USCIS Offices Preparing to Reopen on June 4

On March 18, 2020, US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) temporarily suspended in-person services at its field offices, asylum offices, and application support centers (ASCs) to help slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). USCIS announced late last week that they are now readying offices to reopen on or after June 4, 2020, while still complying with local and state orders. Employees in these temporarily closed USCIS offices are continuing to perform mission-essential services that do not require face-to-face contact with the public, and during this time, individuals may still submit applications and petitions to USCIS service centers. USCIS is also providing limited emergency in-person services.

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USCIS Has Closed Offices to the Public from March 18 to June 4 but USCIS Service Centers Remain Operational (UPDATED APRIL 27, 2020)

UPDATE APRIL 27, 2020: USCIS has announced that they are planning to re-open offices for in-person services on June 4.

Effective March 18, 2020, US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) suspended in-person services at its field offices, asylum offices, and Application Support Centers (ASCs) to help prevent the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19). The closure will be effective until at least May 3, but the closure date may be extended. Employees in these offices are continuing to perform mission-essential services not requiring face-to-face contact with the public and USCIS will still provide limited emergency services. USCIS Service Centers are operational at this time.

USCIS field offices will send notices to applicants and petitioners with scheduled appointments and naturalization ceremonies affected by the closure. USCIS states that 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 resumes normal operations, the agency will automatically reschedule the affected ASC appointments. Applicants will receive a new appointment letter in the mail and those who had InfoPass or other appointments must reschedule through the USCIS Contact Center after field offices are open again to the public. Individuals can check if their field office has been reopened online.

The New York Times: “Trump Administration Plans to Close Key Immigration Operations Abroad.”

Director L. Francis Cissna, of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), recently informed senior staff members that the international division of USCIS operating in more than twenty countries will likely shut down by the end of the year, cutting a key support system for those applying overseas to relocate to the United States. The move to shut down is allegedly intended to provide more resources to handle the lengthy backlog in asylum applications domestically, but it could come at the expense of legal migration.

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USCIS to Close the Moscow Field Office

US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that on March 29, 2019, the agency will permanently close its field office in Moscow, Russia, due to a significant decrease in workload. February 28, 2019 is the last day the office will be open to the public and accepting applications. The USCIS field office in Athens, Greece, will assume jurisdiction over immigration matters in the Russian Federation, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

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