The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has announced an online change-of-address form for Caribbean and other non-citizens, giving them the option to update their information online in addition to the existing options of doing so by phone or in person.
“It will enable non-citizens to comply with their immigration obligations more easily and improve the accuracy of address information reported to ICE by utilising address autofill to ensure US Postal Service standardization,” said ICE in a statement on Friday.
The immigration enforcement agency said the new tool would be deployed in a rolling release, with full availability anticipated in the coming weeks.
“This is another critical innovation to improve compliance with immigration obligations and increase the efficiency of the process,” said ICE Deputy Director and Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director Tae D. Johnson.
“The new online change-of-address tool will make it easier for non-citizens to update their addresses — decreasing the administrative time required in the immigration process.
“This tool also automates a task normally performed by an officer, instead allowing them to focus on managing and processing those awaiting proceedings,” he added.
ICE said that when fully live, the new tool may be used by any non-citizen to change their address with ICE online instead of calling the telephone line or going to a field office.
“After successfully entering a valid mailing address, if the non-citizen is currently in removal proceedings pursuant to Section 240 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the interactive online form will show the non-citizen information on how also to change their address with the immigration court as required, using the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s (EOIR) Form EOIR-33, Change of Address/Contact Information, which may be submitted by mail, in-person at the immigration court, or online through EOIR’s Respondent Access,” the statement said.
It said the EOIR-33 is currently available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Portuguese and Punjabi.
To determine if a non-citizen still needs the notice to appear, ICE said it will run system checks to make sure the non-citizen is not already in removal proceedings pursuant to Section 240 of the INA, does not have an affirmative asylum application pending with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and does not already have a final order of removal.
ICE said Caribbean and other non-citizens who are eligible for but have not yet received a notice to appear, meaning those who were released on conditional parole with an alternative to detention, may be prompted to state whether they want to receive their notice to appear by mail or to in person by scheduling an appointment at an Enforcement Removal Office (ERO) field office.
To process an online change of address, ICE said the system requires a full name, A-number and validated non-commercial address.
“It takes approximately one minute to complete the form,” it said. “All non-citizens in the United States, except A and G visa holders and visa waiver visitors, must also report a change of address to USCIS within 10 days of moving.” – CMC