There's some good and bad news for immigrants waiting for their USCIS biometric appointments.
More than a million immigrants who filed for their citizenship, Adjustment of Status,
and other benefits have been waiting for their biometric appointments at a local ASC, Application
Support Center to give their photo fingerprint and signature as required by the immigration process.
Welcome to our immigration channel. This is a place where you can get all the immigration
updates, news, and information to help you make your immigration journey a little bit less crazy.
My name is Jacob Sapochnik, and I am an immigration attorney located in San Diego,
California. If you’re here for the first time, make sure to subscribe to our channel,
click that bell to be notified so you don't miss any more videos or live streams that
we do every single week. And also, give us a big like so YouTube will be able to share this video
with more people just like you. So, in a previous video, I've talked about biometrics and the issues
that are happening right now. In this video, I want to give you more up-to-date information
to help you understand what's going to happen in the space of biometrics, and whether you need one,
or what's going to happen if you don't get the appointment notice. So, as you know, due to the
pandemic, in-person interviews were canceled both for Adjustment of Status interviews, but as well
as for biometrics. As a result of the closures, thousands of biometric appointments were canceled
and rescheduled, that what USCIS said at the time that they're going to reschedule them for a later
time, once it's safe to appear in person, or once they found a solution and a procedure to schedule
everybody for their new biometric appointments. But thousands of applicants and many of our
clients as well have yet to receive their new appointments or notices to reschedule their cases.
As a result, many, many applications have been delayed and continue to be delayed to this day.
This past week, the USCIS and DHS have finally provided an update as to what exactly is happening
at the Application Support Centers in the entire country, and what's going to happen next with
respect to those biometric appointments. USCIS also acknowledges that it's experiencing severe
delays not only in issuing those reschedule appointments but also in processing current
biometric data to be able to move those cases along properly. At the stakeholders’ message,
USCIS stated the following. Current processing times are affected by several variables
including demand and capacity at individual ASCs. They also said that approximately 1.3 immigration
applications are waiting for biometric processing as of mid-December. This is crazy. Almost 300,000
immigrants saw their appointments being canceled, or potentially rescheduled between March and July
of 2020. USCIS also said that they began reopening their application support centers as of July
since they started implementing protective screens over there and procedures to make the process
safer for their employees, but also for the immigrants coming in to get their biometrics. But
despite the re-openings, we know and they admitted that there's been quite a lot of closures of ASC,
Application Support Centers, across the country due to lockdowns in certain states
due to shortage of staffing, and other reasons. They're prevented from those centers to reopen.
And as a result, prevented applicants from getting their biometric appointments done on time. If
you've ever been to an ASC location, when you take your biometrics, the whole process takes about 10
to 15 minutes for them to get your fingerprints and your photo. And then, they electronically
transmit that to local law enforcement agencies to be able to process their data. The good
news though, and I mentioned in previous videos that I've done about biometrics, but this time,
the USCIS have actually confirmed that, is that they'll be reusing previously collected data
biometrics for applicants to speed up the process. So, if you've done already biometrics in the past,
in some cases, they'll be able to waive your biometrics appointment. And you'll be able to
continue with your case without needing to wait for that appointment, and thus, your case will
not be delayed. So, USCIS specifically stated that they will be waiving biometric appointments
for certain applicants if they already have their data from previously collected biometric.
USCIS also stated last week, under the new procedures, is that if they will be
waiving your biometrics, they're going to be sending you Form I-787 Notice of Action,
specifically stating that your biometrics will be reused because they already have your data
and you do not need to appear for biometric appointments at a local Application Support
Center. They also stated that not all applications are going to be waived for biometric appointments,
and they have their own internal procedure to decide which will be waived and which will not.
The USCIS also clarified at the stakeholders meeting, that they won't allow any more walk-ins
to the Application Support Centers. You must have an appointment, and you have to be on time.
The only exceptions are for military personnel and their family members. In the old days or before
the changes, if you missed your appointment for biometric, you could just show up the next day,
wait in line, and do it. Now, you cannot do it anymore. If you don't have an appointment, they're
not going to let you in. And if you’re not going to do your biometrics based on an appointment,
your case may be denied. That's why it's very important to be aware of the notices whether you
have an appointment that is waived or if you have to appear, you must appear on time. So, hopefully,
this information was helpful. We have done quite a few videos about biometrics. This is the latest
update we have. Make sure to, if you are going through the process of citizenship or Adjustment
of Status, watch the mail to make sure you get the notice of your interview being waived. And if you
do get an appointment, make sure you'll be there on time. Otherwise, you're not going to be able to
do it. Thanks for watching. Make sure to subscribe to our channel. If you're here for the first time,
click this bell to be notified so you don't miss any of our videos. And also, if you want to have
a consultation with me, make sure you text the phone number right here and be able to
set up a time to speak with me one on one. Thanks for watching. I'll see you in our next video.
So, if you like this video, watch these two videos for more information just like that.