[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 211 (Wednesday, October 30, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56060-56063]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-27837]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Immigration and Naturalization Service
[INS No. 1734-95]


Extension of Direct Mail Program to Applications for Adjustment 
of Status by Beneficiaries of Employment-Based Petitions; Filing of 
Employment-Based Petitions With the Texas Service Center

AGENCY: Immigration and Naturalization Service, Justice.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) is expanding 
and adjusting its Direct Mail Program, under which applicants and 
petitioners for certain immigration benefits mail their applications 
directly to an INS service center for processing. This expansion of the 
Program is intended to improve INS service to the public by reducing 
the time required to process applications and petitions. In certain 
instances this notice affects the following applications or visa 
petitions: (1) Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker; (2) Form 
I-131, Application for Travel Document; (3) Form I-140, Immigrant 
Petition for Alien Worker; (4) Form I-485, Application to Register 
Permanent Residence or Adjust Status; (5) Form I-526, Immigrant 
Petition by Alien Entrepreneur; (6) Form I-765, Application for an 
Employment Authorization Document; and (7) Form I-829, Petition by 
Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions.

EFFECTIVE DATE: November 29, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Gerard Casale, Senior Adjudications Officer, Immigration and 
Naturalization Service, Adjudications Division, 425 I Street, NW., Room 
3214, Washington, DC 20536. Telephone: (202) 514-5014.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Under the INS Direct Mail Program, certain applicants and 
petitioners mail their applications or petitions for immigration 
benefits directly to an INS service center for processing instead of 
submitting them to a local INS office. Direct Mail improves the 
efficiency of service and the quality of case processing, by reducing 
the processing times for applications and petitions. The ultimate goal 
of the Direct Mail Program is to convert the filing location of 
applications and petitions for immigration benefits from local INS 
offices to the service centers in circumstances where it is practicable 
to do so. The purposes and strategy of the Direct Mail Program have 
been discussed in detail in previous rulemaking and notices, most 
recently on July 1, 1994, when the INS published an interim rule 
introducing Phase 3 of the Program (see 59 FR 33903-06) and a notice 
announcing the extension of Direct Mail to the Baltimore District 
Office as a pilot program (see 59 FR 33985-86).
    The need to expand the Direct Mail Program is particularly urgent 
at this time. Applications and petitions for immigration benefits, 
particularly those for adjustment of status under section 245 of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (Act) and for naturalization, are being 
filed in record numbers. As a result, processing time for these 
applications has lengthened significantly. Expanding Direct Mail is a 
key element in the INS strategy to reduce that processing time.

Expansion of Direct Mail

    The INS is expanding the Direct Mail Program to include all Form I-
485 applications for adjustment of status under section 245 of the Act 
which are filed on the basis of an approved employment-based immigrant 
petition, including those for eligible dependents of the principal 
applicant. Since the supporting visa petitions are already being 
adjudicated at the service centers, this expansion of Direct Mail will 
improve consistency in the adjudication of related applications for 
adjustment of status.
    As of November 29, 1996, the following applications and petitions 
must be mailed to the appropriate INS service center (see section 
entitled ``Modification of filing instructions on relating forms'') 
instead of being filed with a local INS district office:
    (1) Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or 
Adjust Status, (including adjustment applications by eligible 
dependents of the principal applicant), if it is being filed on the 
basis of any of the following approved employment based visa petitions:

--Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker;
--Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur; and
--Any Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er) or Special 
Immigrant, which classifies the

[[Page 56061]]

beneficiary as a ``Special Immigrant Religious Worker''.

