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| BCIS announces first step in on-line electronic filings |
| published 01 May 2003 |
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On
April 29, 2003, the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) published an interim regulation, with request for
public comment, announcing that, effective May 29, 2003,
the Bureau of Immigration & Citizenship Services
(BCIS - the new name for the "INS") will begin
accepting electronic submissions of certain
applications. The e-filing is an alternative to
submission by mail. As of May 29, 2003, the BCIS will
accept the following applications electronically: Form
I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization Document
or "EAD") and Form I-90 (Application for Replacement
of Permanent Resident Card.) The rule explains that these two (2) applications
were selected first because they represent nearly 30% of
the BCIS workload and are relatively short and easy
applications to complete. DHS expects that e-filing of the following
petitions and applications will be implemented by the
end of the current Fiscal Year (i.e., September 30,
2003):
1. Form I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker 2. Form I-131 Application for Travel Document 3. Form I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker 4. Form I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status 5. Form I-821 Application for Temporary Protected Status E-filing for the remaining most
commonly filed petitions and applications will occur
during fiscal year 2004 (October 1, 2003 to September
30, 2004). These are:
1. I-130 Immigrant Petition for Alien Relative 2. I-485 Application to Adjust Status 3. I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence 4. N-400 Application for Naturalization 5. N-600/N-643 Application for Certificate of Naturalization Despite these ambitious implementation timetables, the BCIS has not yet published an electronic version of any form and the rule states that the BCIS does not currently have the technology necessary to support full implementation of electronic filing for all applications and petitions although it expects such technology will be deployed during FY 2004. Presumably, the DHS will publish instructions for e-filing of Forms I-765 and I-90 in the near future. The public comment period for this interim rule ends June 30, 2003. Jackson & Hertogs will continue to monitor developments regarding e-filing so we can assist our clients in obtaining immigration benefits as quickly and efficiently as possible. For further details, click on http://www.immigration.gov and watch our website under Recent News for updates as they become available. |
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