US To Require Online Filing For Green Cards, Citizenship And Asylum Applications

The US is set to make online filing mandatory for a wide range of immigration benefit applications, including green cards, citizenship, asylum and employment authorisation, under a new rule issued by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The measure is part of the agency’s broader effort to move away from paper-based processing, modernise immigration services and reduce the costs associated with handling millions of applications and supporting documents submitted by mail.

Under the rule published in the Federal Register on Monday, immigration forms that have been available for electronic filing for at least 180 days will generally have to be submitted online. The rule also creates a mechanism for USCIS to designate additional forms as online-only in the future. However, the agency must provide applicants with at least 60 days’ notice before making a form subject to mandatory electronic filing.

The change could affect a broad range of immigration-related applications and petitions. These include applications for green cards and their renewal, family-based immigration petitions, US citizenship requests, asylum claims, employment authorisation and filings under the Temporary Protected Status programme. Applicants will generally be required to use a USCIS online account, either by completing the relevant form electronically or by uploading a PDF of a completed form along with the required supporting documents.

Also Read: Foreign Journalists' Social Media Accounts To Be Examined For US Visas

USCIS said the move is intended to accelerate the agency’s transition away from paper processing and reduce its dependence on the Treasury Department’s lockbox system. The lockbox network receives and processes immigration applications submitted by mail before they enter the wider adjudication system. According to USCIS, greater use of electronic filing could improve processing efficiency, reduce errors and make immigration information more readily accessible for analysis. The agency also said digital processing could strengthen fraud detection and security screening by allowing information to be accessed and evaluated more efficiently.

Applicants who cannot file electronically will still be able to request an exemption under the new system. USCIS plans to introduce a new form through which applicants can explain why they are unable to submit their applications online. Requests will be reviewed individually rather than being granted automatically. Applicants whose exemption requests are approved will generally have to pay a USD 25 filing fee, adding a cost for those who qualify to use the paper-based alternative.

The scale of the change is illustrated by USCIS’s recent workload. The agency processed more than 14 million immigration benefit requests during fiscal year 2025, while its lockbox facilities handled approximately 453 million pages of paper submissions. USCIS spent about USD 396 million operating its lockbox intake systems and more than USD 10 million on postage alone. The Department of Homeland Security expects mandatory electronic filing to reduce expenses associated with manual handling, data entry, transportation, storage and scanning. It also expects digital workflows to help applications move more quickly through the adjudication process. For applicants, the transition will mean greater reliance on online accounts and digital document submission, while those unable to use electronic filing will have to follow the new exemption process.

Also Read: Trump Administration Weighs $100,000 Fee For Foreign Students Seeking US Jobs