August 11, 2026
Executive Summary
- DHS has issued an interim final rule (IFR), “Mandatory Electronic Filing (e-Filing),” effective immediately upon publication in the Federal Register on August 11, 2026 (RIN 1615-AD19; DHS Docket No. USCIS-2026-0232).
- The rule does not itself mandate e-filing of any specific form. It gives USCIS discretion to require e-filing of a benefit request once that form has been available for e-filing for at least 180 days, after USCIS publishes 60 days’ advance notice on its website.
- A new waiver process (Form I-936, with a $25 fee) will let individuals who cannot e-file request permission to file on paper, but DHS has signaled that requestors with legal representation and business entities generally will not qualify.
- The rule is effective now, but DHS is accepting public comments for 60 days after publication because DHS has classified it as a procedural rule not subject to the Administrative Procedure Act’s notice-and-comment requirement.
- No form is currently mandated for e-filing. Employers should use this window to confirm e-filing readiness for high-volume forms such as Form I-129, since a mandate could follow with only 60 days’ notice and waivers are unlikely to be available to represented employers.
In Depth
DHS has published an interim final rule authorizing USCIS to require electronic filing of immigration benefit requests, a step the agency frames as part of a broader move away from paper-based intake. The rule takes effect immediately, but it functions as a framework rather than an immediate mandate: no specific form is required to be e-filed as of publication. Employers with large-scale, high-volume immigration programs should understand how the mandate and waiver mechanics work now, since USCIS could activate them for widely used forms with comparatively little advance notice.
What Is Changing
The rule amends 8 CFR parts 1, 103, and 106 to define “e-file,” authorize USCIS to mandate e-filing for eligible benefit requests, and create a waiver process for requestors who cannot comply. Specifically, DHS is:
- Defining “e-file” broadly to include completing a form entirely online, submitting it through a web portal or electronic interface, or uploading a PDF of a completed form through an approved USCIS online account.
- Authorizing USCIS to require e-filing of any benefit request that has been available for e-filing for at least 180 days, provided USCIS first publishes notice of the requirement, along with an effective date, at least 60 days in advance.
- Creating Form I-936, Request for Waiver of E-Filing Requirement, with an associated $25 fee, for requestors who are unable to comply with a mandatory e-filing requirement once one is imposed.
As of the rule’s publication, USCIS offers 22 forms for e-filing, all of which have already met the 180-day availability threshold, meaning USCIS could begin mandating e-filing for any of them once Form I-936 is approved and the required 60-day notice is published.
Who Is Affected
The rule applies to “requestors,” a term DHS defines to include anyone submitting a benefit request to USCIS, whether an individual, an employer, or an attorney or accredited representative filing on another party’s behalf. Once USCIS mandates e-filing for a given form, every requestor using that form is subject to the requirement unless a waiver is granted.
Employers that sponsor foreign national employees should pay particular attention to Form I-129, which covers H-1B and other nonimmigrant worker petitions. Form I-129 is already available for e-filing and appears in DHS’s own cost analysis as a form USCIS could mandate. DHS’s stated position is that requestors represented by counsel and business entities generally will not qualify for a waiver, since DHS expects both groups to have ready access to the internet and the resources to comply. As a practical matter, this means employer-sponsored, attorney-filed petitions such as H-1B, L-1, and other I-129 filings are the population least likely to obtain a waiver if e-filing is mandated for those forms.
Effective Date and Comment Period
This rule is effective immediately upon publication in the Federal Register on August 11, 2026. DHS has classified it as a procedural rule under the Administrative Procedure Act, meaning DHS takes the position that advance notice-and-comment rulemaking was not legally required before the rule could take effect. DHS is nonetheless accepting public comments for 60 days after publication, through early October 2026, and separately inviting comments on the Paperwork Reduction Act aspects of the rule on the same 60-day timeline.
Because the rule is a framework rather than a specific mandate, DHS notes that the change will have no practical effect on any individual filer until Form I-936 is approved by OMB and USCIS separately announces, at least 60 days in advance, that a particular form must be e-filed. No such announcement has been made as of this rule’s publication.
Why DHS Is Making This Change
DHS ties the rule to Executive Order 14247, which directs federal agencies to move away from Treasury’s physical lockbox services for processing payments, and to broader federal policy favoring electronic government services dating back to the Government Paperwork Elimination Act of 1998. DHS also cites benefits to national security and fraud detection, including improved data quality for continuous vetting and analytics. DHS projects the rule will generate roughly $518 million in annual net cost savings to requestors over a ten-year period, largely by reducing errors, rejected paper filings, and processing delays, alongside an estimated $140 million in annual fee-discount transfers from the government to requestors who e-file.
