On the recordSeptember 21, 2016
I am pleased to support H.R. 4712, a narrow and commonsense measure that requires U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to provide an option for green cards and employment authorization documents to be delivered via U.S. mail with a signature confirmation. I congratulate and thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Speier) for offering this important legislation. {time} 1945 Each year, the USCIS sends millions of secure documents to applicants through the U.S. Postal Service, including green cards, employment authorization documents, and travel documents. Currently, the delivery status of these documents is monitored solely through tracking numbers. While we know when a document is delivered to the address on file, we have no way of knowing if the immigration applicant actually received the document; and if we don't know if the secure documents reach the intended recipient, we also don't know if they have fallen into the wrong--possibly criminal--hands. Although specific data is not available, conservative estimates indicate that, every year, thousands of documents--perhaps tens of thousands--are lost in the mail or, worse yet, are stolen. According to USCIS policy, if the U.S.…
