[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 107 (Monday, June 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47582-47583]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-11986]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
[CIS No. 2775-24; DHS Docket No. USCIS-2024-0004]
Retirement of Forms by Mail Service
AGENCY: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of
Homeland Security.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Through this notice, the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS), United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
announces the retirement of the Forms by Mail service on July 18, 2024.
The Forms by Mail service provides paper copies of available USCIS
forms by mail to individuals who submit a request online using the
uscis.gov website (accessible at https://www.uscis.gov/forms/forms-information/forms-by-mail) or by mail. Forms by Mail is no longer
needed because all USCIS forms and instructions are available on the
uscis.gov website to download, print, and complete, and many forms may
be filed electronically at https://www.uscis.gov/file-online/forms-available-to-file-online. Ending Forms by Mail is intended to allow
USCIS to use the resources that it requires on more essential tasks.
DATES: USCIS will not accept forms requests received through the
uscis.gov website or by mail after July 18, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Mary Zimmerman, Supervisor, Intake and Processing Unit,
Central Operations Branch, Office of Intake and Document Production,
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland
Security, 124 Leroy Road, Williston, VT 05495.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Zimmerman, Supervisor, Intake and
Processing Unit, Central Operations Branch, Office of Intake and
Document Production, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,
Department of Homeland Security, 124 Leroy Road, Williston, VT 05495 or
by phone at 802-309-0284.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 5, 1978, the Immigration and
Naturalization Service (Legacy INS) published a final rule amending the
regulations at 8 CFR part 299 to provide guidance on the issuance of
agency forms to the public. See 43 FR 14304. The goal of this final
rule was to facilitate distribution of agency forms to individuals,
groups, and practitioners, which benefited the public during a
[[Page 47583]]
time when these forms were not immediately accessible. Id. at 14303.
As a result of the 1978 final rule, Legacy INS created the Forms by
Mail service. Under 8 CFR 299.2, USCIS may, but is not required to,
provide physical copies of forms to the person for whom the form is
intended or a representative of the intended user. See 8 CFR 299.2
(stating ``Any officer or employee of the Service may issue official
application or petition and related forms to the person for whose use
the form is intended or to a person identified as a representative of
the intended user in the quantity required for filing the application
or petition and related forms.'') (emphasis added). Through the USCIS
Forms by Mail service, individuals may request physical copies of blank
forms to file applications or petitions with USCIS.\1\ While most of
these form requests are initiated by individuals who completed an
online form request on the uscis.gov website, USCIS also responds to
form requests received through physical mail. USCIS has administered
the Forms by Mail service for over 30 years.
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\1\ See Department of Homeland Security, United States
Citizenship and Immigration Services, Forms By Mail available at
https://www.uscis.gov/forms/forms-information/forms-by-mail (last
viewed Apr. 15, 2024).
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Since fiscal year (FY) 2019, form requests submitted through the
USCIS Forms by Mail service have decreased by over 500%.\2\ USCIS
attributes this decreased demand to the availability of all agency
forms on the USCIS website, in addition to the increasing electronic
filing options for many applications and petitions. Individuals who
access the USCIS forms online are assured they have the most current
form versions, which minimizes the number of immigration benefit
requests that USCIS otherwise would have to reject based on an outdated
or incorrect form version.
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\2\ Records of the USCIS, Office of Intake and Document
Production, Document Management Division.
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In addition, USCIS spends over $35,000 annually to manage the Forms
by Mail program, including employees' salaries, postage, and other
materials.\3\ Forms by Mail also requires specialized mailing equipment
and software to manage the distribution of the forms. USCIS has
determined that these resources would be better used in delivering
services that are in demand.
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\3\ Records of the USCIS, Office of Intake and Document
Production, Document Management Division.
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Before deciding to retire the Forms by Mail Service, USCIS assessed
whether there were reliance interests, whether they were significant,
and weighed such interests against the benefits of and rationale behind
making this change along with competing policy concerns. DHS reviewed
data such as the number of forms requests received through the Forms by
Mail service in recent years. DHS has not received any indication that
stakeholders do not have access to the internet, a computer, a printer,
or online filing capabilities. The total number of requests made
through Forms by Mail in FY23 was 10,783 and in FY23 USCIS had over 7.7
million paper filings. Therefore, DHS determined that there are not
significant reliance interests in the Forms by Mail service, and to the
extent that such reliance interests exist, the competing policy
concerns, including the human resources and operational and financial
costs savings from retiring the Forms by Mail service, outweigh any
potential reliance interest. DHS concluded there are no alternatives to
retiring the program that would meet the competing policy concerns.
Nevertheless, USCIS is providing 45 days advance notice in this notice
before the Forms by Mail service is retired to mitigate any reliance
interests and facilitate adjustment to other avenues to obtain forms.
Therefore, after considering the decreasing demand for the USCIS Forms
by Mail service, the availability of USCIS forms on the uscis.gov
website, and the operational and financial costs of the Forms by Mail
service, USCIS has decided to retire the Forms by Mail Service. USCIS
will also post a notice on the Forms by Mail web page \4\ and on social
media announcing that we will end the service in 45 days. After July
18, 2024, USCIS will no longer physically mail forms to stakeholders
and will direct any form request or similar inquiry to the uscis.gov
website.
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\4\ See Department of Homeland Security, United States
Citizenship and Immigration Services, Forms By Mail available at
https://www.uscis.gov/forms/forms-information/forms-by-mail (last
viewed Apr. 15, 2024).
Ur M. Jaddou,
Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of
Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2024-11986 Filed 5-31-24; 8:45 am]
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