Biden Administration Action: Modified

2021.06.10 USCIS Announces Lockbox Filing Flexibilities

This Biden administration policy modifies the Trump-era policy identified in this entry.

On June 10, 2021, USCIS issued filing flexibilities to provide relief to certain applicants and petitioners impacted by delays at a USCIS lockbox. The filing flexibilities are effective for 60 days from June 10 until August 9, 2021, and apply to the following two scenarios:

1. USCIS will allow for resubmission of a benefit request where the request was submitted to a USCIS lockbox between October 1, 2020, and April 1, 2021, and was rejected during that timeframe solely due to a filing fee payment expiring while the benefit request was awaiting processing. If USCIS concurs that it has rejected the benefit request because of the delay, USCIS will deem the request to have been received on the initial date of filing and waive the $30 dishonored check fee.
2. USCIS will allow for resubmission where the applicant or petitioner can demonstrate that because of the time that elapsed between when the benefit request was originally submitted to a USCIS lockbox and when USCIS rejected it, the stakeholder aged out and is no longer eligible for the benefit requested. If USCIS agrees that the delayed rejection caused the person to be ineligible due to age, USCIS will accept the resubmission and deem it to have been received on the initial date of filing.