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New rules for rescheduling biometrics appointments were announced by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in July 2023.
If biometrics are required by USCIS for your case, you will receive a biometrics appointment notice (Form I-797C, Notice of Action). It will include the date, time, and location for your appointment at the USCIS Application Support Center (ASC). The biometrics you provide during your appointment allow USCIS to confirm your identity and run the required background and security checks.
If you are a client who would like our firm to make the rescheduling request for you, please let us know as soon as possible. Tell us:
- What dates in the next 2 months …
- You prefer to have the appointment
- You are available for the appointment
- You are not available for the appointment
- Which of the below-listed types of “good cause” makes you unable to appear at your regularly scheduled appointment, or what your other reason is.
- If you want to appear at a different ASC than listed on your notice, which one. Find ASC locations here.
Or, if you are a client who would like technical help with your USCIS online account, please contact our firm.
Rescheduling Online Versus by Phone
If you are unable to attend your scheduled biometric appointment for good cause, you may request to reschedule the appointment time and place. You can reschedule through your USCIS online account. This is possible regardless of whether the pending case was submitted online or by mail. You can set up a new account if you don’t yet have one. Log into your account then click on “Reschedule Biometrics.” You will be given options for new appointment times. Note that rescheduling the biometrics appointment may delay adjudication of your case.
| USCIS Online Account | By Telephone |
|---|---|
| Reschedule any hour of the day. | Call Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Requests to reschedule through your USCIS online account must be made at least 12 hours before your scheduled appointment time. | Request may be made any time before your scheduled appointment time. |
| This option is not available if you have already rescheduled your biometrics appointment two or more times. | This option remains available if you have already rescheduled your biometrics appointment two or more times. |
| Your case must not be a: Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative; Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition; Form I-800, Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative; or Form I-800A, Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country. | Any type of case |
| You will receive your new appointment notice in your USCIS account within 1-2 business days. | You will receive your new appointment notice by mail within about two weeks. |
Good Cause Required
Rescheduling will be allowed only if you have “good cause.” Good cause exists when the reschedule request provides sufficient reason for the benefit requestor’s inability to appear on the scheduled date. Sufficient reasons may include, but are not limited to:
- Inability to leave from employment or caregiver responsibilities
- Significant live events such as a wedding, funeral, or graduation ceremony
- Illness, medical appointment, or hospitalization
- Late delivered or undelivered biometrics appointment notice
- Inability to obtain transportation to the appointment notice
- Previously planned travel
Untimely Requests to Reschedule
Clients should contact our firm immediately if they miss a biometrics appointment.
If you fail to request to reschedule before your existing appointment or fail to establish good cause, USCIS may consider your application, petition, or request abandoned and, as a result, it may be denied, unless USCIS has failed to notify you of the appointment at the proper address.
USCIS may consider an untimely reschedule request, if the benefit request remains pending. USCIS’ decision will be a matter of discretion and based on the applicant’s circumstances. USCIS reviews such factors as:
- The length of time between the missed appointment and the reschedule request;
- Whether the benefit requestor has a sufficient reason for failing to appear; and
- Whether a denial would cause undue hardship or expense.
Sources
USCIS Policy Alert, Application Support Center Reschedule Requests and Missed Appointments (July 6, 2023)
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