The USCIS offices finally reopened

In light of the public health threat caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) decided to temporarily close its offices.

This means that all face-to-face services have been inactive for more than two months.

The USCIS officials explained that this measure was implemented to protect the health of employees and the immigrant communities that come to the offices on a daily basis.

USCIS offices have been closed since the end of March and finally reopened on June 4, 2020.

New protocols will be implemented mainly to:

• Avoid a wave of COVID-19 infections in USCIS facilities.
• Accelerate processes to alleviate current delays.

The services that were suspended due to the health crisis are:

• Biometric data updates.
• Face-to-face hearings.
• Naturalization ceremonies.
• Asylum and refuge applications.
• Green Card applications.

These are some of the main services offered by USCIS and the ones most requested by immigrants.

Thus, there is quite a bit of work accumulated for USCIS employees who must streamline processes to stay current on applications.

Several immigration experts around the country recommend seeking reliable help of specialized attorneys to submit any immigration request.

If you need help with any of these services, do not hesitate to contact Motion Law Immigration.

The new USCIS security protocols

It is well known that we must learn to subsist with the Coronavirus until health experts find a cure.

Therefore, USCIS decided to implement contingency measures to protect the health of employees and applicants.

Let’s see some of the guidelines established to reopen the offices:

1. No applicant may bring a companion, except in cases of disability or marital cases.
2. Only the applicant, the attorney, and the interpreter may enter the USCIS facility (if necessary).
3. Applicants can enter the USCIS offices only 15 minutes before their scheduled appointment, except in the case of naturalization ceremonies, they can enter up to 30 minutes before their appointment.
4. The offices for asylum and refuge petitions and face-to-face hearings will have strict rules of social distancing since these appointments are usually very long.
   The USCIS employees doing the interview will be in one room and the applicants will be in another room with the attorneys and the interpreter (if necessary).
5. All offices around the country will have social distancing signs that must be followed rigorously. If someone does not follow these rules, (s)he could be expelled from the office and (s)he will have to request an appointment again, which could take weeks, even months.
6. Applicants must enter USCIS facilities with protective masks and use hand sanitizer before entering (all offices will have hand sanitizer available for applicants at the entrance).

The USCIS urgently needs to increase revenue

The USCIS economic system depends largely on the fees that must be paid by applicants when submitting an immigration request.

Due to the suspension of face-to-face services, USCIS is going through a downturn in revenue.

Therefore, it is the right time to submit any immigration application before USCIS decides to increase application fees to alleviate the current recession.

Don’t miss your chance, seek reliable help

Nowadays, filing an immigration case and having the opportunity to have a face-to-face appointment can take months.

That is why it is imperative for applicants to have the documentation and evidence ready to present to the USCIS.

We recommend for you to follow experts’ advice to avoid possible rejection of your immigration request.

If you have any questions about an immigration issue or relating to a case you may have currently in progress, then please don’t hesitate to contact us for a FREE Phone Consultation with one of our expert immigration attorneys.

Simply call Motion Law today at: (202) 918-1799.