USCIS Prepares for Reopening of Local Offices and Support Centers
UPDATE: 5/29/2020 6:00 PM PT
The USCIS has announced that it is preparing to reopen its local offices and Application Support Centers around the country starting on or after June 4th. The Service will send notices to applicants and petitioners previously scheduled for interviews and appointments. The ASCs will automatically reschedule any necessary biometrics appointments that were cancelled due to the temporary office closure. The announcement also provides instructions to applicants on safety measures that must be followed when entering the USCIS facility. The instructions will also be provided with the appointment notices.
The reopening of local offices and application support centers is good news for the many applicants for permanent residency, and employment authorization documents whose applications have been put on hold. Because the USCIS announcement has indicated that they will reopen "on or after" June 4th, however, it is still not entirely clear whether these offices will actually resume services starting next week.
UPDATE: 4/24/2020 2:30 PM PT
The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced this afternoon its plans to reopen field offices, asylum offices, and application support centers (ASCs) on or after June 4, 2020. These offices have been closed to the public since March 17, affecting in-person immigration services such as adjustment of status (green card) interviews, naturalization oath ceremonies, biometrics appointments, and InfoPass appointments. Individuals whose scheduled ASC biometric appointments were impacted by the extended closure will receive new appointment letters in the mail from USCIS field offices. USCIS has not provided clarification on whether green card interviews will be automatically rescheduled. Appointments unrelated to pending applications or petitions (e.g. InfoPass) must be rescheduled through the USCIS Contact Center once field offices reopen.
UPDATE: 4/1/2020 10:30 AM PT
On April 1, 2020, the USCIS announced that the temporary suspension of in-person appointments at its Field Offices, Application Support Centers (ASCs), and Asylum Offices is extended until at least May 3rd. The USCIS plans to reopen these offices to the public on May 4th, unless public health orders in response to the COVID-19 outbreak are further extended. Individuals scheduled for in-person appointments during this period will receive notices of cancellation. When normal operations resume, the USCIS will automatically reschedule biometric appointments at the Applications Support Centers. Per the USCIS announcement, all other individuals with scheduled appointments that are impacted by the extended closure must reschedule through the USCIS Contact Center once the USCIS Field Offices are open to the public again.
In addition, for applicants with pending I-765 EAD Extension requests who were scheduled for biometrics appointments at ASCs, or who have filed EAD extension applications on or after March 18th, the USCIS announced that it will reuse previously submitted biometrics to continue processing the applications. This will remain in effect until the ASCs are open for appointments to the public.
UPDATE: 3/25/2020 2:45 PM PT
On March 25, 2020, the USCIS announced that it has extended the closure of its offices open to the public. USCIS Field Offices and Application Support Centers are expected to re-open on April 7th, unless local government shelter-in-place/ public health orders are extended further. During the extended closure, all in-person appointments, interviews and naturalization oath ceremonies scheduled at these offices have been cancelled. It is unknown at this time if the USCIS will extend the temporary closures of its offices. The USCIS field offices will send a de-scheduling notice to impacted applicants and will reschedule appointments when operations resume at its Field Offices and Application Support Centers.
UPDATE: 3/18/2020 10:00 AM PT
Effective March 18, 2020, USCIS has temporarily closed its Field Offices, Application Support Centers, and Asylum Offices nationwide until April 1, 2020. All in-person appointments, interviews and naturalization oath ceremonies scheduled at these offices during the temporary closure stand as cancelled and will be rescheduled when operations resume. Please note that due to local government Shelter-in-Place Orders and Public Health Orders, the USCIS San Francisco and San Jose (Santa Clara) Field Offices, and the Application Support Centers in Oakland, Salinas, San Francisco, San Jose and Santa Rosa, will be closed until April 6, 2020.
Impacted applicants will receive a separate notice from USCIS with information about rescheduling the interview appointment. USCIS will automatically reschedule biometrics appointments at the Application Support Centers and will send a new appointment letter in the mail. Individuals with InfoPass appointments or who need an emergency interview or other services from the closed public offices should call the USCIS Contact Center.
At the time of this writing, the USCIS Service Centers are still in operation to receive and adjudicate petitions and applications.
Clients who are impacted by the USCIS office closures should contact our office for assistance. We will continue to monitor USCIS operations and closures and will provide updates information becomes available.
Posted 3/17/2020 4:00 PM PT
On March 17, 2020, the USCIS announced on its website that it has temporarily closed the USCIS San Francisco and San Jose (Santa Clara) Field Offices, and the Application Support Centers in Oakland, Salinas, San Francisco, San Jose and Santa Rosa, until April 6, 2020 due to local Shelter-in-Place Orders and Public Health Orders. All in-person appointments and interviews scheduled at the above-listed USCIS offices during this period are cancelled.
Applicants scheduled to appear for interviews at the USCIS San Francisco and San Jose Field Offices during the office closures will receive a separate notice from USCIS with information on how to reschedule the interview appointment. The USCIS will automatically reschedule biometrics appointments at the Application Support Center (ASC) and will receive a new appointment letter in the mail. Individuals with InfoPass appointments or who need an emergency interview or other services from the closed offices should call the USCIS Contact Center.
As stated in our previous alert, Naturalization (Citizenship) Oath Ceremonies scheduled for March through the USCIS San Francisco and San Jose (Santa Clara) Field Offices have been cancelled. USCIS will send new Oath Ceremony invitations.
Clients who are impacted by the USCIS office closures should contact our office for assistance. We will continue to monitor USCIS operations and closures and will provide updates as information becomes available.