[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 4 (Wednesday, January 7, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 892]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-365]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Immigration and Naturalization Service
[INS No. 1894-97]


Expansion of the Direct Mail Program for the Anchorage, Detroit, 
and Seattle District Offices and the Spokane and Yakima Suboffices; 
Form N-400

AGENCY: Immigration and Naturalization Service, Justice.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS or Service) is 
expanding its Direct Mail Program to include the Anchorage, Detroit, 
and Seattle District Offices and the Spokane and Yakima Suboffices on 
the current list of direct mail sites for filing form N-400, 
Application for Naturalization.
    Applicants residing within these districts and suboffices will mail 
their Form N-400 directly to the designated INS service center for 
processing. This expansion is intended to improve INS service to the 
public by reducing processing times for Form N-400, limiting in-person 
visits to local offices, and improving the quality of case status 
information provided to the public.

DATES: This notice is effective January 12, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Susan Arroyo, Adjudications Officer, Immigration and Naturalization 
Service, Office of Naturalization Operations, 801 I Street, NW., Room 
935E, Washington, DC 20536, telephone, (202) 514-8247.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Under the INS Direct Mail Program, certain applicants and 
petitioners for immigration benefits mail directly the Form N-400 to an 
INS service center for processing instead of submitting them to a local 
office. The purposes and strategy of the Direct Mail Program has been 
discussed in detail in previous rulemaking and notices (see, e.g., 59 
FR 33903 and 59 FR 33985).
    The Service is continuing expansion of the Direct Mail Program as 
applied to Form N-400 by adding the Anchorage, Detroit, and Seattle 
District Offices and the Spokane and Yakima Suboffices as Direct Mail 
sites.

Where to File

    Effective January 12, 1998, applicants residing within the 
jurisdiction of the Anchorage, Detroit, and Seattle District Offices 
and the Spokane and Yakima Suboffices must mail the Form N-400, 
Application for Naturalization, directly to the following addresses: 
USINS Nebraska Service Center, Attention: N-400 Unit, P.O. Box 87400, 
Lincoln, Nebraska 68508-7400.

Transition

    During the first 60 days following the effective date of this 
notice, the Anchorage, Detroit and Seattle District Offices and the 
Spokane and Yakima Suboffices will forward in a timely fashion to the 
Nebraska Service Center any Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, 
which has been inadvertently filed with the respective district or 
suboffice. Applicants will be provided a notice at the time of filing 
at the district or suboffice advising them that their application is 
being forwarded to the service center for initial processing. The 
applicant will receive written notification from their respective 
district or suboffice of the date, place, and time of their interview 
for naturalization. When applications are forwarded from the district 
or suboffices, they will be receipted and filed when they arrive at the 
service center. After the 60-day transition period, applicants 
attempting to file Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, at the 
offices listed above will be directed to mail their application 
directly to the Nebraska Service Center for processing.

    Dated: December 31, 1997.
Doris Meissner,
Commissioner, Immigration and Naturalization Service.
[FR Doc. 98-365 Filed 1-6-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-01-M