Stakeholder Engagement on Centralized Form I-601 Filing

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducted two teleconferences on May 31, 2012 from 8:00 am to 9:00 am or 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm (Eastern) to discuss the transition to centralized Lockbox filing of Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility, filed by applicants outside the U.S. The same engagement was held at two different times to accommodate participants domestically and abroad.

Currently, applicants for immigrant visas outside the U.S. must file a Form I-601 at a U.S. Embassy or consulate if a consular officer finds the applicant inadmissible on a ground that may be waived. Beginning June 4, 2012, USCIS will phase-in a new requirement that Forms I-601, and associated Forms I-212 and I-290B, be filed and adjudicated in the U.S. An exception will be made for applications filed at the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, for a limited period of time. USCIS is undertaking this change to more efficiently centralize operational processes and improve customer service with standardized filing and adjudication procedures.

During this session, USCIS provided an overview of the centralized Lockbox filing process and address questions and comments from participants. This new process is separate and distinct from the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that was announced on March 30, 2012, which outlines a proposed process for provisional unlawful presence waivers.