News Update - September 13, 2008

By Alan Lee, Esq.^†‡

N-400 Naturalization Applications Filling Locations Changed

On September 12, 2008, U.S.C.I.S. announced that beginning October 14, 2008, the location for filing N-400 naturalization applications will be changed from its service centers to lockboxes in Arizona and Texas. If residing in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Territory of Guam, or the Northern Mariana Islands, applications should go to the following addresses:

Post Office delivery -
USCIS Lockbox Facility
USCIS
P.O. Box 21251
Phoenix, AZ 85036

Private courier -
USCIS
Attn: N400
1820 E Skyharbor Circle S. Floor 1
Phoenix, AZ 85036

If residing in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, D.C., 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 Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or the U.S. Virgin Islands, applications should go to the following addresses:

Post Office delivery -
USCIS Lockbox Facility
USCIS
P.O. Box 299026
Lewisville, TX 75029

Private courier -
USCIS
Attn: N400
2501 S. State Hwy 121, Bldg. 4
Lewisville, TX 75067

The only exceptions will be for members of the Armed Forces and their spouses who will mail to the following addresses:

Post office delivery –
Nebraska Service Center
P.O. Box 87426
Lincoln, NE 68501-7426

Private courier -
Nebraska Service Center
850 S Street
Lincoln, NE 68508

For the first 30 days after October 14, 2008, N-400 applications sent to other addresses are to be receipted at the lockboxes and considered properly filed. Following the 30 day transition period, U.S.C.I.S. will return applications with an explanation directing the applicant to mail to the appropriate lockbox address.

† 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.