ICE issues interim final rule to modernize immigration bonds

WASHINGTON – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will publish an Interim Final Rule (IFR) authorizing ICE to electronically serve bond-related notifications to obligors for immigration bonds – transitioning immigration bond notifications to a more modern, secure, electronic environment. ICE is revising its regulations governing service of bond notifications, which currently only authorize the agency to serve documents in-person, or by certified, registered, or first-class (regular) mail.

This IFR permits ICE to conduct an entirely electronic transaction with obligors posting bonds online when enrolling in ICE’s electronic bond systems.

The web-based system – Cash Electronic Bonds Online (CeBONDS) – that provides a fully automated, online capability to request verification of bond eligibility, make cash immigration bond payments, and send electronic notifications to cash bond obligors was launched in April 2023 and is another step toward the modernization of the agency’s immigration processes.

Comments are encouraged and will be accepted for 30 days from the publication date of the IFR. Comments on the entirety of this IFR, identified by Docket No. ICEB-2021-0015, can be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. The website contains additional instructions for submitting comments. The IFR will go into effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.