USCIS Announces Additional Mail Delivery Process for Receiving ADIT Stamp for Evidence of Lawful Permanent Resident Status

by | May 2, 2023

Lawful permanent residents (LPR) may receive temporary evidence of their lawful permanent resident status by mail rather than physically visiting a field office to receive an Alien Documentation, Identification and Telecommunication (ADIT) stamp (also known as an I-551 stamp). It is important to remember that this is offered because Lawful permanent residents are entitled to evidence of status and may require temporary evidence of their status in the form of an ADIT stamp if:

  • They do not have their Green Card; or
  • Their Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (Green Card), Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, or Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, is still pending adjudication and their Green Card and extension notice have expired. This is the most common scenario where an ADIT stamp is needed, due to the excruciatingly long USCIS processing times on these specific applications. Applicants are left in a waiting period for an unfair length of time while USCIS is slowly working on their applications.

Process of How to Obtain the ADIT Stamp via Mail:

  1. When lawful permanent residents call the USCIS Contact Center (800-375-5283) to request temporary evidence of status, an immigration services officer will verify their identity, their physical mailing address, and whether that address can receive UPS or FedEx express mail.
  2. USCIS contact center officer will then either schedule an in-person appointment for the lawful permanent resident, if needed, or submit a request to the USCIS field office to issue the ADIT stamp.
  3. If an in-person appointment is not needed, the USCIS field office will review the request for temporary evidence and mail the applicant a Form I-94 with ADIT stamp, DHS seal, and a printed photo of the lawful permanent resident obtained from USCIS systems.
  4. Some lawful permanent residents will still need to appear in person at a USCIS field office to receive temporary evidence of their status, including:
    1. those who have urgent needs
    2. do not have a useable photo in USCIS systems
    3. address or identity cannot be confirmed in USCIS systems

It is key to remember that USCIS determines if the requestor should receive an ADIT stamp and USCIS has the discretion to determine the validity period based on the lawful permanent resident’s situation (usually does not exceed 1 year). The new process will allow USCIS to issue temporary evidence of lawful permanent resident status in a timely manner without requiring a scheduled appointment at the field office (USCIS cannot meeting appointment request demand), thereby reducing the burden on our applicants and increasing availability of field office resources (should lead to increased processing times by local offices).

Source: USCIS