[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 4 (Wednesday, January 7, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 892-893]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-366]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Immigration and Naturalization Service
[INS No. 1884-97]


Expansion of the Direct Mail Program for the Denver, Kansas City, 
Portland, Oregon, and St. Paul District Offices and the Salt Lake City 
and St. Louis 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

[[Page 893]]

include the Denver, Kansas City, Portland, Oregon, and St. Paul 
District Offices and the Salt Lake City and St. Louis 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 7, 1998 or January 30, 1998, 
whichever is later.

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 their applications or 
petitions directly to an INS service center for processing instead of 
submitting them to a local INS office. The purposes and strategy of the 
Direct Mail Program has been discussed in detail in previous rulemaking 
notices (see, 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 Denver, Kansas City, Portland, 
Oregon, and St. Paul District Offices, and the Salt Lake City and St. 
Louis Suboffices, as Direct Mail sites.

Where to File

    Effective [Insert date of publication in the Federal Register, or 
January 30, 1998, whichever is later] applicants for naturalization 
residing within the jurisdiction of the Denver, Kansas, Portland, 
Oregon, and the St. Paul District Offices and the Salt Lake City and 
St. Louis Suboffices must mail the Form N-400, Application for 
Naturalization directly to the following address: 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 Denver, Kansas City, Portland, Oregon, and St. Paul 
District Offices and the Salt Lake City and St. Louis 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 appropriate 
service center for processing.

    Dated: December 31, 1997.
Doris Meissner,
Commissioner, Immigration and Naturalization Service.
[FR Doc. 98-366 Filed 1-6-98; 8:45 am]
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