Immigration Forum / USA Marriage Base / August 2008

This is the record of questions and answers in the USCIS-National
Stakeholders Meeting which was held on June 24, 2008, which has just
been released. The meeting touched on various issues including
biometric problem.

Q1: Under the new re-entry permit procedures, applicants receive
biometrics appointment notices in the United States after they file
their I-131 applications. We have encountered several individuals who
(due to the fact that they did not have prior notice of these new
requirements) had already purchased airplane tickets to return to the
United States for a limited period of time during which they planned
to file an I-131 application. In many cases, these individuals only
made travel arrangements to be in the United States for a period of
one week or less. In the past, this did not affect I-131 processing as
biometrics appointments were not required, and the applicant could
file the application and then depart, however, this is no longer the
case. In general, once an I-131 application is filed, the how long
does it take before a biometrics appointment is issued and does this
vary according to ASC location?

A1: For normal I-131 processing, applicants will be scheduled for a
biometric appointment approximately three to four weeks after receipt
of the I-131, and this time estimate is consistent for all ASC
locations. Expedited processing is made available by the Nebraska
Service Center on a case-by-case basis. Instructions for requesting an
expedited application are detailed on the Form I-131 Instructions,
Rev. 05/27/08. If approved for expedite, the NSC has the capability of
scheduling an applicant for an expedited biometrics appointment.

Q2: The ASC appointment notices that we have seen instruct the
applicant to send a request for rescheduling to the ASC where the
appointment was originally scheduled. If an applicant receives a
biometrics appointment but has to reschedule it, how does the
reschedule procedure work?

A2: Once the ASC staff member receives a request, s/he pulls up the
current appointment in the scheduler, verifies the applicant’s
information, makes changes if appropriate (eg. address changes), and
reschedules for the “next available” appointment or by date. New
notices are automatically generated and sent.

Q3. May an applicant request that the biometrics appointment be
rescheduled during a certain time frame (i.e. one week July 10-July
17) or after a certain date/point in time when they will be back in
the U.S. for a longer period of time?

A3: Yes, on both points, if emergent circumstances warrant exceptional
handling of the application.

Q4. Who at an ASC considers these requests for rescheduling and what
guidance has USCIS provided to ASCs about rescheduling appointments?

A4: Rescheduling requests can be made by the ASC Manager, Site
Supervisor, or other staff trained on the scheduler. Standard
Operating Procedures are provided on the process of rescheduling
applicants and on use of the scheduling system.

Q5. May a request be made to have the ASC appointment in an area of
the country other than where the original ASC appointment was
scheduled and if so, how should such a request be made?

A5: Yes, address changes should be noted in the rescheduling
request.

Q6. If an applicant mails a request for rescheduling, but does not
receive the new appointment before the original appointment date, how
can the applicant verify that the request is being processed?

A6: The applicant can contact the National Customer Service Center at
1-800-375-5283 to receive an update on the ASC appointment currently
noted in the scheduling system. If the client experiences a delay in
the processing of their reschedule greater than 30 days, they should
contact the NCSC. USCIS will follow up directly with the appropriate
ASC to make sure that the appointment is rescheduled.

Q7. If an applicant successfully reschedules the biometrics
appointment, does this impact the processing of the I-131 application
(will the process take longer)?

A7: Yes, delay of the biometric processing necessarily delays overall
processing of the application.

Q8: If an applicant has had their biometrics taken in connection with
another application (i.e. I-485) within the past 15 months, can those
biometrics be used for the I-131 application?

A8: The 15-month window refers to the validity of the response from an
FBI background check, based on the submission of an applicant’s ten-
print fingerprints. For application types that require biometric
images (photograph, signature, and press print) as well, such as the
I-485 and the I-131, in most cases a new set of biometric images must
be captured to associate with each application.