USCIS Improves Delivery of Immigration Documents through Secure Mail Initiative

July 13, 2011

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has fully implemented the Secure Mail Initiative (SMI), which uses U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation to deliver certain immigration documents in a safe, secure and timely manner.

The SMI is the product of a partnership between USCIS and the USPS, and enables USCIS to confirm delivery of permanent resident cards and documents pertaining to travel and employment authorization. With USPS tracking information, USCIS customers can easily stay up-to-date on the delivery status of their documents and USCIS can confirm that these essential documents were delivered to the proper address.

Among the benefits the SMI provides to USCIS customers, there’s the ability to track th status of their documents with USPS tracking information and quicker delivery.

Customers who receive notices of approval can contact USCIS’s Customer Service Center at 800-375-5283 to request tracking information for their documents. USCIS customer service representatives will provide customers with their USPS tracking number and current USPS delivery status.

SMI was one of several enhancements resulting from USCIS’s 2007 final fee schedule. USCIS first piloted the initiative in July 2008, delivering all re-entry permits and refugee travel documents using USPS Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation. USCIS has also used SMI processes since July 2009 for re-mailing all permanent residence cards, as well as employment authorization and travel documents returned by the USPS to USCIS as undeliverable.