Potential impact of COVID-19 (coronavirus) epidemic on the citizenship process (and timelines)

[N400NYC 380]

3 hours ago, SilverLake said:

I really appreciate this thread as I am in the same situation. My oath ceremony is March 18 and I think there could be a lot of unpredictable developments regarding the Covid-19 outbreak in the next 10 days. Who knows what will happen!

@N400NYC  when is your oath? Are you aware of any cancelled oath ceremony so far?

 

Thanks!

I hear you!!! Mine is Friday - three days away. Cancellation at this point would be so demoralizing. What city are you in? I haven’t heard of any cancellations, just the temporary closure of the Seattle office which is reopening tomorrow.

 

Honestly I am surprised more people aren’t thinking about the potential impacts of the coronavirus outbreak on immigration and citizenship processes. Denial and pretending everything is fine doesn’t work for me! The potential for disruption is real. 

[SilverLake 40]

10 minutes ago, N400NYC said:

I hear you!!! Mine is Friday - three days away. Cancellation at this point would be so demoralizing. What city are you in? I haven’t heard of any cancellations, just the temporary closure of the Seattle office which is reopening tomorrow.

 

Honestly I am surprised more people aren’t thinking about the potential impacts of the coronavirus outbreak on immigration and citizenship processes. Denial and pretending everything is fine doesn’t work for me! The potential for disruption is real. 

Yep, totally agreed with you. I've been paying very close attention to the outbreak news, not because I'm concerned about the disease itself, but because I don't want anything to get in the way until I have my oath ceremony. It's been a very long and exhausting journey and we're so close to the finish line. Having a postpone until further notice is like having to run for another marathon that we don't know when it will actually end.

 

I'm in Dallas. Even though the case count is still low compared to Washington, Calif, and New York, I just heard there were 3 confirmed cases in north TX now (which is virtually Dallas). Anything can happen between now and the next 10 days, so finger crossed. I'm just so ready to be done.

 

Good luck to you too and let us know if there's any changes. I'm praying there will be none! Are you in New York?

[N400NYC 380]

26 minutes ago, SilverLake said:

Yep, totally agreed with you. I've been paying very close attention to the outbreak news, not because I'm concerned about the disease itself, but because I don't want anything to get in the way until I have my oath ceremony. It's been a very long and exhausting journey and we're so close to the finish line. Having a postpone until further notice is like having to run for another marathon that we don't know when it will actually end.

 

I'm in Dallas. Even though the case count is still low compared to Washington, Calif, and New York, I just heard there were 3 confirmed cases in north TX now (which is virtually Dallas). Anything can happen between now and the next 10 days, so finger crossed. I'm just so ready to be done.

 

Good luck to you too and let us know if there's any changes. I'm praying there will be none! Are you in New York?

Our thinking is definitely aligned! I am not worried about the virus (for myself) but rather can't stand the idea of having to deal with an oath cancellation at the last hour after literally waiting years to get to this point. 

 

Yes, New York. As of today there are 36 cases in NYC. And >100 cases to the north of NYC in Westchester County (not officially part of NYC). 

 

I can understand cancelling large community and social events. I am hoping that smaller-scale legal and ceremonial events won't get caught up in the cancellation frenzy. 

 

 

[yellow2 28]

My Oath Ceremony is on the 26th at a Theater so I feel it is on the 'larger' side of the ceremonies during the month. Although there are no cases in my county yet I am fearful that fear mongering will lead to the closing of all government events in the next few weeks.

[N400NYC 380]

New this evening (relates directly to what we are discussing in this thread)

 

Trump administration now wants hundreds of thousands of federal workers to be ready to telework to limit coronavirus spread

 

Quote

The Trump administration is racing to develop contingency plans that would allow hundreds of thousands of employees to work remotely full time, an extreme scenario to limit the coronavirus that would test whether the government can carry out its mission from home offices and kitchen tables. The Office of Personnel Management, which oversees policy for the workforce of 2.1 million, has urged agency heads in recent days to “immediately review” their telework policies, sign paperwork with employees laying out their duties, issue ­laptops and grant access to computer networks. The administration has not issued a widespread mandate, but some offices already have acted. The Securities and Exchange Commission late Monday became the first federal agency in Washington to clear 2,400 employees from its headquarters after discovering that an employee might be infected.

Quote

Agencies have said little publicly about their workforce plans. The Department of Homeland Security announced last week that it had closed its Seattle field office for two weeks after an employee tested positive for coronavirus. But the agency declined to say how many employees were affected or could work remotely.

