Getting biometrics FD-258 appointment in HONG KONG for N-400 application under 319b

[Hong Kong 1 1]

Hi, my wife has just applied for citizenship using N-400 online. She qualifies under 319b Expedited Naturalization, as I am a US citizen regularly stationed abroad under qualifying employment... our family lives together in Hong Kong. 

 

We just received an RFE notice instructing her to schedule an appointment to have her biometrics taken.

 

The notice says:

Quote

You have indicated that you are filing your application from outside of the United States or are currently residing
outside of the United States but you did not submit an FD-258 Fingerprint Card with your Form N-400. Fingerprint
background checks are conducted by the FBI and must be completed before USCIS can schedule your Naturalization
Interview. USCIS policy permits applicants who are outside of the United States to have their fingerprints taken at an
overseas location.

Please contact the USCIS office nearest to your location to have your fingerprints taken. To find your local
USCIS office, visit www.uscis.gov/international.
If there is not a USCIS office near your location outside of the United States, FD-258 cards can be completed
at a U.S. Embassy, U.S. Consulate, or U.S. Military Installation. You are responsible for making arrangements
to have your fingerprints taken on the FD-258 cards and sending the original cards to USCIS, at the address
provided below. To find your local U.S. Embassy or U.S. Consulate, visit www.state.gov.

 

So this explicitly instructs her to schedule an appointment at the nearest US Consulate as there is no USCIS center in Hong Kong. 

 

I emailed the US Consulate in Hong Kong about making an appointment and they said they DO NOT do biometrics except for military service members. And told me to contact USCIS in the US. (the bottom of this webpage states as such: https://hk.usconsulate.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/fingerprinting/)

 

But in order to be eligible for expedited naturalization you must be living abroad. So it does not make sense for her to have to go to the USA to get fingerprints. It is contradictory to the qualifications for applying under section 319b. If she would have to travel to the US for this, it would undermine the entire purpose of 319b eligibility. 

 

Does anyone know what to do? Or how to get an appointment made at the US Consulate in Hong Kong? 

 

PS. On my wife's online case status, on Aug 1 it says on a biometrics appointment was scheduled and she is supposed to wait for the notice. On the same day she also received the "notice" referred to above telling her she has to make her own appointment. This is all very confusing. 

 

Thanks in advance! 

[SteveInBostonI130 3,489]

I would contact the HK consulate and ask again.  Tell them specifically you are filing under 319b expedited naturalization.   The person answering the phone or email may not be familiar with that process and how forcing the US permanent resident to travel to another country will cause undue hardship.

[Chancy 6,244]

*** Moved from Embassy/Consulate Discussion to US Citizenship General Discussion, for more attention from others knowledgeable about N-400 under INA 319(b) ***

  

7 hours ago, Hong Kong 1 said:

But in order to be eligible for expedited naturalization you must be living abroad. So it does not make sense for her to have to go to the USA to get fingerprints. It is contradictory to the qualifications for applying under section 319b. If she would have to travel to the US for this, it would undermine the entire purpose of 319b eligibility. 

 

That is not accurate.  The requirement is for you, the US citizen spouse, to be stationed outside the US.  There is no requirement for the N-400 applicant to be residing outside the US during the N-400 process.  It is totally acceptable for the N-400 applicant to be in the US, as long as they establish that they will depart to join their USC spouse within 30 to 45 days after the date of naturalization -- https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-g-chapter-4

 

[Hong Kong 1 1]

3 hours ago, Chancy said:

*** Moved from Embassy/Consulate Discussion to US Citizenship General Discussion, for more attention from others knowledgeable about N-400 under INA 319(b) ***

  

 

That is not accurate.  The requirement is for you, the US citizen spouse, to be stationed outside the US.  There is no requirement for the N-400 applicant to be residing outside the US during the N-400 process.  It is totally acceptable for the N-400 applicant to be in the US, as long as they establish that they will depart to join their USC spouse within 30 to 45 days after the date of naturalization -- https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-g-chapter-4

 

 

I see... Interesting point. 

 

However this still has no negative effect on the fact that she IS living abroad with me, which is acceptable under 319b qualifications, as I understand. And this is recognized in the letter she received from the USCIS, which is trying to accommodate by indicating that the biometrics can be take outside of the US at the consulate. 

 

There has to be a solution here in Hong Kong... 

[Hong Kong 1 1]

11 hours ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

I would contact the HK consulate and ask again.  Tell them specifically you are filing under 319b expedited naturalization.   The person answering the phone or email may not be familiar with that process and how forcing the US permanent resident to travel to another country will cause undue hardship.

I have emailed them and this was their response: 

 

Quote

Thank you for your message.

 

Unfortunately, there is no U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office in the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong.   As such, we regret that we are unable to handle your wife’s fingerprinting. 

 

The U.S. Consulate General can only consider fingerprint requests when we receive the request directly from USCIS.  Please contact USCIS regarding your query.  You should consult the local U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) office that has jurisdiction over your residence in the United States.  Their contact information is located here: https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/contact-us

 

Not very helpful. I have called the USICS main number and will be getting a call back "within 30 days" to try and talk to a person about this. 

[MHD22 0]

On 8/26/2022 at 5:33 AM, Hong Kong 1 said:

I have emailed them and this was their response: 

 

 

Not very helpful. I have called the USICS main number and will be getting a call back "within 30 days" to try and talk to a person about this. 

Hi Hong Kong 1,

 

I was wondering what happened with the fingerprinting in the US embassy.

 

I am also in the exact same situation now, not in Hong Kong tho in another country… US embassy does not do fingerprinting service and I have received the same notice as you did to do it at the embassy.

 

Also my USCIS online status is currently “Biometrics Appointment was scheduled” but I have so far only received the Notice for the fingerprinting… I read in your first post that you had the same status so I was wondering is this status related to the fingerprinting in the embassy or did u receive an actual appointment slot for biometrics in the US? 

[Hong Kong 1 1]

The notice I received in the USCIS online status was incorrect, as there had not actually been an appointment scheduled. I think it is a glitch in their system, because it doesn't know how to handle a 319b application. I talked to a tier 2 USCIS agent on the phone and he basically ignored the statuses I told him and wouldn't address why they were wrong. He said the only 'legal' status update was the actual letter notices that were issued. 

 

After contacting literally dozens of US Consulates and the few remaining USCIS offices, these are the only ones I found that would seemingly take fingerprints:

US Consulate in Lisbon, Portugal cooplisbon@state.gov https://pt.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/additional-resources-of-u-s-citizens/criminal-records-checks/
US Consulate in Liberia https://lr.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/fingerprint-services/
USCIS office in Nairobi

 

However, I suddenly received an email a few weeks ago from Fairfax, VA USCIS office that said my naturalization interview was ready to be scheduled and that my biometrics could be done one week before the interview in Alexandria, VA. So this solved the problem for me. You may consider contacting them: WASOVERSEAS.319b@uscis.dhs.gov