Green card, citizenship applications go online-only in US: Here’s how it impacts Indians
The United States will soon require applicants to file green card, citizenship and asylum applications online. (File Photo) The United States will soon make it compulsory to file certain immigration applications online, including for US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), published in the Federal Register on Monday, any form that has been available for online filing for at least 180 days will now have to be submitted that way. The rule also lets USCIS make additional forms online-only in future, as long as it gives 60 days’ notice first.
The change is expected to touch a wide range of applications, including green card requests and renewals, family-based petitions, citizenship filings, asylum claims, work authorisation applications and Temporary Protected Status filings.
How will people apply?
Most applicants will need to file through a USCIS online account. They can either fill out the form directly online or upload a completed PDF version along with supporting documents.
USCIS said the move is meant to help the agency move away from paper-based processing and reduce its dependence on the Treasury Department’s lockbox service, which currently handles mailed applications.
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Why is USCIS making this change?
The agency said filing online would cut down on errors, speed up processing and make it easier to detect fraud, since digital records are simpler to access and review than paper files.
The scale of the current paper system is large. In the 2025 financial year, USCIS processed more than 14 million benefit requests, while its lockbox facilities handled about 453 million pages of paper submissions. The agency spent roughly $396 million running its lockbox intake system, and more than $10 million on postage alone.
The Department of Homeland Security said requiring online filing would reduce costs linked to manual handling, data entry, shipping, storage and scanning, while also making case processing faster.
Applicants who are unable to file online can apply for an exemption using a separate form. USCIS will review these requests case by case before deciding whether to grant a waiver. Anyone approved for an exemption will need to pay a $25 filing fee.
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How does this affect Indian applicants?
Indians are among the largest groups affected by this rule. India has one of the biggest backlogs of employment-based green card applicants in the US, many of them on H-1B visas, and a large number of Indian nationals also file for family-based green cards, citizenship and Temporary Protected Status extensions each year.
For most Indian applicants who already use immigration lawyers or online portals, the shift to mandatory e-filing is likely to be a smaller change. But it could pose problems for elderly parents applying for green cards through family sponsorship, or for applicants in rural areas with limited internet access, who may need to rely on the exemption process.
USCIS has not announced a start date for enforcement, so applicants with pending or upcoming filings should watch for updates on which forms move to mandatory online filing first.
(With inputs from PTI)
