The Biometric appointment is one of the basic requirements of The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). If you are applying for immigration benefits like a green card, immigration visa, or naturalization, you must know when and where you have to attend your biometric appointment.
USCIS Biometric Appointment:
The biometric appointment is an essential part of the immigration process intended to get your fingerprints to facilitate the background examination process. Fortunately, it is a pretty easy process for which you are not required to prepare yourself. Now have a look at the complete process of biometric appointment:
Where will this appointment be taken?
Your appointment must be taken at the office of United States Citizenship and immigration services (USCIS) in your nearby district, or the application supports center (ASC). The appointment will be noticed, seen, and scheduled to get your fingerprints for the immigration process.
Fees for USCIS Biometric Appointment:
Currently, USCIS charges eighty-five dollars for your biometric appointment that is required to submit at the time of filling immigration application to USCIS. It will not be submitted during your biometric appointment. You don’t need a receipt to prove the payment you made for a biometric appointment, as your appointment notice is itself proof.
Appointment Notice:
To proceed with your application further, USCIS will send a Biometric appointment notice (I-797C) to the mailing address you mentioned in your application form. If you have any legal representative, a copy of your appointment notice will also be sent to your attorney. If you didn’t receive your appointment notice within the prescribed time, you must approach the USCIS contact center to inquire about that notice. Moreover, you must store your document safely as it can be demanded on your appointment.
On the day of the Biometric Appointment:
It would be best to reach the designated spot of the biometric appointments well before time to get yourself registered for the appointment. Once you arrive and register, you get to see the detailing of your number in the queue. The ASC employees called you by your number.
The Duration of Biometric Appointment:
This process takes almost 20 minutes apart from that time, you have to wait in reception for an appointment to be taken. If you know the exact time of your appointment, still, for caution, come ten minutes before your appointment.
The things you need to bring to your appointment:
You don’t need to bring your lawyer to your appointment, even if they assist you in your immigration process. The detail of specific documents will be written on your appointment notice that you need to bring to your appointment.
The following documents are usually required:
- Your appointment notice form
- Valid Identification that contains your photos, such as the green card, your driving license, or passport
You must read your appointment notice carefully and bring all required documents on the day of your appointment.
The process of Biometric Appointment:
The whole process is simple and easy, and there is nothing in it that you need to be worried or scared about. During your biometric appointment, the following steps will be taken:
- First, USCIS designated person will take your fingerprints
- Then they take your photographs
- Lastly, your signature will be collected
After your Biometric Appointment:
Once you are done with your biometric appointments, the ASC team member will stamp your appointment notice to evidence the completion of the process. After taking your approved notice, you must save it carefully to use it for handling any upcoming complications. It will also be helpful if USCIS misplaces or loses your record; it’s very rare, but better to keep a safer side for yourself. Remember that ASC employees don’t know anything about your case and have no access to your file, so avoid having a useless discussion or question with ASC employees during your appointment.
Where will your biometric data be used?
Many people think about where will the data of biometrics be used. The answer is that your data will be further sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to thoroughly investigate your record in their police fights and criminal history records. Once completed, FIA will forward your file to USCIS with the investigation findings of whether you are eligible.
What happens if you can’t make your biometric appointment?
Always be aware that missing your work leads to multiple scheduling issues that you have to face. If you can’t make your appointment on time, you have to face unnecessary delays; USCIS will not proceed with your application until and unless they receive your biometrics.
How will you reschedule your Biometric Appointment?
The guidelines for rescheduling biometric appointments are mentioned in the biometric appointments notice sent by USCIS. For this, you must write an application to the USCIS office that must include the genuine reasons for not attending the scheduled appointment and request to reschedule it. The time for your next appointment mostly depends on;
- How you write your application; give proper reasoning for not attending your previous appointment.
- The office’s workload; when they get time to review your application for a new appointment.
Then ASC will schedule your appointment within the thirty days of your request to reschedule your appointment. You will not have to wait for a long time.
References:
- https://youtu.be/JNDVtPCGkf4
- https://sojourningscholar.com/uscis-biometrics-appointment-guide/
- https://youtu.be/fgj0uPZpRlg