Beginning June 4, 2012, people who have applied for particular visas
abroad and have been found ineligible by a U.S. Consular officer will be
able to mail a request to waive certain grounds of inadmissibility
directly to a USCIS Lockbox facility. This new process will directly
affect where these waiver applications must be sent.
With the current process, processing times for waivers of grounds of
inadmissibility range from one month to over a year, depending upon the
filing location. This new centralization of this process will give
enable more efficient processing and more consistent adjudication for
such waivers. In addition, people filing such waivers with a USCIS
Lockbox facility will be able to track the status of their cases online.
This process change will affect the filing locations of the following immigrant and nonimmigrant forms:
Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility
Form I-212, Application for Permission to Reapply for Admission into the United States After Deportation or Removal
Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion, (if filed after a denial of a Form I-601 or Form I-212).
Any applicant who is mailing his or her waiver request form is advised
to use the address included in the revised form instructions on the
USCIS website.
Please note that during a limited six-month transition period, immigrant
visa waiver applicants in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, will be given the
option to mail their application to the USCIS Lockbox facility in the
U.S. or to file their waiver application in person at the USCIS office
in Ciudad Juarez.