    Beneficiaries of an approved Form I-140 visa petition must bear in 
mind that their eligibility to apply for permanent residence on that 
basis depends on whether the visa priority date of the petition 
indicates immediate availability of an immigrant visa to the applicant 
on the date the Form I-485 is filed. Service centers therefore must 
reject any Form I-485 submitted on behalf of an applicant to whom an 
immigrant visa is not yet available on the date the service center 
received the application. See 8 CFR 245.1(g)(1) and 245.2(a)(2).
    Under the Direct Mail Program, applicants for employment based 
permanent resident status submit photographs as well as a complete set 
of fingerprints bearing their signature to the service center for the 
purpose of processing their required security agency checks. Aliens 
whose Form I-485 adjustment of status applications have been approved 
by the service center director must also go to a local INS office in 
order to execute a Form I-89 Data Collection Card for the capture of 
the biometric data (photograph, index fingerprint and signature) 
required for the production of their Alien Registration Receipt Card. A 
final rule published on June 4, 1996 (at 61 FR 28003), which took 
effect July 5, 1996, enables applicants to select a non-INS Designated 
Fingerprinting Service to prepare the set of fingerprints needed to 
satisfy the preliminary security clearance requirements, thereby 
eliminating the need to appear at an INS office for that particular 
purpose. The INS plans to restructure Form I-485 processing to 
eliminate the need for a separate Form I-89 card to capture the 
applicant's biometric alien registration card data. However, at the 
present time, applicants whose Form-485 applications have been approved 
must continue to appear at a local INS office for the execution of the 
I-89 data card. The INS will issue instructions to aliens involved in 
Form I-485 processing under this Direct Mail Program, regarding when 
and how the Form I-89 card should be executed.
    The service center may transfer an I-485 application to a local INS 
office if the INS has determined, based on the specific facts of the 
particular case, that an interview is necessary. In such a case, the 
service center will send the applicant written notice of the transfer, 
with instructions that any subsequent application for related benefits 
based on the adjustment application, such as a Form I-765 application 
for employment authorization or I-131 application for advance parole, 
must be filed with the local office where the I-485 application is 
pending.
    An applicant for adjustment of status may apply concurrently for an 
employment authorization document (EAD) by filing Form I-765, or for 
advance parole authorization by filing Form I-131. Once the service 
center has generated a Form I-797C Notice of Action acknowledging the 
filing of the Form I-485 adjustment application, the Form I-797C will 
constitute evidence of eligibility for purposes of applying for an EAD 
or for advance parole authorization. This notice therefore, also 
affects the filing of the following applications:
    (2) Form I-131, Application for a Travel Document, when filed for 
the purpose of obtaining advance parole authorization on the basis of 
one of the employment-based Form I-485 applications outlined above. An 
applicant may elect to apply for advance parole at the INS district 
office having jurisdiction over the place of qualifying employment, by 
including a copy of the Form I-797C receipt notice for the Form I-485 
with the Form I-131 application. In the case of a Form I-485 
application which has been transferred from the service center to an 
INS local office, the applicant must file any subsequent Form I-131 
advance parole application with that local office.
    (3) Form I-765, Application for an Employment Authorization 
Document (EAD), which is being filed either together with one of the 
employment-based Form I-485 applications described above or, at a later 
date, at the service center where such Form I-485 application is 
pending. Any Form I-765 submitted separately from a Form I-485 
adjustment application must be accompanied with a copy of the Form I-
797C receipt showing that the Form I-485 adjustment of status 
application has been filed.
    The INS is in the process of introducing new technology for the 
production of all EADs at service centers. In the meantime, if the 
service center has transferred the Form I-485 application of an 
employment based immigrant to an INS local office, the applicant must 
file any subsequent Form I-765 with that local office, provided that it 
has the capability to produce a valid EAD. Any other applicant whose 
Form I-485 application is pending at a service center may also elect to 
apply for an EAD at an INS local office, provided that it has 
jurisdiction over the applicant's place of intended employment and has 
the capability to produce a valid EAD.

Jurisdiction of the Texas Service Center Over Form I-140, I-129, I-
526 and I-829 Petitions in Behalf of Beneficiaries Within Its 
Geographical Area

