I partially agree that calling them is useless. Yes they don't take any action in speeding up the process, that's true, and most of them will tell you that they cannot verify the file or that your application is in process, which is obvious for us and frustrating. Though last time I called, an agent actually looked at my file and told me in which phase it was and when the last update was. It's basically what the GCMS notes will tell you. That gave me a little relief to know that all steps were passed and next step is the signature from VO.