Biometrics appointments are backlogged. That’s good news for some U.S. visa applicants
It has become sort of a nightmare for hundreds of thousands of immigrants in the United States who have seen their immigration processes stalled while they wait for appointments to provide their fingerprints, photographs and/or signature to federal authorities.
Immigration officials have acknowledged that temporary closures and capacity limitations at local Application Support Centers due to the coronavirus pandemic have created a “substantial volume of cases” awaiting biometric services appointments.
Since the biometrics backlog has caused delays in the adjudication of immigration forms overall, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that it was suspending the biometrics requirement for certain applicants filing one of the most common immigration forms to extend or change a non-immigrant legal status. This suspension will last until May 2023.
“The significant volume of pending cases related to Form I-539 are particularly impacting the timeframe for USCIS to adjudicate the related employment authorization applications,” said the Department of Homeland Security agency in a news release that detailed the visa categories exempted from the requirement.
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The biometric services procedure normally takes 15 to 20 minutes. The information is later sent to law enforcement agencies for criminal and security checks. Biometrics is also one of the 10 steps for legal permanent residents to become U.S. citizens through naturalization..
According to USCIS, the temporary suspension of biometrics applies to applicants filing Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status in the following visa categories:
▪ H-4 visa for spouses or children under 21 years of age of H-1B visa holders.
▪ L-2 visa for spouses or children under 21 years of age of L-1B visa holders.
▪ E-1 visa for nationals of countries for which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation.
▪ E-2 visa for investors, including E-2C (E-2 CNMI Investor).
▪ E-3 visa for specialty occupation workers from Australia.
Green cards are only available to immigrants who fall under one of these categories
The immigration agency said the suspension applies to those in the above categories whose applications are either:
▪ Pending as of May 17, 2021, and have not yet received a biometric services appointment notice.
▪ New applications postmarked or submitted electronically on or after May 17, 2021.
“Form I-539 applicants meeting the criteria above are not required to submit the $85 biometric services fee for Form I-539 during the suspension period. USCIS will return a biometric services fee if submitted separately from the base fee,” the agency explained.
USCIS had announced a few months ago that, given the challenges brought by the COVID-19 crisis, when authorized by law, the agency was going to reuse previously collected biometric data to conduct background and security checks — therefore some immigrants applying for citizenship have been able to skip the biometrics’ appointment.
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USCIS has been pulling back on some of the changes made during the Trump administration, ever since President Joe Biden signed the Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems executive order.
Just recently, the DHS withdrew a proposed rule that would have expanded department authorities and requirements for collecting biometrics to include an immigrant’s iris image, palm print and voice print.
Daniel Shoer Roth is a journalist covering immigration law who does not offer legal advice or individual assistance to applicants. Follow him on Twitter @DanielShoerRoth. The contents of this story do not constitute legal advice.
