 80. Personally I only hit it 16 times per day (4 cases, every 6 hours).
My thoughts are if this is used responsibly, then the risk of upsetting the BCIS is fairly low.
I have troubles installing the app
custer,
I get errors on msvcrt.dll and wininetd.dll , access violation. If I ignore them then installation completes but I get cant' create activex object error 429 error and the whole thing aborts.
I have closed all the apps, all the backgroupnd apps, but still this is the issue. Also, it locks up those dlls in win95/system directories.
Any suggestions?
custer,
I get errors on msvcrt.dll and wininetd.dll , access violation. If I ignore them then installation completes but I get cant' create activex object error 429 error and the whole thing aborts.
I have closed all the apps, all the backgroupnd apps, but still this is the issue. Also, it locks up those dlls in win95/system directories.
Any suggestions?
Limitation
Yager
The answer to your question is yes it could be expanded, but no I am not going to do it. (I would consider going to 25 cases if there was a legitimate personal need). The reason for this is that I don't really want to upset the BCIS. This application was designed with personal use in mind. I did a fair amount of soul searching before I distributed the application, regarding how much load this would put on the BCIS servers and would I want to answer questions about that from them. By limiting the load I think that I have a defensible position if the question ever comes up. Really all the app does is automatically query there public web site on a regular basis for a small number of cases. (It also keeps a history of the status changes for each case as well as a query log.) As long as I keep the load light I don't think that they will care. (I could of course be wrong about this, but all they would have to do it change the URL and this app would be out of business, so I am not that worried).
If you are looking for the ability to scan a large number of cases, then if you search for the word 'script' on this site, you will find what you are looking for.
Sorry I don't want to been unhelpful, but I don't see the advantage for me in sticking my neck out further either.
Yager
The answer to your question is yes it could be expanded, but no I am not going to do it. (I would consider going to 25 cases if there was a legitimate personal need). The reason for this is that I don't really want to upset the BCIS. This application was designed with personal use in mind. I did a fair amount of soul searching before I distributed the application, regarding how much load this would put on the BCIS servers and would I want to answer questions about that from them. By limiting the load I think that I have a defensible position if the question ever comes up. Really all the app does is automatically query there public web site on a regular basis for a small number of cases. (It also keeps a history of the status changes for each case as well as a query log.) As long as I keep the load light I don't think that they will care. (I could of course be wrong about this, but all they would have to do it change the URL and this app would be out of business, so I am not that worried).
If you are looking for the ability to scan a large number of cases, then if you search for the word 'script' on this site, you will find what you are looking for.
Sorry I don't want to been unhelpful, but I don't see the advantage for me in sticking my neck out further either.
peace_of_mind
Registered Users (C)
Custer,
I was testing your application. It is working fine. You had good patience of developing an application from scratch. I was lazy. I took the support of Winrunner and created a simple test script, that works fine too.
I was testing your application. It is working fine. You had good patience of developing an application from scratch. I was lazy. I took the support of Winrunner and created a simple test script, that works fine too.
Hitech Guy
Registered Users (C)
useful application
I am from TSC message boards and ran into this thread accidentally while surfing the threads to see how NSC is approving cases compared to TSC
Anyways, it's a useful application and I started using it already. I have posted a link in TSC message boards as well.
I am from TSC message boards and ran into this thread accidentally while surfing the threads to see how NSC is approving cases compared to TSC
Anyways, it's a useful application and I started using it already. I have posted a link in TSC message boards as well.
Question of Money
It all comes down to money really. I continued development on the app for my own purposes and made it email capable. Very cool for me because it emails my pager if my case status changes (Not that that has happened since April 2002). Unfortunately our friends at Microsoft made changes to Outlook to prevent external programs accessing email. There is a way around that but it costs $200 for the licence to distribute the library. I also had to pay for space on the web to distribute the software.
I also did not really want to run afoul of the DHS if they wanted to come after me for creating a piece of software that they might be annoyed about for one reason or another. So all cost and risk to me, and no benefit (apart from a warm and fuzzy). That is why I stopped distributing the app.
So it you have it and use it great, I hope you like it, but it is not my plan to distribute it again, sorry.
It all comes down to money really. I continued development on the app for my own purposes and made it email capable. Very cool for me because it emails my pager if my case status changes (Not that that has happened since April 2002). Unfortunately our friends at Microsoft made changes to Outlook to prevent external programs accessing email. There is a way around that but it costs $200 for the licence to distribute the library. I also had to pay for space on the web to distribute the software.
I also did not really want to run afoul of the DHS if they wanted to come after me for creating a piece of software that they might be annoyed about for one reason or another. So all cost and risk to me, and no benefit (apart from a warm and fuzzy). That is why I stopped distributing the app.
So it you have it and use it great, I hope you like it, but it is not my plan to distribute it again, sorry.
Its working great
Custer:
Yesterday night I checked my status at home. It was the same old message. And when I came to office, the good news was waiting for me (your application was running background). And it was your application that gave this good news. Thanks again for such a good application.
Today my case, along with my wife and daughter, has been approved.
Mahesh.
Custer:
Yesterday night I checked my status at home. It was the same old message. And when I came to office, the good news was waiting for me (your application was running background). And it was your application that gave this good news. Thanks again for such a good application.
Today my case, along with my wife and daughter, has been approved.
Mahesh.