U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced on April 24, 2020 that it is readying public-facing offices to reopen on or after June 4th. As background, on March 18, 2020, USCIS temporarily suspended in-person services at its field offices, asylum offices, and application support centers (ASCs) in an effort to help slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). Employees in these offices have been continuing to perform mission-essential services that do not require face-to-face contact with the public while the offices are closed. While offices are temporarily closed, USCIS will continue to provide limited emergency in-person services.
USCIS field offices will send notices to applicants and petitioners with scheduled appointments and naturalization ceremonies impacted by the extended temporary closure. USCIS asylum offices will send interview cancellation notices and automatically reschedule asylum interviews. When the interview is rescheduled, asylum applicants will receive a new interview notice with the new time, date and location of the interview. When USCIS again resumes operations for in-person services, USCIS will automatically reschedule ASC appointments due to the temporary office closure. Individuals will receive a new appointment letter in the mail. Those who had InfoPass or other appointments must reschedule through the USCIS Contact Center once field offices are open to the public again. For the latest information on the status of an office, please visit the USCIS website by clicking here.
If you have any questions, please contact Gunster attorneys Sarah Tobocman, Mariana Ribeiro, Beatriz Osorio, and Maria Romero.
