Due to the outbreak, many immigrant applicants have experienced significant delays in getting their biometrics fingerprinted at the USCIS “Support Center” (ASC).
It is estimated that approximately 280,000 fingerprinting appointments were cancelled during the temporary USCIS closure last year. After July of last year, 132 “support centers” across the United States reopened, but processing capacity did not return to what it once was, with ASC processing capacity falling below half of what it used to be between July and September of last year, and returning to 65 percent in late October.
ASC centers specialize in collecting fingerprints, photographs, and signatures of immigrants. Since late October of last year, ASC processing has been only about 65% of pre-pandemic speed, and ASCs are currently scheduling 100,000 and 400 appointments per day, with about 1.3 million applicants waiting to adjust their status and apply for visas, waiting to be fingerprinted, USCIS said.
USCIS has cancelled thousands of fingerprinting appointments and will resume fingerprinting services if the Support Center resumes operations, but many applicants are still waiting for rescheduled appointments, leaving their immigration status in limbo.
Immigration authorities report that delays in scheduling or rescheduling fingerprinting appointments will continue to occur. However, INS said it will arrange for staff to work overtime and redistribute the workload to reduce delays. For the reasons for the delays, USCIS attributed them to the increased volume of applications, the current volume of postal services and other external factors, and also to ASC processing capacity.
USCIS has indicated that there is a delay of four to six weeks for applicants to receive their receipts, which varies depending on the category of the application, but does not affect the date the application is received by USCIS. Delays will be longer for non-Family adjustment of status applications and F-1 student employment authorization applications.
Also, during an outbreak, USCIS is authorized to reuse an applicant’s biometric data in limited circumstances (usually when the individual’s identity must be verified or when the case can be decided); if reused, a Form I-797 will be issued to the applicant, which means that the applicant does not need to reappear at ASC for fingerprinting. In addition, USCIS generally schedules appointments on a “first-in, first-out” basis.
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