USCIS Update June 5, 2008
Current Notice May Be Interpreted as USCIS Granting Approval for Petition
to Remove Conditions on Residence
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced
today it will revise language in transfer notices received by petitioners
who filed a Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence (Form I-751). The
current notice includes language that may cause petitioners to believe
their cases have been approved.
USCIS announced last month that it is revising filing instructions for
Form I-751 to require filing at the California or Vermont Service Centers.
Until the form instructions are revised, any petitions filed with the
Nebraska and Texas Service Centers will be transferred to California and
Vermont, respectively. When USCIS enters data at one service center and
later transfers the case to another, a Transfer Notice is sent to the
petitioner advising him or her that the case has been transferred for
adjudication and that they will be notified of the final decision.
The current transfer notice currently contains the following phrase: “CRI89
approved removal of conditions (I89).” That statement means that
the biometric portion of the case has been successfully transferred; it
does not, however, mean that the petition itself was approved.
While USCIS is in the process of changing the language in the transfer
notice, a substantial number of notices have already been mailed containing
the potentially confusing statement. Any petitioner who may have received
such a notice should be aware of the following:
At the time the I-751 was transferred, USCIS had not yet adjudicated (approved
or denied) the case;
USCIS transferred the case to the Service Center listed on the notice
for adjudication; and
If the petitioner has not received additional information from the California
or Vermont Service Centers, USCIS has not yet adjudicated the case.
Petitioners who have a specific question related to their I-751 petition
should contact the National
Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283 for more information.
– USCIS –