COVID-19 UPDATE. IMMIGRATION
OFFICES CLOSE TEMPORARILY.
Last week, U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) closed offices temporarily around
the country in response to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. USCIS
stated in a memorandum posted to its website that the closures would apply to
its field offices, asylum offices and Application Support Centers.
The closures
will remain in effect until at least April 1.
USCIS field
offices will send notices of postponements to applicants and petitioners with
scheduled appointments and naturalization ceremonies impacted by this closure.
In the meantime, USCIS will
provide limited emergency services. Please call the USCIS Contact Center for assistance with emergency services, according to
the memorandum posted on its site.
The memorandum reads as follows:
USCIS Temporarily Closing Offices to the Public March
18-April 1
Effective March 18, U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services is suspending in-person services at its
field offices, asylum offices and Application Support Centers (ASCs) to help
slow the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). This suspension of
services will be effective until at least April 1. In the meantime, USCIS will
provide limited emergency services. Please call the Contact
Center for assistance with emergency services.
USCIS field offices will
send notices to applicants and petitioners with scheduled appointments and
naturalization ceremonies impacted by this 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 normal operations, USCIS will automatically reschedule
ASC appointments due to the office closure. You will receive a new appointment
letter in the mail. Individuals who had InfoPass or other appointments must
reschedule through the USCIS Contact Center once field offices
are open to the public again. Please check to see if your field office has been reopened before
reaching out to the USCIS Contact Center.
Education and precautions
are the strongest tools against infection. Get the latest facts by visiting the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 website. Continue to practice good
health habits, refrain from handshakes or hugs as greetings, and wash hands and
clean surfaces appropriately.
USCIS will provide further
updates as the situation develops and will continue to follow CDC guidance.
Please also visit uscis.gov/coronavirus for updates.
To read the entire text, go
to: https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-temporarily-closing-offices-public-march-18-april-1