Beginning on January 1, 2023, all Form I-730, Refugee/Asylum Relative Petitions, must be filed at the Texas Service Center. The USCIS granted a limited exemption for Form I-730 applications filed with the Nebraska Service Center which runs through January 30, 2023. However, beginning on January 31, 2023, the USCIS will reject any Form I-730 petition that is mailed to the Nebraska Service Center instead of the Texas Service Center. (See USCIS news release.)

The Form I-730 is a USCIS form for principal refugees and asylees to use to request follow-to-join immigration benefits for a qualifying relative. In order to be eligible to have a Form I-730 approved, the principal must have been granted refugee or asylum status within the previous two years and he or she must be requestiong follow-to-join immigration benefits for his or her qualifying spouse and/or unmarried children under 21 years of age. The USCIS may, in its discretion, grant a waiver of the within two year filing requirement for humanitarian reasons, but prospective applicants should assume that they must file within two years of being granted asylum or refugee protection.