USCIS Launches New Online Rescheduling Tool for Biometrics Appointments — Visa Lawyer Blog — July 7, 2023
We are excited to share with you a new self-service tool released by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Beginning on June 28th USCIS has announced that biometrics service appointments can be rescheduled online using your myUSCIS online account.
Benefit requestors, attorneys, and accredited representatives will be able to take advantage of this new service so long as rescheduling of biometrics is done BEFORE the date of the scheduled biometrics appointment.
This will provide a great advantage to the public by reducing the burdens on the USCIS Contact Center and improve efficiency.
Before this announcement, benefit requestors and accredited representatives could only request to reschedule a biometric services appointment by calling the USCIS Contact Center.
With this new tool, those individuals who already have a myUSCIS online account or those who create an online account can reschedule most requests for biometric services appointments without having to call the Contact Center, regardless of whether their pending case was submitted online or by mail.
The new tool, however, cannot be used to reschedule an appointment that already has been rescheduled two or more times, is within 12 hours, or that has already passed.
Benefit requestors and accredited representatives will still have the option to call the USCIS Contact Center if they wish to reschedule an appointment, but USCIS strongly encourages applicants to use this new tool to save time, increase efficiency, and reduce call volume to the USCIS Contact Center.
Timely Rescheduling Requests
Applicants may only reschedule a biometrics appointment for “good cause,” when it is filed on a timely basis. However, the USCIS Policy Manual also provides that the agency may consider an untimely request to reschedule a biometric services appointment and explains the effect of failing to appear for an appointment
USCIS has said that “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:
- Illness, medical appointment, or hospitalization;
- Previously planned travel;
- Significant life events such as a wedding, funeral, or graduation ceremony;
- Inability to obtain transportation to the appointment location;
- Inability to obtain leave from employment or caregiver responsibilities; and
- Late delivered or undelivered biometric services appointment notice.
Untimely Rescheduling Requests
As a reminder, USCIS only accepts untimely rescheduling requests to be made via the USCIS Contact Center. It does not accept untimely requests to reschedule by mail or in-person at a USCIS office or through the myUSCIS online rescheduling tool.
For more information about this announcement, please click here.
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