From USPS  Postal Bulletin dated 9/11/08:

After completing a National Security Review of Regis­tered Mail, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service recom­mended new procedures for handling inbound international Registered Mail® items, in line with requirements of the Universal Postal Union (UPU). Under the new policy, inbound international Registered Mail items are placed in the same mailstream as First-Class Mail® items.

Inbound international Registered Mail items are still ver­ified and accepted at international service centers (ISCs). At delivery units, the following new procedures are in effect:

– Inbound international Registered Mail items are sub­mitted to accountable clerks.

– Accountable clerks assign the mail to a delivery employee in bulk, by number of pieces, instead of by Registered Mail number.

– Letter carriers document delivery, or attempted delivery, of the mail using PS Form 3849, Sorry We Missed You; obtain a signature from the addressee or agent; perform appropriate scans; and submit the signed PS Form 3849 to the accountable clerk. If the mail cannot be delivered, it is returned to the accountable clerk.
At processing and distribution centers, inbound Interna­tional Registered Mail items on the workroom floor remain in the First-Class Mail items mailstream, outside of registry operations.

The new procedure became effective August 25, 2008, for inbound international Registered Mail items at the JFK ISC. The other ISCs will implement the new procedures on September 30, 2008.