Beginning October 30, 2006, local USCIS offices will forward any new filings for Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, for F-1 and M-1 student reinstatement, to the California Service Center or the Vermont Service Center, depending on where the student is engaged in academic or vocational study.
The California Service Center will receive F-1 and M-1 reinstatement applications from USCIS District and Sub Offices located in: AK, AZ, CA, CO, GU, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, ND, OH, OR, SD, UT, WA, WI, and WY. The Vermont Service Center will receive F-1 and M-1 reinstatement applications from USCIS district and sub offices located in: AL, AR, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MS, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, SC, OK, PA, PR, RI, TN, TX, VA, VI, VT, and WV.
This transfer is being implemented in preparation for Phase 3 of Bi-Specialization, the USCIS initiative to use centralized filing and bi-specialized adjudication. Through the Bi-Specialization effort, USCIS is aligning similar workloads between two “sister” service centers, in this case the California and Vermont Service Centers, working toward process efficiencies and consistency in the adjudication of applications for F-1 and M-1 reinstatements.
Customers applying for student reinstatement will receive a receipt notice from the service center that will process their case. USCIS District Offices will continue to process student reinstatement cases received before October 30, 2006 using existing procedures. Local USCIS Offices will continue to accept the Application for Extension/Change of Nonimmigrant Status (I-539) specifically for the purpose of student reinstatement until such time when provisions are in place allowing for direct mail filing.
Applications received by a local USCIS office prior to October 30, 2006, will remain within the jurisdiction of that office for the completion of processing. Therefore, it is not necessary for individuals who previously filed an application at a local USCIS office to file a new application in connection with this change of procedure.
For any inquiries about the pending applications, you may call the National Customer Service Call Center (NCSC) at 1-800-375-5283; or use the USCIS web-based Case Status Service located at www.uscis.gov; or contact the service center from which you received your last notice.
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