The United States is set to require online filing for a range of immigration benefits, including green cards, citizenship and asylum, as the government moves to reduce paper-based processing, improve efficiency and lower operational costs.

Under a new rule published by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the Federal Register on Monday, immigration forms that have been available for electronic filing for at least 180 days will have to be submitted online. The rule also establishes a process for making additional forms available exclusively online after providing at least 60 days’ notice.

Immigration Benefits Covered by New Rule

The new requirement could affect a wide range of immigration applications and petitions, including green card applications and renewals, family-based petitions, citizenship requests, asylum applications, employment authorisation requests and Temporary Protected Status filings.

Applicants will generally be required to submit their forms through a USCIS online account. They can either complete the application directly online or upload a PDF of the completed form along with supporting documents and other evidence.

USCIS said the transition is intended to accelerate the agency’s move away from paper-based processing and reduce its dependence on the Treasury Department’s lockbox system, which receives and processes applications submitted by mail.

USCIS Cites Efficiency and Security Benefits

The agency said electronic filing would help streamline immigration processing, reduce errors and strengthen fraud detection and security screening by making immigration data more readily accessible and easier to analyse.

The Department of Homeland Security said mandatory electronic filing would also reduce the need for manual handling, data entry, shipping, storage and scanning of paper applications.

The shift is expected to help immigration officials process applications more efficiently by allowing data to move through digital workflows instead of requiring large volumes of physical documents to be received, scanned and manually entered.

Exemptions Available for Applicants Unable to File Online

USCIS will allow applicants who are unable to file electronically to seek an exemption from the online requirement.

Applicants will have to submit a new form requesting the exemption, which USCIS will assess on a case-by-case basis. Those granted a waiver will be permitted to submit their applications through other available methods.

Applicants who receive such an exemption will be required to pay a USD 25 filing charge.

USCIS Faces High Paperwork and Processing Costs

The scale of the change reflects the volume of immigration applications handled by USCIS each year. In fiscal year 2025, the agency processed more than 14 million benefit requests.

During the same period, Treasury Department lockbox facilities handled around 453 million pages of paper submissions, highlighting the administrative burden associated with the existing paper-based system.

USCIS spent approximately USD 396 million operating lockbox intake systems and more than USD 10 million on postage alone.

The Department of Homeland Security said shifting to mandatory e-filing would reduce these expenses while improving the speed and efficiency of immigration adjudication workflows.

The new rule marks a major step in the US government’s effort to move immigration benefit processing towards a predominantly digital system, with further forms potentially being made online-only following the required notice period.

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