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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced Wednesday that it will begin accepting online applications from certain business visitors, tourists and students who are seeking to extend their stays in the United States. This announcement came after USCIS announced a new eProcessing program to accelerate USCIS’ transition to a digital business model. The agency said eProcessing “will be a complete digital experience, from applying for a benefit, to communicating with USCIS, through receiving a decision on a case.”
Key points:
Background: Wednesday’s announcement is part of a broader effort to expand online filing options. Besides the new eProcessing options described above, the Department of Homeland Security plans to propose a rule to move toward end-to-end electronic processing. USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna said in an interview in October that he hopes for online filing to be available for all applications and petitions by the end of 2020.
BAL Analysis: The online filing option is welcome news that will allow eligible applicants to avoid hardcopy applications and move into the processing queue faster. For now, eProcessing is only available for a limited number of applications and petitions. USCIS has said it will broaden the availability of eProcessing to other classifications soon.
This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.
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