    A previous notice, published May 5, 1995, at 60 FR 22408-09, 
initiated a 6-month trial period in which petitioners filing 
employment-based petitions in behalf of beneficiaries who will be 
employed in a state within the jurisdiction of the Texas Service Center 
had the option of filing the petitions at the Texas Service Center. 
Based on field experience and customer feedback, the Texas Service 
Center has been successful in adjudicating employment-based petitions 
during the trial period. The INS has also determined that the extension 
of Direct Mail to employment-based adjustment applications is most 
efficient when employment-based petitions are filed at the service 
center having jurisdiction over the place where the applicant will be 
employed. Therefore, effective November 29, 1996, the INS will amend 
the filing instructions to the following forms to require that they be 
filed at the Texas Service Center under the conditions described below:
    (1) Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, when filed in 
behalf of an alien beneficiary who will be employed within the 
geographic jurisdiction of the Texas Service Center;
    (2) Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, when filed in 
behalf of an alien beneficiary who will be employed within the 
geographic jurisdiction of the Texas Service Center;
    (3) Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur, when 
filed by an entrepreneur whose commercial enterprise is located within 
the geographic jurisdiction of the Texas Service Center; and
    (4) Form I-829, Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions, when 
filed by an entrepreneur whose commercial enterprise is located within 
the geographic jurisdiction of the Texas Service Center.

Transition period

    The changes in filing location and expansion of the Direct Mail 
Program detailed in this notice are effective as of November 29, 1996. 
However, during the first 60 days following the effective date, local 
INS offices that receive any of the applications stipulated in this 
notice may choose to continue to accept and process them. This decision 
will be at the local office's discretion, taking into account pertinent 
factors such as whether the transition to Direct Mail will 
significantly delay EAD issuance and whether accepting the case is

[[Page 56062]]

appropriate in light of current workloads or other relevant 
circumstances. Applicants who believe there is a basis for a local 
office to exercise this option should contact that office prior to 
filing.
    Until January 28, 1997, any local INS office that receives 
applications designated by this notice which it does not choose to 
retain for adjudication shall forward them, at no cost to the applicant 
or petitioner, to the appropriate service center for processing. On 
arrival at the service center they will be receipted, at which time 
they will be considered to be filed. Any application or petition 
designated for Direct Mail which is submitted to a local office after 
the expiration of this transition period will be returned to the 
applicant for submission to the appropriate service center.

Modification of Filing Instructions on Relating Forms

    Effective November 29, 1996, the Direct Mail filing instructions 
contained in this notice will replace any filing instructions presently 
contained on Forms I-129, I-131, I-140, I-485, I-526, I-765, and I-829 
which are inconsistent with this notice. The INS will issue and attach 
the following supplementary filing instructions to all of the 
aforementioned forms which it distributes to the public.

(1) Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker

    An attachment will be affixed to that part of Form I-129 entitled, 
Instructions for Completing Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, Form I-
129 (Rev. 12/11/91)N, to read as follows:
ATTENTION APPLICANT:
    Where to File.
    If you are petitioning in behalf of a citizen of Mexico for TN 
(Treaty NAFTA) professional status under the North American Free Trade 
Agreement (NAFTA), you must file this petition in accordance with 8 CFR 
214.6(d), with the Nebraska Service Center at the address given in the 
regular Instructions section of the attached petition.
    Effective [Insert date 30 days from date of publication in the 
Federal Register], if you are petitioning in behalf of an alien 
beneficiary for any other nonimmigrant worker status covered by this 
application whose principal place of employment will be in Alabama, 
Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New 
Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, or Texas, 
mail your petition(s) to: INS Service Center, P.O. Box 152122, 
Department A, Irving, TX 75015-2122.
    If you are petitioning in behalf of an alien beneficiary for a 
classification other than TN status whose principal place of employment 
will be in a state other than one of the states listed above, file your 
petition at the appropriate service center designated in the attached 
regular Instructions section entitled, Where to File.

(2) Form I-131, Application for Travel Document

    An attachment will be affixed to the Instructions portion of Form 
I-131, (Rev. 12/10/91)N, to read as follows:
ATTENTION APPLICANT:
    Fee.
    Effective July 14, 1994, the fee for filing Form I-131, Application 
for Travel Document, has been increased to $70.00 (Seventy Dollars).
Where to File.

Advance Parole.

