News Update - February 28, 2008

By Alan Lee, Esq.^†‡

I-130's to be Filed at Chicago Lockbox Only and no Longer at Other Four Service Centers

On February 19, 2008, U.S.C.I.S. announced that effective immediately, all petitioners filing standalone I-130 petitions must file with the Chicago lockbox instead of a U.S.C.I.S. service center. Recently, the Service had encouraged individuals to file I-130's at the Chicago lockbox, but still accepted I-130's at its service centers in Vermont, Texas, Nebraska, and California. Although unstated in the notice, it will undoubtedly reject cases filed for standalone I-130's at the four service centers from now on.

Petitioners who reside in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin or Wyoming must file their stand-alone Form I-130s with the Lockbox using the following address:

USCIS
P.O. Box 804625
Chicago, IL 60680-1029

Petitioners who reside in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Caroline, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, U.S. Virgin Islands, West Virginia or District of Columbia must file their stand-alone Form I-130 with the Lockbox using the following address:

USCIS
P.O. Box 804616
Chicago, IL 60680-1029

Petitioners who wish to file by private courier should use the following address:

USCIS
Attn: FBASI
427 S. LaSalle – 3rd Floor
Chicago, IL 60605-1098

† The author is a 26+ year practitioner of immigration law based in New York City. He was awarded the Sidney A. Levine prize for best legal writing at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1977 and has written extensively on immigration over the past years for the ethnic newspapers, World Journal, Sing Tao, Pakistan Calling, Muhasha and OCS. He has testified as an expert on immigration in civil court proceedings and was recognized by the Taiwan government in 1985 for his work protecting human rights. His article, "The Bush Temporary Worker Proposal and Comparative Pending Legislation: an Analysis" was Interpreter Releases' cover display article at the American Immigration Lawyers Association annual conference in 2004, and his victory in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in a case of first impression nationwide, Firstland International v. INS, successfully challenged INS' policy of over 40 years of revoking approved immigrant visa petitions under a nebulous standard of proof. Its value as precedent, however, was short-lived as it was specifically targeted by the Administration in the Intelligence Reform Act of 2004.

‡ This article © 2008 Alan Lee, Esq.

Copyright © 2003-2012 Alan Lee, Esq.
The information provided here is of a general nature and may not apply to any particular set of facts or circumstances. It should not be construed as legal advice and does not constitute an engagement of the Law Office of Alan Lee or establish an attorney-client relationship.