Biometrics Walk-In

[Erin86 39]

Hi all,

 

I am still impatiently awaiting the receipt notice for my AOS packet... despite requesting it to be expedited I have no heard back yet. I wanted to know what the procedure is for biometrics walk-in though, and perhaps save some time. Is it possible to do that before I even hear back about my current status and have an appointment?

I would be going to Detroit office.

Thanks!

[geowrian 22,337]

You must have an appointment letter to do a walk-in still. Not all ASCs accept wak-ins.

 

An expedite filed with the initial application usually doesn’t make sense as biometrics must be completed before they can proceed with the application...normally you request an expedite after biometrics as a result.

[Erin86 39]

29 minutes ago, geowrian said:

You must have an appointment letter to do a walk-in still. Not all ASCs accept wak-ins.

 

An expedite filed with the initial application usually doesn’t make sense as biometrics must be completed before they can proceed with the application...normally you request an expedite after biometrics as a result.

Thanks for the clarification regarding the biometrics. So once I am scheduled for an appointment, I can try to go at an earlier time?

We were advised to file everything in including an expedite request by a USCIS officer at an infopass last year... Hopefully it will be sent to the right place for processing soon 😓🤞

Edited December 25, 2019 by Erin86

[geowrian 22,337]

14 minutes ago, Erin86 said:

Thanks for the clarification regarding the biometrics. So once I am scheduled for an appointment, I can try to go at an earlier time?

Try, yes. You can call ahead to see if they accept walk-ins, or maybe somebody else on VJ who had the same ASC can provide an experience.

[Pitaya 2,577]

Doing a walk-in for biometrics was the thing to do for the last couple of years, lately it has been kind of hit or miss. Check out some of the many relevant postings in the monthly threads located in the K1 Progress Forum for more current information.

 

Trying to understand from your timeline, you got married and are now filing your AOS? Did you also concurrently file for EAD and OP? When did you mail your app in?

 

I am relatively certain that there are likely thousands of people that would love to hear more about your expediting of the AOS application and your expedite rationale.

 

Quote

USCIS may consider an expedite request if it meets one or more of the following criteria:

• Severe financial loss to a company or person, provided that the need for urgent action is not the result of the petitioner’s or applicant’s failure to:
• File the benefit request or the expedite request in a reasonable time frame, or
• Respond to any requests for additional evidence in a reasonably timely manner;
• Urgent humanitarian reasons;
• Compelling U.S. government interests (such as urgent cases for the Department of Defense or DHS, or other public safety or national security interests); or
• Clear USCIS error.

 

REF: https://www.uscis.gov/forms/how-make-expedite-request

 

Agree with geowrian's assessment of the usual scheme of events. However, since this is the holiday season, I wouldn't hold out a lot of hope for much of anything happening at USCIS.

 

Good luck on your immigration journey, and Happy Holidays !!

Edited December 25, 2019 by Pitaya

[Erin86 39]

18 minutes ago, Pitaya said:

Doing a walk-in for biometrics was the thing to do for the last couple of years, lately it has been kind of hit or miss. Check out some of the many relevant postings in the monthly threads located in the K1 Progress Forum for more current information.

 

Trying to understand from your timeline, you got married and are now filing your AOS? Did you also concurrently file for EAD and OP? When did you mail your app in?

 

I am relatively certain that there are likely thousands of people that would love to hear more about your expediting of the AOS application and your expedite rationale.

 

REF: https://www.uscis.gov/forms/how-make-expedite-request

 

Agree with geowrian's assessment of the usual scheme of events. However, since this is the holiday season, I wouldn't hold out a lot of hope for much of anything happening at USCIS.

 

Good luck on your immigration journey, and Happy Holidays !!

Mailed I-485, I-131 and I-765 2 weeks ago, still no word from USCIS about it but it was received by Harper on Dec 13th according to UPS.

I did see (after mailing) that people here have sent their packets and only later requested to expedite, however, this is what we were told to do at an infopass appointment, so hopefully that information wasn't wrong.

 

Regarding the expedite request, I am in the US now but my husband is US government employee working in Canada. We are requesting to expedite my AP so I could join him in Canada (we will return to the US in the next 2-5 years).

 

Thank you and happy holidays to you as well!