Then on Monday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services told employees in an email that it was reopening a week early after professionally cleaning the office.

 

[jakelake 222]

3 hours ago, N400NYC said:

 

 

Honestly I am surprised more people aren’t thinking about the potential impacts of the coronavirus outbreak on immigration and citizenship processes. Denial and pretending everything is fine doesn’t work for me! The potential for disruption is real. 

I think that people are more concerned about their health. Immigration and citizenship is secondary at this point.

If there is a delay, it is because safety comes first. It is always better to be safe than sorry.

 

 

[N400NYC 380]

30 minutes ago, jakelake said:

I think that people are more concerned about their health. Immigration and citizenship is secondary at this point.

If there is a delay, it is because safety comes first. It is always better to be safe than sorry.

 

 

Yes, I imagine that’s true for some/many people. 

[N400NYC 380]

USCIS, SEC extend telework amid coronavirus concerns (March 10, 2020)

 

Quote

Against the backdrop of federal offices allowing their employees to telecommute as a precaution against the coronavirus, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced it was implementing a remote work program for its workers.

 

The decision is in accordance with a 2016 collective bargaining agreement between USCIS and the American Federation of Government Employees' National Citizenship and Immigration Services Council 119, which represents over 13,000 USCIS workers.

 

USCIS announced the program in a March 9 letter to AFGE Council 119 President Danielle Spooner. "The Agency intends to implement the Remote Work program throughout every office in the Agency," Labor and Employee Relations Division chief Judy McLaughlin wrote.

 

"The Agency is seeking to establish effective and efficient remote work arrangements to support a more flexible and agile work environment without diminishing employee performance or accomplishment."

 

Teleworking has been a major concern for unions like AFGE, which have fought rollbacks of such arrangements in labor talks with agencies.

 

On March 6, AFGE National President Everett Kelley sent a letter to Office of Personnel Management Director Dale Cabaniss asking her to expand current telework policies to all workers regardless of previous arrangements as a precaution to allow federal workers to prioritize their health.

 

Remote work, however, would allow employees to work in locations other than USCIS offices "most or all of the time," and would allow employees who live at least 50 miles away from the near USCIS duty station to work at locations of their choosing. The program would not mandate employees to report to an agency office for the two days per pay period as dictated by current telework policies.

 

McLaughlin wrote that management would determine eligible and approve workers who apply for the remote work program.

 

An AFGE spokesman told FCW in an email that the union supports USCIS's decision to implement the remote work policy. As of publication, USCIS did not answer an inquiry into when it was planning on implementing the program.

 

 

[N400NYC 380]

This video is excellent. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8k5HovNphk

 

Coronavirus Guide Part 1: Navigating USCIS, Consulates, Immigration Courts (March 10, 2020)

[SilverLake 40]

someone in a n-400 fb group that I am a member of just posted that San Jose and Boston had cancelled their oath ceremonies today. Can anyone confirm?

[SilverLake 40]

ok one person has confirmed that their oath ceremony in Boston was cancelled today. They drove to the location and was told that it had been cancelled because 2 of their employees were exposed to the virus. They did not have a chance to get out of the car.

[N400NYC 380]

2 minutes ago, SilverLake said:

ok one person has confirmed that their oath ceremony in Boston was cancelled today. They drove to the location and was told that it had been cancelled because 2 of their employees were exposed to the virus. They did not have a chance to get out of the car.

On Twitter I had seen a reference to the Boston cancellation but didn’t know the reason.

 

Ohio had a ceremony today - attendees had to use sanitizer upon entry. 

 

I am not confident my oath ceremony will happen on Friday. I know I will have to accept that reality if/when it happens but it would be somewhat soul destroying - so near yet so far....

 

 

[N400NYC 380]

2 oath cancellations 

[SilverLake 40]

3 minutes ago, N400NYC said:

2 oath cancellations 

Thanks for the additional info.

 

My oath location is known for hosting 1000 + attendees so the chance of getting cancelled next week is very high.

 

 

 

Edited March 12, 2020 by SilverLake

[N400NYC 380]

2 minutes ago, SilverLake said:

Thanks for the additional info.

 

My oath location is known for hosting 1000 + attendees so the chance of getting cancelled next week is very high.

 

 

 

It’s so depressing. Who’d have ever thought we’d get so close to becoming citizens only to have the ceremony cancelled due to a PANDEMIC 🤦🏼‍♂️
 

And I think we will only find out by turning up on the day and seeing if the ceremony is on or off. Things are happening so rapidly they are probably making decisions on a day to day basis.