ALERT: The effective date for the updated USCIS policy guidance on mailing address procedures for persons eligible for and recipients of victim-based immigration relief, specifically Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) self-petitioners, and those seeking or currently holding T or U nonimmigrant status (protected persons) has been revised. USCIS anticipates the policy to be effective on or before March 29, 2024, subject to unforeseen circumstances. Despite this adjustment, there are no substantive changes to the policy, and USCIS will maintain its current safe mailing address procedures during this period.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is implementing this update to the USCIS Policy Manual under 8 U.S.C 1367 confidentiality provisions, ensuring that information related to a protected person is disclosed only to authorized parties identified by the protected person. The guidance covers mailing address and adjudication procedures for victim-based and non-victim-based forms filed by protected persons, including abused spouses of certain nonimmigrants seeking employment authorization under section 106 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The effective date for this guidance is July 11, 2023, and it applies to pending or newly filed benefit requests on or after that date. Additional details can be found in the Policy Alert (PDF, 515.9 KB). USCIS invites comments on this update through the Policy Manual for Comment page, considering all feedback received for future updates.
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