[Loren Y 2,755]

As everyone stated above, you need at the minimum the appointment letter to even think about a early walk-in. I did an early walk in here in Las Vegas,NV with the appointment letter. I had read that the best day to do a walk-in is Wednesday, from the employees at the ASU I went to they call it " Walk-in Wednesday even". It is the slowest day of the week for them usually as Mondays are busy of course, and usually carries over into Tuesday, and of course on a Friday at a government office ( Or any office really) everyone is done for the week and looking to get out of the job for the weekend, so Fridays is kinda out. We went in on a Wednesday after lunch say 1-1:30 pm and the place was empty, I thought it was closed there were so few cars out front, and it only took about 10-15 min for the whole process. Security checked our letter and called someone up ( A supervisor or something), he tool a look at the letter , a quick look at my wife's hands to make sure her prints looked good, and said no problem we don't have much going on right now. We were the only ones in the bio-metric office, and the officer there seemed genuinely excited to have something to do. He took photos and prints while I filled out a comment card giving them stellar reviews, and we were done a few weeks early. Like others have said, see if you can find some reviews from people who have done it at the ASU in Detroit to see what worked for them.

[Pitaya 2,577]

34 minutes ago, Erin86 said:

Mailed I-485, I-131 and I-765 2 weeks ago, still no word from USCIS about it but it was received by Harper on Dec 13th according to UPS.

I did see (after mailing) that people here have sent their packets and only later requested to expedite, however, this is what we were told to do at an infopass appointment, so hopefully that information wasn't wrong. A quick review of recent postings in this K1/K3 AOS Forum and the  K1/K3 AOS Progress Forums, would reveal several discussions of the time period between mailing the apps and receiving the NOA1 receipt can be upwards of a month. Of folks that contact USCIS during this timeframe inquiring about their NOA1 receipt, the often given answer by the USCIS Customer (Dis)service Line is that they are still within the currently acceptable processing time range of 30 days or less. 

 

Regarding the expedite request, I am in the US now but my husband is US government employee working in Canada. We are requesting to expedite my AP so I could join him in Canada (we will return to the US in the next 2-5 years). I am still interested (and likely many more folks also) as to what rationale (of the previously provided USCIS expedite criteria) you used when you filed your expedite request.

 

Thank you and happy holidays to you as well!

Cheers.

[SalishSea 17,836]

51 minutes ago, Erin86 said:

Regarding the expedite request, I am in the US now but my husband is US government employee working in Canada. We are requesting to expedite my AP so I could join him in Canada (we will return to the US in the next 2-5 years).

If you are planning to spend 2-5 years in Canada, why would you be eligible for a green card?

[Erin86 39]

4 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

If you are planning to spend 2-5 years in Canada, why would you be eligible for a green card?

Not only will I be eligible for a green card, but as a spouse of a government employee serving abroad, I will also be eligible for expedited naturalization.  This is a unique situation so the domicile requirement is inapplicable. 

[Erin86 39]

5 hours ago, Pitaya said:

Cheers.

 I was told on the phone 15 days... so definitely going to call this weekend.

 

Regarding the expedite, we requested it with the financial hardship reason due to having 2 households to pay for (mortgage, bills, haven't sold the house so I'd have a place to live). I also mentioned in my request that I need to be back for an exam, just in case they would care 😛

[SalishSea 17,836]

1 hour ago, Erin86 said:

Not only will I be eligible for a green card, but as a spouse of a government employee serving abroad, I will also be eligible for expedited naturalization.  This is a unique situation so the domicile requirement is inapplicable. 

So US government employees' spouses are not subject to the same green card residency requirements as everyone else?

[Erin86 39]

29 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

So US government employees' spouses are not subject to the same green card residency requirements as everyone else?

If they are stationed abroad. There are specific requirements of course, we actually didn't know about this until about a week ago. There is more information on this here: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-g-chapter-4

[payxibka 10,045]

10 hours ago, Erin86 said:

 I will also be eligible for expedited naturalization.  This is a unique situation so the domicile requirement is inapplicable. 

It's not expedited as you must still have your minimum required time as a resident but certain requirements are waived so that your application isn't unduly delayed 

[Erin86 39]

2 hours ago, payxibka said:

It's not expedited as you must still have your minimum required time as a resident but certain requirements are waived so that your application isn't unduly delayed 

From USCIS site: 

E. Exception to Continuous Residence and Physical Presence Requirements

Spouses of U.S. citizens who are regularly stationed abroad under qualifying employment may be eligible to file for naturalization immediately after obtaining LPR status in the United States. Such spouses are not required to have any prior period of residence or specified period of physical presence within the United States in order to qualify for naturalization