USA Green Card Immigration Blog

Revisions to the Form I-601, application for Waiver of Ground of Inadmissibility, have been announced by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). As per the revisions made to the application for Waiver of Ground of Inadmissibility, from January 4, 2010, individuals infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) are admissible to the United States and they also don’t have to file the Form I-601 due to HIV infection.

In the new version, USCIS has also declared the revised filing instructions and addresses that are to be followed by the individuals filing Form I-601. The basic idea behind all the efforts taken to change the filling location is to shift the intake of benefit forms from USCIS local offices and Service Centres to USCIS Lockbox facilities. USCIS aims at providing customers with more proficient and effectual initial processing of applications and fees by centralizing form and fee intake to a Lockbox environment.

The filing location changes for applicants located in the United States have been put into effect from 1/27/2010. For instance, the USCIS Vermont Service Center takes in applications from people who have an approved Form I-360 in several categories, such as a self-petitioning spouse, a legal permanent resident, or T nonimmigrant’s trying to adjust their status.

On the other hand, applicants from outside United States as usual can file their forms for Waiver of Ground of Inadmissibility with the with the U.S. Embassy or consulate where they are applying for a visa.

Applicants filing for Form I-601 at a Lockbox facility can also opt to receive an email or a text regarding USCIS acceptance of their application. For this the applicant only needs to attach an E-Notification of Application to the first page of the application.

USCIS offices plan to forward the incorrectly filed Form I-601 applications to the Lockbox facilities, where they will be retained till 2/27/2010, before being sent back to the applicant.