Retention Schedule N1_85_96_01 Receipt File

JOB NUMBER

REQUEST FOR RECORDS DISPOSITION AUTHORITY

N1-85-96-01
DATE RECEIVED

To: NATIONAL ARCHIVES and RECORDS ADMINISTRATION

10/27/1995

Washington, DC 20408
1. FROM (Agency or establishment)

NOTIFICATION TO AGENCY

In accordance with the provisions of 44 U.S.C.
3303a, the disposition request, including
amendments, is approved except for items that
may be marked disposition not approved or
withdrawn in column 10.

Department of Justice
2. MAJOR SUBDIVISION

Immigration and Naturalization Service
3. MINOR SUBDIVISION

4. NAME OF PERSON W ITH W HOM TO CONFER

Nannetta A. Biddy

5. TELEPHONE

DATE

ARCHIVIST OF THE UNITED STATES

(202) 514-4914

03/20/1996

James Moore (Acting)

6. AGENCY CERTIFICATION

I hereby certify that I am authorized to act for this agency in matters pertaining to the disposition of its records and that the records
proposed for disposal on the attached page(s) are not needed now for the business of this agency or will not be needed after the
retention periods specified; and that written concurrence from the General Accounting Office, under the provisions of Title 8 of the
GAO manual for Guidance of Federal Agencies,
is not required;

is attached; or

has been requested.

DATE

SIGNATURE OF AGENCY REPRESENTATIVE

TITLE

10/12/1995

Nannetta A. Biddy

Director, Office of Files and Forms Mgmt.

7.
Item
No.

8. DESCRIPTION OF ITEM AND PROPOSED DISPOSITION

9. GRS OR
SUPERSEDED
JOB CITATION

10.
ACTION
TAKEN
(NARA
USE
ONLY)

RECEIPT FILES
NOTES:
 Some Receipt Files are shipped to the Harrisonburg File Storage Facility (HBG)
instead of to a NARA Federal Records Center (FRC). Please refer to Chapter III-01
of the Records Operations Handbook (ROH) for the latest list of files approved for
shipment to HBG. However, regardless of the location of the files (HBG or FRC), the
retention periods remains the same as indicated in this schedule.
 Applications/petitions (aka benefit requests) listed in this schedule adjudicated without a
receipt number must also adhere to the retention periods contained herein.

The agency Service Centers creates and adjudicates applications and petitions (forms)
submitted by applicants (immigrants and non-immigrants) for benefits pursuant to the
Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA).
These forms are submitted with supporting documents, (i.e., processing worksheets,
correspondence, congressional and/or general) and evolve into case files called Receipt
Files. Each Receipt File houses a specific form type including supporting documentation,
and each form type and/or group of form types must be maintained for various time
periods based on the administrative, fiscal, and legal needs of the Service.
The Receipt File serves as an adjunct to the Service’s Alien Case File (A-File). Due to
PREVIOUS EDITION NOT USABLE
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the capture and storage
of pertinent data by INS’ automated in USCIS electronic
Prescribed by NARA 36 CFR 1228

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Updated December 8, 2016

Job Number N1-85-96-01, Page 1 of 4

systems, certain forms, previously maintained in A-Files for long term informational
needs, are now no longer incorporated into the A-Files. Please note that in certain
instances, denied and approved (applications/petitions) cases, and some of the cases
opened during the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), depending on
the need of the Service USCIS, will still be incorporated into the base record (A-File).
Applications and petitions are mailed to four INS Service Centers located in three
Regions of the United States. The Office of the Eastern Region, located in St. Albans,
Vermont; Office of the Central Region, Dallas, Texas and Lincoln, Nebraska; and Office
of the Western Region, located in Laguna Niguel, California.
Receipt Files are bar-coded with a three digit location code followed by a ten-digit
number. For example, an Eastern Service Center Receipt File is identified as
EAC1234567890.

1. NOTIFICATION FILES: FORM I-824
Approval notifications and other application types of issuances related to confirmation
that petitions are approved.
Retention/Disposition: Destroy when six (6) months old.

2. IDENTITY FILES: FORM(S) I-90 & I-131
Forms used to provide some form of identification, such as an identification card (identity
cards), to applicants.
Form I-90, when granted, results in the applicant being provided an Alien Registration
Card which identifies the alien as a lawful permanent resident.
Form I-131 provides the applicant with a document that identifies the bearer as a person
authorized to apply for readmission to this country as a lawful permanent resident or
refugee.
Retention/Disposition:
a. Approved Cases: Retire one (1) year after date of receipt. Destroy when ten (10)
years old.
b. Denied Cases: Petitions (cases) will be placed in a temporary A-File and the
permanent A-File will be requested and the two consolidated. If an A-File does not exist,
an A-File will be created and the documentation will become part of the newly created AFile.
NOTE: The I-90 has been rescheduled as DAA-0566-2015-0004
The I-131 has been rescheduled as DAA-0566-2016-0004