    Effective [Insert date 30 days from date of publication in the 
Federal Register], if you are filing Form I-485 Application to Register 
Permanent Residence or Adjust Status at a service center, you may 
submit at the same time a Form I-131 application to obtain advance 
parole authorization at the same service center. If you have already 
filed your Form I-485 application at a service center and have not been 
advised that it has been transferred to a local INS office, you may 
mail the Form I-131 advance parole application to the same service 
center, or you may choose to submit it to the local INS office having 
jurisdiction over your place of residence. If the service center has 
advised you that it has transferred your Form I-485 application to a 
local INS office, you must file any subsequent Form I-131 application 
at the office to which the Form I-485 was transferred. If you are 
filing an application for advance parole authorization at a local 
office based on your application for adjustment of status which is 
pending at a service center, you must provide evidence (such as a Form 
I-797 Notice of Action) showing that your Form I-485 application for 
adjustment of status is pending with the INS.
    If you are submitting the Form I-131 advance parole application to 
the Vermont, Texas, or California Service Center, use the same address 
which you used to mail the Form I-485 application. For the Nebraska 
Service Center, use the following address: INS Service Center, P.O. Box 
87131, Lincoln, NE 68501-7131.

(3) Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker

    An attachment will be affixed to the Instructions portion of Form 
I-140 (Rev. 12/02/91), to read as follows:
ATTENTION APPLICANT:
    Fee.
    Effective July 14, 1994, the fee for filing Form I-140, Immigrant 
Petition for Alien Worker, has been increased to $75.00 (Seventy-Five 
Dollars).
    Where to File.
    Effective November 29, 1996, if the petition is being filed in 
behalf of an alien whose principal place of employment will be in 
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, 
New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, or 
Texas, mail your application(s) to: INS Service Center, P.O. Box 
152122, Department A, Irving, TX 75015-2122.
    For a Form I-140 petition in behalf of an alien whose principal 
place of employment will be in one of the states listed above, this 
instruction supersedes all previous instructions regarding the service 
center at which such petitions may be filed.

(4) Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust 
Status

    An attachment will be affixed to the Instructions portion of Form 
I-485 (Rev. 09-09-92)N, to read as follows:
ATTENTION APPLICANT:
    Fee.
    Effective July 14, 1994, the fee for filing Form I-485, Application 
to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, has been increased to 
$130.00 (One Hundred and Thirty Dollars), except in the case of 
applicants under the age of 14 years, for whom the fee is $100.00 (One 
Hundred Dollars).
    If your eligibility for adjustment of status is based upon section 
245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, see also Supplement A of 
the Instructions to Form I-485.
    Where to File.
    Effective November 29, 1996, if you are filing a Form I-485 
application for adjustment of your status on the basis of any of the 
following approved employment-based visa petitions, mail your 
adjustment application to the service center which approved the 
original petition:
     Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker;
     Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur; or
     a Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er) or Special

[[Page 56063]]

Immigrant, which classifies you as a ``special immigrant religious 
worker''.
    If an INS district or suboffice approved the employment-based 
petition, mail your adjustment application to the service center having 
jurisdiction over your place of residence. If you are filing a Form I-
765 application for employment authorization or a Form I-131 
application for advance parole authorization along with your adjustment 
application, please also read the separate filing instructions for 
those forms.
    If you live in Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, 
Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, 
Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virgin Islands, 
Virginia, or West Virginia, mail your application(s) to: INS Service 
Center, P.O. Box 9485, St. Albans, VT 05479-9485.
    If you live in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, 
Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South 
Carolina, Tennessee, or Texas, mail your application(s) to: INS Service 
Center, P.O. Box 152122, Department A, Irving, TX 75015-2122.
    If you live in Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, or Nevada, mail 
your application(s) to: INS Service Center, P.O. Box 10485, Laguna 
Niguel, CA 92607-0485.
    If you live in Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, 
Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, 
Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, or Wyoming, 
mail your application(s) to: INS Service Center, P.O. Box 87485, 
Lincoln, NE 68501-7485.

