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Without a doubt, the global coronavirus crisis has slowed down some processes, but here we tell you about the 5 immigration procedures that will continue their course at USCIS. On March 18th, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service USCIS, closed its offices temporarily and suspended all services that require physical contact between officials and petitioners of the entity, as a measure to stop the spread of Coronavirus Covid-19 in the country.
Although USCIS expects to reopen its offices starting June 4th, the entity's officials indicated that immigration processes and procedures that do not require the displacement and contact of people are continuing to be processed internally, meaning that the procedures that have been filed previously continue their course, and new immigration procedures that could be related to coronavirus or that can be filed virtually are being received.
Virtual immigration procedures
Visa Extension
This is considered a special situation that can be carried out virtually, and consists of foreign travelers who became trapped in the United States due to quarantine and whose authorized time of stay may have expired, requesting authorization from this entity to remain in the United States for a longer period; this procedure is simple and although it has a high cost, it is mandatory since failing to do so means remaining in the country illegally and can affect your initial visa, even leading to its total removal.
Fee Waiver
This procedure could be considered a complement to others, as it consists of requesting the mandatory removal of payments for processing certain immigration procedures; for example, if the foreign national in the previous case wants to request a visa extension, but due to the contingency caused by the virus globally, does not have the resources to pay around 500 dollars that the procedure costs, they can request that USCIS exempt them from paying that amount of money by presenting their case through form I-912 or in a written statement.
Permanent Residencies
In addition to USCIS indicating that it will continue working on old cases that do not require physical contact, that is, fingerprinting, interviews or oath-taking among others, it will continue receiving residence applications that are related to abuse. This procedure applies to spouses and unmarried children under 21 years old who are abused by a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident, and to parents who are victims of abuse by a U.S. citizen.
It is important to keep in mind that to be eligible in this category, the abuse or crime of which you have been a victim must be reported to the relevant authorities. At Conexión Legal we offer free consultation with immigration lawyers; contact us through this channel by the WhatsApp icon or by scheduling your consultation and explore solution alternatives for your case.
Request for Expedited Processing
This consists of requesting the Citizenship and Immigration Service to expedite a request or petition since it responds to urgent humanitarian reasons, an error committed by USCIS previously, or because waiting for this procedure means severe financial losses for a person or company; this process does not apply to procedures that are being processed with priority.
Employment Authorization
This last procedure applies to students who are being economically affected by the global crisis and consists of obtaining authorization to work outside campus. This requires, among other things, that the student be in F-1 status and be experiencing severe economic hardship; it can be processed virtually by filling out form I-765.
In case of requiring advice on any of these procedures, do not hesitate to contact Conexión Legal.
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