On December 11, 2009, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced the creation of a general inquiry mailbox for customers in Canada. This will hopefully resolve the ongoing problem that aliens residing in Canada have faced for years when trying to contact USCIS.

Currently, Canadians cannot access the National Customer Service Center using USCIS’ published 800 number. However, the 800 number is the only method by which applicants may contact USCIS in order to ask general questions or to address specific problems with their case (e.g. lost receipt notices, cases pending beyond the normal processing time, etc.).

According to USCIS, Canadian customers may now inquire about general immigration information at USCIS.Canada@dhs.gov. However, it still remains to be seen whether Canadians will be able to use the email address to resolve specific problems relating to their case. In addition, this inquiry email does not help aliens who reside in other countries, since it appears to be restricted to persons in Canada only.

According to the announcement, the creation of the Canadian inquiry mailbox signifies a major step in USCIS’ outreach to Canadians since the dissolution of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”) Ottawa office in 2003. Time will tell.