(5) Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur

    An attachment will be affixed to the Instructions Portion of Form 
I-526 (Rev. 12-02-91), to read as follows:
ATTENTION APPLICANT:
    Fee.
    Effective July 14, 1994, the fee for filing Form I-526, Immigrant 
Petition by Alien Entrepreneur, has been increased to $155.00 (One 
Hundred and Fifty-Five Dollars).
    Where to File.
    Effective November 29, 1996, if you are an entrepreneur whose 
commercial enterprise is located within the states of Alabama, 
Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New 
Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, or Texas, 
mail your petition to: INS Service Center, P.O. Box 152122, Department 
A, Irving, TX 75015-2122.
    This instruction supersedes all previous instructions regarding the 
address of the service center at which Form I-526 petitions may be 
filed by an entrepreneur whose commercial enterprise is located in one 
of the states listed above. If you are an entrepreneur whose commercial 
enterprise is located within a state other than the ones listed above, 
refer to the instruction portion of Form I-526.

(6) Form I-765, Application for an Employment Authorization Document 
(EAD)

    An attachment will be affixed to the Instructions portion of Form 
I-765 (Rev. 04-25-95), to read as follows:
ATTENTION APPLICANT:
    Fee.
    Effective July 14, 1994, the basic fee for filing Form I-765, 
Application for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), has been 
increased to $70.00 (Seventy Dollars).
    Where to File.
    Effective November 29, 1996, if you are filing a Form I-485, 
Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, at a 
service center, you may file a Form I-765 application at the same time. 
If you have already filed your Form I-485 application at a service 
center and have not been advised that it has been transferred to a 
local INS office, you may mail the I-765 application to the same 
service center; or you may choose to file the Form I-765 at the local 
INS office having jurisdiction over your place of residence, provided 
that the local INS office has the capability to issue an EAD. If the 
service center has advised you that it has transferred your Form I-485 
application to a local INS office, you must file any subsequent Form I-
765 application at that office. If you are applying for an EAD at local 
INS office based on your Form I-485 application for adjustment of 
status which is pending at a service center, you must provide evidence, 
such as a Form I-797 Notice of Action, showing that your Form I-485 
application is pending.
    For the Vermont and Texas Service Centers, use the same address to 
which you mailed Form I-485. For the California Service Center, use the 
following address: INS Service Center, P.O. Box 10765, Laguna Niguel, 
CA 92607-0765.
    For the Nebraska Service Center, use the following address: INS 
Service Center, P.O. Box 87765, Lincoln, NE 68501-7765.

(7) Form I-829, Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions

    An attachment will be affixed to the Instructions portion of Form 
I-829 (Rev. 01-07-94), to read as follows:
ATTENTION APPLICANT:
    Where to File.
    Effective November 29, 1996, if you are an entrepreneur whose 
commercial enterprise is located within the states of Alabama, 
Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New 
Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, or Texas, 
mail your petition to: INS Service Center, P.O. Box 152122, Department 
A, Irving, TX 75015-2122.
    If you are an entrepreneur whose commercial enterprise is located 
within one of the states listed above, this instruction supersedes all 
previous instructions regarding the service center at which the Form I-
829 petition may be filed. If you are an entrepreneur whose commercial 
enterprise is located within a state other than one of those listed 
above, refer to the instructions portion of Form I-526.

Conversion to Direct Mail Filing of Asylum and Refugee Adjustment 
Applications

    In order to promote consistency of processing and to improve 
service to the public, the INS plans to consolidate at one service 
center the adjustment of status processing of all persons who were 
granted refugee and asylum status in the United States. As a first step 
in this plan, the INS previously arranged that the filing of all Form 
I-730 alien relative petitions by persons holding refugee or asylum 
status in the United States would be processed at the service center in 
Texas. However, workload growth and the expansion of Direct Mail, 
combined with serious facility limitations at that center, require that 
this processing be shifted elsewhere. Therefore the INS plans to 
propose, in a separate rulemaking, to shift this workload to the 
service center in Nebraska, and to shift the adjustment of status 
processing of refugees under section 209(a) of the Act, and of asylees 
under section 209(b) of the Act, to the Direct Mail program and to 
consolidate their processing at the Nebraska Service Center.

    Dated: September 20, 1996.
Doris Meissner,
Commissioner, Immigration and Naturalization Service.
[FR Doc. 96-27837 Filed 10-29-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-10-M