United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has published an interim final rule (IFR) that will allow the agency to require, at its discretion, that certain forms seeking immigration benefits be filed exclusively through electronic or online filing (e-filing).  For such forms, the mailing of hard copy forms would be prohibited, and any such filings would be rejected.

The IFR will be effective on August 11, 2026.  During a public comment period that will end on October 13, 2026, USCIS will accept and review comments on the IFR and these will be taken into account when the content of the Final Rule is determined.

The IFR notes that USCIS may require any immigration form that has been available for e-filing for at least 180 days to be filed electronically but will impose the requirement only after it has notified the public on its website at least 60 days before the e-filing of a form is required. E-filing may only be done through an established online myUSCIS account, and fees must be paid through Pay.gov. Forms may be completed online or by uploading a PDF of the completed form and supporting materials.

USCIS has not yet identified which forms must be filed electronically.  There are 22 forms that have been available for e-filing for at least 180 days.  These include Forms I-90 (Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card), N-400 (Application for Naturalization), I-539 (Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status), I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative), I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization), I-131 (Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records), and certain I-129 (Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker) forms.  These include those seeking H-1B status.

USCIS notes that electronic filing is already common for many USCIS forms and indicates that, in the past fiscal year, 44% of all forms submitted to it were filed electronically.  The IFR states that USCIS, at its discretion, may waive mandatory e-filing. A request for a waiver of mandatory e-filing may be made by submitting a Request for Waiver of EFiling Requirement.

T&S will monitor the rule and ensure that all immigration filings are submitted in accordance with existing USCIS requirements at the time of filing.