3. WORKER PETITIONS: FORM(S) I-129, I-129S, IAP-66
Forms used to grant and/or admit certain alien workers temporarily, industrial,
agricultural, or otherwise, for the purpose of alleviating labor shortages as they exist or
may develop in certain areas or certain branches of American productive enterprises.
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a. Form I-129. Employment based on this form can only be granted for a maximum of
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five (5) years, and under exceptional circumstances six (6) years.
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Updated December 8, 2016

Job Number N1-85-96-01, Page 2 of 4

b. Form I-129S. (Non-Immigrant Petition Based on Blanket “L” Petition) Employment
based on this form stipulates an indefinite time period.
c. Form IAP-66. Furnished by the United States Information Agency (USIA) and
concerns the Exchange Visitor Program.
Form IAP-66 consists of two (2) categories:
Category 1 – Alien petitions filed subject to a two (2) year foreign residence
requirement, (i.e., all exchange students who are “governmentally financed” within the
meaning of the Act of April 7, 1970 (Public Law 91-225)
Category 2 – Petitions filed but not subject to the two (2) year foreign residence
requirement.
Retention/Disposition:
a. Form I-129. Retire one (1) year from last action date. Destroy when 6 years old.
b. Form I-129S. Destroy (2) years after file becomes inactive.
c. Form IAP-66:
Category 1 – Category 1 petitions become a permanent part of the A-File and has
a life cycle equaling that of the A-File. Retire FRC after adjudication is completed.
NOTE - This category involves a historical procedure that will result in retiring old
IAP-66 Forms. Future IAP-66 Forms will be used as supporting documentation to the
I-539. (See I-539 schedule.)
Category 2 - Retire after adjudication is completed. Destroy two (2) years from date of
adjudication.

4. NON-IMMIGRANT FILES: FORM I-539
This form is for a non-immigrant to apply for an extension of stay or change to another
non-immigrant status. This form is also non-immigrant F-1 or M-1 student to apply for
reinstatement.
Retention/Disposition:
a. When application used to extend time of temporary stay or reinstatement:
Approved/Denied Cases: Destroy when one (1) year old. Electronic record is
available.
b. When application used to change status:
Approved/Denied Cases: Retire one (1) year after date of receipt. Destroy when five
(5) years old.

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PREVIOUS EDITION NOT USABLE

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Prescribed by NARA 36 CFR 1228

Updated December 8, 2016

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5. IMMIGRANT FORMS:
I-129F, I-130, I-140, I-212, I-290A, I-290B, I-360, I-526, I-600, I-600A,
I-601, I-601A, I-602, I-612, I-730, I-724, I-751, I-752, I-817, I-821, I-821D,
I-829
These forms are used to request a document reflecting the holder as someone who wishes
to immigrate to the United States, or non-immigrants who are in the United States and
wish to adjust their status to immigrant status. The files mainly consist of petitions,
applications, relative correspondence, and decisions by INS USCIS and, in some cases,
documentary evidence supporting the petition.
Retention/Disposition:
a. Approved Cases: If a petition is used to support an immigrant visa or an adjustment of
status, the petition except the I-129F, becomes a permanent part of the A-File.
Retain in Receipt File for five (5) years. When time to purge, create A-File for petitions
for which visa numbers are not available, and for which no A-File currently exists.
Retire the file to the FRC for the life cycle equaling 70 years from date the file is received
at the FRC or 75 years from the date of last action, whichever is earlier. When the visa
becomes available, file will be retrieved from the FRC. Destroy 70 years from the date
the file is retired to the FRC or 75 years from the date of last action.
If the petition is NOT used, it is to be disposed of 3 years after a visa number becomes
available.
b. Denied cases: An A-File is created and the petition becomes a permanent part of the
alien’s A-File and has a life cycle equaling that of an A-File.
c. Exception: I-129F: Retire to the FRC one year (1) year after date of receipt. Destroy
when three (3) years old.
NOTE: The I-821D (DACA) has been rescheduled as DAA-0566-2016-0006
The I-821 (TPS) has been rescheduled as DAA-0566-2016-0007

6. CITIZENSHIP FORM(S): N-565, and Similar Forms (excludes N-400)
Application to replace naturalization or citizenship documents.
Retention/Disposition:
Approved/Denied Cases: Hold in the Receipt File for (1) year after data entry into the
Reengineered Naturalization Automated Casework System (RNACS) and then destroy.
NOTE: The N-400 is scheduled as DAA-0566-2016-0002
All other alien specific N-Forms are scheduled as part of DAA-0566-2016-0016
NOTE: March 2013. The above pen-and-ink changes were approved by NARA.
Retirement/filing instructions which refer to a life cycle of 70 or 75 years are no longer
accurate and have been lined out; in 2009, the A-File was reclassified as permanent
(N1-566-08-11). There is no exception for the I-129F; it is A-File content.

115-109

PREVIOUS EDITION NOT USABLE

STANDARD FORM SF 115 (REV. 3-91)
Prescribed by NARA 36 CFR 1228

Updated December 8, 2016

Job Number N1-85-96-01, Page 4 of 4