United States – USCIS Office Closures
United States – USCIS Office Closures
This report explains the details of the temporary closure of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services field offices and Application Support Centers in response to the COVID-19 crisis, until at least April 1, 2020.
On March 18, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 crisis, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) field offices and Application Support Centers (ASC) temporarily suspended all in-person services until at least April 1, 2020. USCIS will continue to provide emergency services for limited situations during the closure.1
WHY THIS MATTERS
All in-person interviews, naturalization ceremonies, biometric collection appointments, and InfoPass appointments scheduled at USCIS field offices and ASCs from March 18, 2020 to April 1, 2020, have been cancelled. It is quite possible that USCIS will extend the closure of its offices and suspension of in-person services beyond April 1, 2020. This will result in further cancellations and reduction of services, and will cause delays to impacted applications.
Suspension of In-Person Services
USCIS has suspended the following services as of March 18, 2020:
- Interview appointments
- Naturalization ceremonies
- Biometric collection appointments
- InfoPass appointments
- All other in-person appointments.
USCIS field offices will mail “de-scheduling” notices with instructions to affected applicants and petitioners with scheduled interviews. Their interview appointments will be automatically rescheduled once USCIS resumes normal operations.
USCIS will also mail de-scheduling notices with instructions to applicants who were scheduled for naturalization ceremonies during the closure period. These applicants will be automatically rescheduled once normal operations resume.
USCIS will automatically reschedule ASC appointments. Applicants with cancelled biometric collection appointments will receive new appointment notices in the mail.
Individuals who have InfoPass or any other in-person appointment not mentioned above at a USCIS field office must reschedule these appointments through the USCIS Contact Center once field offices re-open. These appointments will not be automatically re-scheduled.
KPMG NOTE
KPMG Law LLP in Canada is tracking these matters closely. We will endeavor to keep readers of GMS Flash Alert posted on any important developments as and when they occur.
FOOTNOTE
1 See the USCIS Office Closings webpage.
* Please note that KPMG LLP (U.S.) does not provide any immigration services or legal services. However, KPMG Law LLP in Canada can assist clients with U.S. immigration matters.
The information contained in this newsletter was submitted by the KPMG International member firm in Canada.
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