On November 23, 2004, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the expansion of its Direct Mail Program for certain filings of I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization, and I-131 Application for Travel Document.  The bulk of affected applications are family-based and diversity lottery immigration cases.  However, certain employment-based immigration cases previously transferred to USCIS district offices are also affected.  Under current procedures, these applications are submitted directly to the USCIS district office holding jurisdiction over the applicant's place of residence.

Beginning December 1, 2004, foreign nationals residing in the following states will be required to submit the specified forms to a Direct Mail location in Chicago, referred to as the Chicago Lockbox, rather than to the local USCIS District Office:  Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands of the United States.

On April 1, 2005, the Direct Mail Program will be expanded to include foreign nationals residing in Alaska, California, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. 

During the first 30 days after the effective date of the Direct Mail Program, if any applications that should have been submitted via Direct Mail to the Chicago Lockbox are filed instead with a local USCIS District Office, the District Office will forward the applications to the Chicago Lockbox.  Forwarded applications will not be considered properly filed until they are received at the Chicago Lockbox.  After the 30-day transition period, any applications erroneously filed with the USCIS District Offices will be returned unprocessed with instructions to mail the applications to the Chicago Lockbox.

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