Policy Manual Update: Customer Service and Safe Address Procedures for Certain Protected Persons

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today highlighted updated guidance in the Policy Manual on customer service and safe address procedures for individuals protected under 8 U.S.C. 1367. This includes individuals who have pending or approved victim-based immigration relief, specifically relief under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), such as Form I-360 VAWA self-petitions and Form I-751 waivers based on battery or extreme cruelty, T nonimmigrant status applications or U nonimmigrant status petitions, and their derivatives and beneficiaries.

We are committed to protecting the confidentiality of protected individuals and to responsibly disclosing information while also reducing barriers to benefits and services for them. We updated this guidance after receiving feedback from stakeholders on these topics. These updates will allow us to provide better customer service to this protected population and encourage more autonomy in identifying safe addresses. This guidance is currently effective.

Customer Service Updates

• Provide that protected individuals may now submit inquiries or request a service through the USCIS Contact Center after we have verified their identity through specific USCIS Contact Center procedures. This includes safeguards to ensure that we share confidential and statutorily protected information only with the appropriate individuals.
• Explain that protected individuals may also send a secure message from their USCIS online account. If we receive their inquiry by secure message, we will call them to begin the verification process. If possible, protected individuals should have a copy of the receipt notice for the pending or approved application or petition they are specifically calling about available during the call.
• Explain that after we have verified a person’s identity and their eligibility to receive information, the USCIS Contact Center will respond to the inquiry or provide appropriate assistance.
• Provide that if the USCIS Contact Center cannot provide the requested service, they may schedule the protected individual for an in-person appointment at a USCIS field office.

This expansion currently applies to protected individuals only. Their attorneys and representatives must continue to use the dedicated VAWA/T/U email hotlines for customer service inquiries. To help us process these requests more efficiently and avoid duplicate work, we ask attorneys and representatives to avoid submitting the same requests that your clients are submitting through the USCIS Contact Center.

Safe Address Updates

• Provide that USCIS must review each form individually to determine where to send notices and secure identity documents.
• Explain that USCIS should adjudicate non-victim-based benefit requests independently from victim-based benefit requests, without unnecessarily referring to previously filed victim-based benefit requests in any correspondence.
• Provide clear guidance on mailing address procedures for both protected individuals represented by an attorney or accredited representative and those without an attorney or accredited representative, as well as those with multiple pending forms.

Background

These updates are responsive to President Biden’s Executive Order 14012 and stakeholder feedback. Through this updated guidance, we are reducing administrative burdens and easing access to immigration services for protected individuals.

More Information

Find the updated guidance at USCIS Policy Manual - Volume 1, Part A, Chapter 7, Section E. Visit the Policy Manual Feedback page to provide feedback on this update.

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