Where to File Form I-290B: Addresses and Common Mistakes

Form I-290B goes to a USCIS Lockbox facility, and the correct mailing address for Form I-290B depends on the type of decision you are challenging and, in some cases, which USCIS office issued that decision. There is no single address that works for every filer. Before you mail anything, match your case to the category chart USCIS publishes on its Direct Filing Addresses page for this form.¹

How the Correct Address Is Determined

USCIS routes I-290B filings through Lockbox facilities that handle intake and fee processing before forwarding the case to the office that will actually decide it. The Lockbox that receives your package is chosen based on what kind of benefit request was originally denied or revoked. Adoption cases go to one Lockbox, Special Immigrant Juvenile cases go to another, and most other decisions are routed by a combination of the form type and the USCIS office (field office or service center) that made the original decision.

Two practical points matter every time. First, the addresses are not static. USCIS updates them periodically, so check the current Direct Filing Addresses page for Form I-290B on the USCIS website right before you mail.¹ Second, each Lockbox has one address for USPS mail and a different address for courier services like FedEx, UPS, and DHL. Pick the one that matches the shipping method you’re actually using.

Common Filing Address Categories

The USCIS chart is organized by the type of decision you’re appealing or moving to reopen. The main categories:

Adoption petitions. If the National Benefits Center decided your Form I-600, I-600A, I-800, or I-800A, the I-290B goes to the USCIS Phoenix Lockbox.
Special Immigrant Juvenile petitions. Appeals and motions go to the USCIS Chicago Lockbox.
ICE bond breach notices. Appeals also go to the USCIS Chicago Lockbox, but at a different P.O. Box than other Chicago filings.
VAWA, T visa, and U visa decisions. The address depends on where you live, and USCIS provides a separate address chart specifically for these filings.
All other USCIS decisions. The address depends on which USCIS office made the original decision and which form was involved.

Your denial notice is the starting point for identifying the correct category. It tells you what was decided, which office decided it, and often points you to the filing instructions for challenging it.

Why You Can’t Send It to the AAO

Many appeals filed on Form I-290B are ultimately decided by the Administrative Appeals Office, but you do not mail the form to the AAO.² The Lockbox handles receipting and fee processing first. From there, the file is routed internally to the AAO or, in the case of motions to reopen and motions to reconsider, back to the office that issued the original decision. Sending your package straight to the AAO bypasses that intake process and will delay or reject your filing.

Get the Address Right the First Time

The mailing address question is bound up with a strict deadline. For most I-290B appeals and motions, you have 30 calendar days from personal service of the denial, or 33 days if it was mailed to you. For appeals of revoked immigrant petitions, the window is only 15 days (or 18 if mailed).³ USCIS counts every calendar day, including weekends and holidays, starting the day after the decision was mailed. Sending your package to the wrong Lockbox or to the AAO can push your filing past the deadline, and there is very little forgiveness in the system for a late appeal.

A few habits reduce that risk:

Pull up the Direct Filing Addresses page the same day you mail. Don’t rely on an address you saved earlier or one you found on a third-party site.
Confirm you’re using the USPS address if you’re using USPS, and the courier address if you’re using FedEx, UPS, or DHL. They are not interchangeable.
Ship with tracking so you have documented proof of delivery to the Lockbox before your deadline runs.
Assemble the package so the Lockbox can process it without rejecting it: payment on top (check, money order, Form G-1450 for credit card, Form G-1650 for ACH, or a fee waiver request on Form I-912 if you qualify), then the signed Form I-290B, then any brief and supporting evidence at the bottom. A missing or unsigned payment causes the Lockbox to return the whole package without review.⁴

Once the Lockbox accepts the filing, USCIS mails a Form I-797C receipt notice with a tracking number you can use to monitor the case.⁵ If you don’t see that notice within a few weeks, that’s a signal to follow up.

When Form I-290B Isn’t the Right Form

Some denials aren’t appealed on Form I-290B at all, which means the address question doesn’t apply. Knowing this up front avoids sending the wrong form to a Lockbox that can’t act on it.

Denied Form I-130 family-based petitions are appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals using Form EOIR-29, not Form I-290B.²
Denied Form I-360 widow(er) self-petitions also go to the BIA on Form EOIR-29.⁶
Special Agricultural Worker and legalization decisions use Form I-694 instead of I-290B.⁶
AAO decisions cannot be appealed back to the AAO. You can, however, file a motion to reopen or reconsider an AAO decision with the AAO on Form I-290B.⁶

Your denial notice will usually name the correct form and point you to the filing instructions. If it doesn’t, or if any part of it is ambiguous, verify against the eligibility information on the USCIS I-290B page before you mail. The address on the Direct Filing Addresses chart is only the right address if I-290B is the right form.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 3 – Appeals
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Pay With a Credit Card by Mail
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797C, Notice of Action
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-290B Instructions for Notice of Appeal or Motion