The Waiver Process
Any requestor may submit Form I-936 to seek a waiver of a mandatory e-filing requirement, but DHS has been explicit that certain categories of requestors face a high bar. USCIS will evaluate waiver requests case by case, considering factors such as geographic location, socioeconomic circumstances, and access to public technology resources such as libraries. Lack of familiarity with the USCIS online system, standing alone, will generally not support a waiver. DHS states directly that requestors with legal representation, and requestors that are business entities, generally will not be expected to qualify, since both are presumed to have adequate access to the internet and resources to e-file. A requestor whose waiver is approved will receive a mailed approval notice along with a paper version of the relevant form and mailing instructions.
Litigation and Regulatory Outlook
DHS’s decision to make this rule immediately effective without advance notice-and-comment rests entirely on its characterization of the rule as procedural rather than substantive under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A). That characterization is the rule’s principal legal vulnerability. Rules that condition a benefit request’s very acceptance on a new filing method, backed by a new fee-bearing waiver form, are the kind of practical burden courts have sometimes found substantive enough to require notice-and-comment, regardless of how an agency labels the rule. DHS’s own cost-benefit analysis, which estimates hundreds of millions of dollars in annual economic effects, cuts against treating this as a minor procedural adjustment. A challenge to the rule’s procedural classification, if one is brought once USCIS actually mandates e-filing for a specific form, may have a chance of forcing DHS to redo the rulemaking with notice and comment, though the rule’s framework nature, and the fact that no mandate has yet been imposed on any form, may make it difficult for a plaintiff to show ripe, concrete harm before that happens.
What Employers Should Do Now
- Confirm that your organization, and any attorneys filing on its behalf, can reliably e-file Form I-129 and any other high-volume forms your program relies on, since a mandate could arrive with only 60 days’ public notice and DHS has signaled employers and represented requestors are unlikely to qualify for a waiver.
- Do not assume a waiver will be available as a fallback. Build e-filing capability now rather than treating Form I-936 as a contingency plan.
- Review internal filing workflows and any vendor or outsourced filing arrangements to identify dependencies on paper submission that would need to change if e-filing becomes mandatory for a given form.
- Monitor the USCIS website for e-filing mandate announcements, since the required notice period is only 60 days and DHS has stated it may impose mandates form by form or even by eligibility category within a form.
- Consider submitting comments during the 60-day comment period if your organization has concerns about the rule’s practical effects, even though the rule will already be in effect.
What Foreign Nationals Should Know
No filing method has changed as of this rule’s publication. The rule creates a framework and a future waiver process, but it does not require any individual benefit request to be e-filed yet. Individuals should continue filing using whatever method, paper or electronic, they currently use, and should watch for USCIS announcements naming specific forms subject to a new e-filing mandate, each of which will come with at least 60 days’ notice before taking effect.
How Goel & Anderson Can Help
Goel & Anderson advises employers with large-scale, high-volume immigration programs on the operational and compliance implications of USCIS filing requirements, including transitions to new filing systems and procedures. We are monitoring USCIS’s implementation of this rule, including any form-specific e-filing mandates and the approval of Form I-936, and are available to help clients assess e-filing readiness and workflow changes before a mandate takes effect.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is e-filing mandatory for H-1B petitions now?
No. This rule authorizes USCIS to mandate e-filing for eligible forms in the future, but it does not itself require e-filing of Form I-129 or any other specific form. USCIS must first publish 60 days’ advance notice before any form-specific mandate takes effect.
What is RIN 1615-AD19?
RIN 1615-AD19 is the regulatory identification number for this interim final rule, “Mandatory Electronic Filing (e-Filing),” published by DHS and USCIS with DHS Docket No. USCIS-2026-0232.
Can my company get a waiver if it can’t e-file?
DHS has stated that business entities and requestors represented by an attorney or accredited representative generally will not be expected to qualify for a waiver under new Form I-936, since both are presumed to have adequate access to the internet and resources to comply.
When does the mandatory e-filing rule take effect?
The rule itself took effect immediately upon publication in the Federal Register on August 11, 2026. However, no specific form is required to be e-filed as of that date. Any form-specific mandate will require its own 60-day advance notice from USCIS.
Is there a comment period for this rule even though it’s already effective?
Yes. DHS is accepting public comments on the rule, including its Paperwork Reduction Act provisions, for 60 days after the August 11, 2026 publication date, even though DHS classified the rule as procedural and made it effective without advance notice-and-comment.
How much does the e-filing waiver form cost?
DHS has set a $25 fee for Form I-936, Request for Waiver of E-Filing Requirement.
This alert is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It reflects developments as of August 11, 2026, and may not reflect subsequent developments. If you have questions about how this rule may affect your organization’s immigration program, please contact Goel & Anderson, LLC.
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