Publication
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that beginning on August 5, 2019, it will reject any petitions with Form I-129 Petition for Non-Immigrant Worker[1], if the filed petition does not include the petitioner’s or applicant’s name or the primary U.S. office address (in Part 1 of Form I-129).[2]
This will add to the already existing list of reasons that USCIS could reject a petition with form I-129; including but not limited to:
- lack of signature,
- Incorrect filing fees, or
- An unauthorized third party signing on behalf of the petitioner.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requires that all immigration forms be filed in accordance with the form’s instructions. Forms that are not filed in compliance with them may be subject to rejection by USCIS.
Updates to I-129 Rejection Criteria
- The petitioner’s or applicant’s primary U.S. office address (in Part 1 of Form I-129) cannot be the address of their outside counsel or clients.
- In regards to the office address, the instructions state that, “for mailing address, list the address of the petitioner’s primary office within the United States.”
- For most immigration petitions, address is important in determining the filing jurisdiction.
- Failure to include the petitioner’s or applicant’s full legal name or address of U.S. office can create delays in the adjudication process or rejection.
For up-to-date instructions for the I-129, visit the USCIS website.[3]
[1] https://www.uscis.gov/i-129
[2] https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-updates-rejection-criteria-form-i-129