[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 17 (Thursday, January 25, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 2266]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-1141]



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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Immigration and Naturalization Service
[INS No. 1745-95]


Direct Mail Program for the Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, and New 
York District Offices; Form N-400

AGENCY: Immigration and Naturalization Service, Justice.

ACTION: Notice of expansion of the Direct Mail Program.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the Immigration and Naturalization 
Service's (the ``Service'') plan to expand the Direct Mail Program to 
include the filing of Form N-400, Application for Naturalization. The 
Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, and New York District Offices will be the 
pilot sites for this expanded program. Under this pilot program:
    (1) Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, currently filed 
with the Service's Los Angeles District Office must be mailed directly 
to the California Service Center;
    (2) Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, currently filed 
with the Service's Miami District Office must be mailed directly to the 
Texas Service Center;
    (3) Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, currently filed 
with the Chicago District Office must be mailed directly to the 
Nebraska Service Center;
    (4) Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, currently filed 
with the New York District Office must be mailed directly to the 
Vermont Service Center.
    These changes will reduce processing times for adjudicating 
applications for naturalization, enable the Service to provide 
applicants with more information regarding their case status in a more 
efficient and expeditious manner, and limit the number of in-person 
visits to local Service offices, thereby improving the Service's 
ability to provide service to its customers.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This notice is effective January 31, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Susan Arroyo, Adjudications Officer, Immigration and Naturalization 
Service, Adjudications Division, 425 I Street, NW., Room 3214, 
Washington, DC 20536, telephone, (202) 514-5014.

ADDRESSES: The Service welcomes comments about this program and will 
make appropriate changes before adopting it nationwide. Written 
comments must be submitted on or before April 24, 1996.
    Please submit any written comments you may have concerning the 
expansion of the Direct Mail Program, in triplicate, to the Director, 
Policy Directives and Instructions Branch, Immigration and 
Naturalization Service, 425 I Street, NW., Room 5307, Washington, DC 
20536, Attention Public Comment Clerk. To ensure proper handling, 
please reference INS No. 1745-95 on your correspondence. Comments are 
available for public inspection at the above address by calling (202) 
514-3048 to arrange an appointment.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under 8 CFR 103.2(a), applications submitted 
to the Service must be executed and filed in accordance with the 
instructions on the application form. This was promulgated by an 
interim regulation published in the Federal Register, in order to 
improve the Service's ability to provide service to its customers in 
the most efficient and expeditious manner possible. See 59 FR 33903-
33906 (July 1, 1994). By eliminating specific references to filing 
locations, the interim rule provides Service Center directors with the 
authority to accept and process applications designated for Direct 
Mail. It also provides the Service with the flexibility to shift 
filings to the Service Centers as it continues to expand the Direct 
Mail Program.
    On July 1, 1994, the Service also published a public notice in the 
Federal Register at 59 FR 33985-33986 to implement a pilot Direct Mail 
Program in the Baltimore District Office. That pilot program has been 
very successful and has achieved the intended results of improving 
public service and reducing burdensome filing procedures at the 
Baltimore District Office.
    Based on the success of the pilot program at the Baltimore District 
Office, the Service has now decided to expand the Direct Mail Program 
to include the direct mailing of the Form N-400, Application for 
Naturalization, currently being filed at the Los Angeles, Miami, 
Chicago, and New York District Offices, to the appropriate Service 
Center. Expansion of the Direct Mail Program with respect to the filing 
of the Form N-400 is consistent with the Service's objective of 
streamlining the naturalization process to better serve the public. By 
shifting the Form N-400's to Direct Mail, the Service will be able to 
improve the productivity and timeliness of application processing, and 
provide more information about case status through receipt and other 
notices. To effect this expansion of the Direct Mail Program, the 
Service is amending the instructions on the Form N-400, Application for 
Naturalization, accordingly. The fee for filing an Application for 
Naturalization, Form N-400 will remain the same.

Where To File

    Effective January 31, 1996:
    (1) Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, for persons 
residing within the jurisdiction of the Miami District Office must be 
mailed directly to the following address: USINS Texas Service Center, 
P.O. Box 152122, Irving, Texas 75015-2122.
    (2) Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, for persons 
residing within the jurisdiction of the Chicago District Office must be 
mailed directly to the following address: USINS Nebraska Service 
Center, P.O. Box 87400, Lincoln, NE 68508-7400.
    (3) Form N-400, Application For Naturalization, for persons 
residing within the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles District Office 
must be mailed directly to the following address: USINS California 
Service Center, P.O. Box 10400, 24000 Avila Road, Laguna Nigel, 
California 92607-0400.
    (4) Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, for persons 
residing within the jurisdiction of the New York District Office must 
be mailed directly to the following address: USINS Vermont Service 
Center, 75 Lower Weldon Street, St. Albans, Vermont 05479-0001.

Transition

    During the first 60 days following the effective date of this 
notice, the Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, and New York District Offices 
will forward in a timely fashion to the appropriate Service Center any 
Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, which has been 
inadvertently filed with the respective District Office. When 
applications are forwarded from the District Offices, they will be 
receipted and filed when they arrive at the Service Center. After the 
60 day transition period, applicants attempting to file Form N-400, 
Application for Naturalization, will be directed to mail their 
application to the appropriate Service Center for processing.

    Dated: January 12, 1996.
Doris Meissner,
Commissioner, Immigration and Naturalization Service.
[FR Doc. 96-1141 Filed 1-24-96; 8:45 am]
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