[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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