Earlier this week, USCIS revised the filing instructions for Form I-130, the Petition for Alien Relative. Effective February 19, all petitioners that file a stand-alone Form I-130 should file their petition with the Chicago Lockbox, as opposed to submitting the petition to a USCIS Service Center.

In December 2007, USCIS officially ‘encouraged’ petitioners to submit their stand-alone I-130 petitions to the Chicago Lockbox as the organization worked toward revising the I-130 form. That form has now been fully revised and filing with the Chicago Lockbox is now required of these petitioners.

Petitions filed with the Chicago Lockbox, after receipt, will be routed to and adjudicated at either the Vermont or California USCIS Service Center.

USCIS has created two separate P.O. Box addresses that correspond to the appropriate USCIS Service Center that will process the petitioner’s I-130 form. Petitioners 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 required to file their stand-alone I-130 petitions to the following address:

USCIS
P.O. Box 804625
Chicago, IL 60680-1029

Petitioner 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 required to file their stand-alone I-130 petitions to the following address:

P.O. Box 804616
Chicago, IL 60680-1029