The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is moving toward mandatory online filing for certain immigration applications and petitions under a new interim final rule.
The rule does not immediately make electronic filing mandatory for any specific immigration form. Instead, it gives USCIS the authority to require online submission for individual forms in the future.
Under the new framework, a form must first have been available for electronic filing for at least 180 days before USCIS can make it available exclusively online. The agency must also provide the public with at least 60 days’ notice before making electronic filing mandatory for a particular form.
The interim rule will take effect after publication in the Federal Register, while members of the public will have 60 days to submit comments.
USCIS currently allows voluntary electronic filing for a limited number of immigration forms.
These include Form I-765 for certain employment authorization applications, Form I-129 for selected nonimmigrant workers, Form I-140 for immigrant workers, Form I-485 for adjustment of status, Form I-90 for replacing a Permanent Resident Card, and Form N-400 for naturalization.
Applicants can submit forms electronically through a personal myUSCIS account, either by completing the form online or uploading a PDF. However, the filing method available to an applicant depends on the specific form and type of immigration case.
The electronic filing process also varies for attorneys and other authorized representatives.
Some immigration forms can be submitted online by representatives on behalf of their clients, while other forms must be filed electronically by the applicant directly.
Despite the agency’s push toward digital immigration processing, USCIS’s existing electronic filing system still has limitations.
Organizations handling large volumes of immigration cases have raised concerns about the lack of Application Programming Interface (API) capabilities, the need for manual form completion and document uploads, and the relatively small number of forms currently available for electronic filing.
The interim rule does not specify whether USCIS will expand its electronic filing capabilities or introduce significant technology upgrades as more immigration forms move online.
The policy marks a further shift toward digital processing of US immigration cases, but applicants will continue to be able to use paper filing unless and until USCIS announces that a specific form must be submitted electronically.
