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Last Updated On: September 29, 2023 | Published On: June 3, 2020
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is preparing to reopen some of its domestic offices for the resumption of public services on or after June 4th. This announcement to resume came after more than two months of temporary closures and has been seen as a major relief for applicants waiting to use various immigration services including visa renewal, work permits, and green card applications.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the USCIS temporarily suspended non-emergency in-person services at its asylum offices, field offices, and application support centers (ASCs) on March 18th.
However, while the services have begun to reopen, the USCIS has put safety precautions in place. The number of interviews and appointments will be reduced to allow for social distancing, reduce waiting room occupancy, and allow time for cleaning. If you have an appointment or interview at any of these offices, you will receive safety instructions to follow in your appointment notice.
The USCIS asks that those who are feeling sick not come for appointments. If you are feeling sick, you can simply reschedule your appointment for a time when you are healthy. Instructions on how to reschedule your appointments if you are sick will also be communicated in the appointment notice. The agency noted that there will be no penalty for those who reschedule their appointments due to sickness.
As expected, priority will be given to those appointments that were canceled during the temporary closure. The USCIS will reschedule those appointments and interviews and notify applicants and petitioners of the new time, date, and venue.
To ensure social distancing, asylum offices are to conduct video-facilitated interviews, where applicants will sit in one room and the interviewing officer will be in another room. The interviews will be aided with technology such as mobile devices to ensure all stakeholders, including the officer, applicant, representative, and interpreter safely and fully participate in the interview while also maintaining social distancing.
Applicants will also receive notice to schedule their naturalization ceremonies. As part of safety precautions, the ceremonies may be shorter. Instead of the usual method of playing videos during naturalization, the USCIS will only send a flyer to the attendees which will contain information and links to those videos on the USCIS website.
All the legal requirements of the naturalization ceremony will be observed within a short time format. Additionally, only naturalization candidates and people providing assistance to disabled persons will be allowed to attend.
Applicants and petitioners with previously scheduled interviews and appointments will receive notices from the USCIS, indicating the guidelines for their new appointments. Once field offices are open to the public, you can do your appointment rescheduling via the USCIS contact center.
Before calling the contact center, you will have to first confirm if your respective office has been opened by checking this USCIS office closure page. Only the applicant, one family member, one representative, and one individual providing disability assistance will be allowed at appointment and interview centers. Those who need an interpreter must arrange to have their interpreter available through phone.
All canceled ASC appointments during the closure will be automatically rescheduled by the USCIS. Details of the newly scheduled appointments will be communicated to the applicants. It is best to follow those guidelines to avoid processing delays and other hiccups.
If you have been anticipating the reopening of the USCIS centers for your visa or green card, VisaNation Law Group can help you take the next steps toward your goal. Their attorneys have decades of experience helping both employment and family immigration applicants. Additionally, they understand the new protocols that are in place and can guide you as you reschedule or make your appointments during this time.