What's up with biometrics?

[LirikVJUser 28]

I know that due to covid USCIS may waive biometrics for i-751 if you previously had it as part of i-485

My i-751 window opens in June and I wonder if they're going to waive or not by then

 

And I've heard that even before covid USCIS occasionally waived biometrics for i-751 applicants. Does anybody know when that happens?

[yvy23 11]

I can't comment directly on I-751 as I did that a while ago.  But I can say that for my recent citizenship application I got a letter back saying that they could use my previous biometrics.  I'm guessing it's because they don't want a lot of people on-site at the offices at the moment because of Covid.  It might be that they compare the previous sets to make sure they look pretty much the same every time and waive the requirement for the ones that are clearly identifiable as the same person every time they're done, although my pictures didn't change significantly over time during the previous sets (same hairstyle and color, nothing new like glasses etc) and they wanted new ones each time.  They don't waive the fee though - you still have to pay that because they still run the background checks using the older information.  As to whether or not they'll still be waiving them in June, probably only time will tell as it'll depend on the Covid situation at that point.

[Marieke H 2,512]

There is no way to predict if your biometrics will be waived. It is often waived for ROC at the moment if the applicant has done biometrics for AOS. However, there is no guarantee that yours will be waived by then.

 

And why does it matter? You will have to pay for biometrics anyway. Just submit your ROC, and you will eventually be notified if you're doing biometrics or not.