U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) revised the filing instructions for the Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130). Effective December 3, 2007, all applicants filing stand-alone Form I-130s are encouraged to file their petitions with the Chicago Lockbox instead of a USCIS Service Center.
Petitions filed with the Chicago Lockbox will be routed to, and adjudicated at, the appropriate USCIS Service Center. This routing will be based on the petitioner’s place of residence in the United States.
Two separate post office box addresses (see below) have been established that correspond to the appropriate USCIS Service Center (either Vermont or California) that will process and adjudicate the petition. Although Form I-130 will be filed with the Chicago Lockbox, petitioners will receive receipt notices from either the Vermont or California Service Center.
Applicants who reside in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin or Wyoming are encouraged to file their stand-alone Form I-130s with the Lockbox using the following address:
USCIS
P.O. Box 804625
Chicago, IL 60680-1029
Applicants who reside in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, U.S. Virgin Islands, West Virginia or District of Columbia are encouraged to file their stand-alone Form I-130 with the Lockbox using the following address:
USCIS
P.O. Box 804616
Chicago, IL 60680-1029
While the changes are effective December 3, any Form I-130 filed with the Service Center will not be rejected; it will be forwarded to the designated Chicago Lockbox. Applicants are encouraged, however, to begin using the designated Lockbox filing on the effective date in order to avoid processing delays.
The revised form and filing instructions will be available through USCIS’ Website at www.uscis.gov as soon as they are available.