INS LIBERALIZES RULES FOR ONLINE FORMS

The Immigration and Naturalization Service has issued a regulation eliminating the requirement that duplicated and electronically generated forms be produced on the same color paper and in the same printing configuration that is used for the official INS forms. The rule also eliminates the requirement that duplicated and electronically generated copies of forms be submitted to the INS for review and approval. The new rule will eliminate most concerns relating to the downloading of INS forms from private and government web sites including this publication’s own forms center at http://www.visalaw.com/forms. SSHD will soon make changes to the pages to take out references to page color requirements.

Immigration lawyers and others will no doubt warmly greet the elimination of the requirement that INS forms be printed on specific color papers. According to the INS, the color paper used for some INS forms is not readily available in the marketplace and it has been difficult for many to comply with the standards. The INS is also trying to encourage the public to download forms from its own web site and the color requirement is discouraging members of the public from using the system. The INS also admits that it was unable to approve electronically generated forms in a timely manner.

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