Hassaan Aslam
Registered Users (C)
The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) has halted all mail intake
Service-wide in reaction to an incident in which white powder was found in
an envelope received at the Vermont Service Center. Federal agency
mailrooms are in a state of heightened alert as a result of the September
11 attacks and the nationwide anthrax scare.
INS headquarters expects to release guidance to the field on mail handling
procedures in the near future, possibly as early as tonight. The Service
is expecting that mail intake to resume by Tuesday afternoon, but some
additional issues may need to worked out, particularly at the Service
Centers, and the halt may last longer. The halt to mail intake will
undoubtedly slow some adjudications but INS officials are attempting to
return to normal operations as quickly as possible. The prospect of
similar occurrences in the future remains a concern and the overall impact
on adjudications is difficult to predict.
INS has assured us that consideration with respect to deadlines will be
given where receipt of documents was delayed due to this situation.
Service-wide in reaction to an incident in which white powder was found in
an envelope received at the Vermont Service Center. Federal agency
mailrooms are in a state of heightened alert as a result of the September
11 attacks and the nationwide anthrax scare.
INS headquarters expects to release guidance to the field on mail handling
procedures in the near future, possibly as early as tonight. The Service
is expecting that mail intake to resume by Tuesday afternoon, but some
additional issues may need to worked out, particularly at the Service
Centers, and the halt may last longer. The halt to mail intake will
undoubtedly slow some adjudications but INS officials are attempting to
return to normal operations as quickly as possible. The prospect of
similar occurrences in the future remains a concern and the overall impact
on adjudications is difficult to predict.
INS has assured us that consideration with respect to deadlines will be
given where receipt of documents was delayed due to this situation.