Filing Location Changes for Form I-131, Application for Travel Document
A proclamation on the change of form filing locations for Form I-131 has been made by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS.) Additionally, the form filing instructions have also been revised.
The Application for Travel Document can be filed by a permanent resident of the United States if he wants a reentry permit, an advance parole document, or a refugee travel document. With the reentry permit, a permanent or a conditional resident, after returning from abroad has the advantage of being permitted into U.S. without a returning resident visa from a U.S. Embassy or consulate. An advance parole document can be used by an alien after traveling abroad, to re-enter the United States without an immigrant or a non-immigrant visa. The refugee travel document can be used by an immigrant to re-enter into U.S.
The change in the Form I-131 filing locations has been brought into effect to transfer the USCIS forms from the USCIS local offices and service centers to the U.S. Lockbox facility. The centralization of form filing locations to the Lockbox would facilitate the USCIS to process the applications in a better and organized manner, thus ensuring faster response to the applicants.
The immigration applicants are insisted to file their applications at the USCIS Vermont service center or at any one of the USCIS Lockbox facilities commencing from March 19, 2010. For 30days from then, until April 19, 2010, the USCIS Service centers will work at forwarding the incorrectly filed Form I-131 applications to the U.S. Lockbox facility.
If you want to be notified of the processing status of your application through an email and/or a text message, you have to opt for it while filing the Form I-131 with the USCIS. Accordingly a Form G-1145 must be completed and attached to the first page of your application.