Delayed rescheduling of appointments cancelled by USCIS due to coronavirus lockdown

[californiajoe]

My biometric appointment was supposed to be in Oakland, CA on 17-Mar. That was the day the lockdown started in CA and mine got cancelled. USCIS phone message and website says that it will be automatically rescheduled. It seems that the center is doing biometric appointments but I still have not got a rescheduled appointment in 5 months. Any advice on what to do? If anyone else is in same boat for biometric or interview appointments then please state your case here with location and date of cancelled appointment. And if yours was rescheduled then please let us know how it happened.

[desparate1234]

Hi, I did the same thing as u but in Florida!!! I applied N 400 naturalization in middle of Feb, and they scheduled me biometrics on March 18 while all the office closed due to covid like everybody knows. Until today 8/13/2020, I still didn't receive any type of reschedule letter... I am also belonged to those 3 year period naturalization group.... Is biometric MANDATORY for citizenship?
Here is my timeline:
I 751 Applied Feb 2019
Conditional green card expired : May 2019
Green card 18 months extension received till : Nov 2020
Biometric: Nov 2019

Citizenship applied: Feb 2020
Biometric scheduled: Mar 18 2020 ( OFFICE CLOSED DUE TO COVID )
Until Now,,,, I receive nothing..... please keep me updated....

Can u please keep me updated.......

[stairsandstars]

Hi all, I actually applied mid March because that is when I became eligible. I thought I may as well get in line. I got the money deducted and got the receipt notice within 2 days, and radio silence. so now it's exactly 5 months since my application. meanwhile, my friend, who had applied in February and had had her biometrics the same week in Feb and exam scheduled for end of March, already got approved. We are in the same state, and within the week of the USCIS offices reopening she got her interview rescheduled, and even got the oath done. So I thought what gives and after 2 failed attempts and a total of 2 hours on hold got through to someone on line at the USCIS desk. It turns out that for SOME REASON (staff shortages?), the biometrics offices did not reopen until the first week of August. So the biometrics portion was shut in June and July as well. Now all the canceled appointment cases like you guys are being rescheduled. so you should hear at some point depending on the # of canceled appointments at your office and then it will move to anyone like me who submitted an application after or right around closure and who wasn't yet scheduled. Also I spoke to a friend who had applied in Feb and been scheduled biometrics for April at a much busier office, and he still hadn't heard back in July. You will notice that the automated message also says that no new appointments are being scheduled right now and USCIS is scheduling canceled appointments. This applies to all processes but on top of this was the fact that biometrics was shut for another 2 months, from March until August basically. inefficiency at its best.. and now come the furloughs. at least we got in before the fee hikes.

[californiajoe]

Update: I still have not got my cancelled appointment rescheduled. I should have been literally the first one to get rescheduled because I was the first appointment on 17-Mar. But nothing so far. This organization is truly appalling.

[mightyindian]

My bio-metrics was originally scheduled for April 02, 2020 but was canceled due to pandemic. Just got an email saying it is now rescheduled to September 24, 2020. They are moving slower than a snail. So be patient.

[love Miami]

Hi all!
I am living in Florida (Palm Beach County). I applied on May 3^rd, 2020, and expected to have a bio-metrics appointment in mid of Juin. So far heard nothing. I think the offices are closed because of the pandemic. In my USCIS account, it is indicated that December 2020 is the timeline for my case to be completed. Please update me on any progress. Thanks and good luck!

[stairsandstars]

love Miami,

Please read the other threads and check out other forums. .I was as mystified as you. I applied March 20th, and initially thought I'd get bio in June after reopening. And nothing. it's been 6.5 months.
The reason is that they prioritized naturalizations first and did not even start bio until August or even this month in some ASCs. At this moment, they have JUST begun scheduling de-scheduled bios from March and April. So I'd give it another 2 months for them to reach the March new applicant pool-the ones who applied but didn't have time to be scheduled before the useless shutdown.
I too had the following dates initially show up on my account: June 2020, then July 2020, then September 2020, then October 2020, and now no date.
So if I'm correct, you'd be about 1.5 to 2 months behind me. If I hear around November, you are looking at January for bio. Sorry! this is how obscenely inept the system is. Obviously they can't think ahead and be like geez, we are going to go bankrupt if we shut down for f*cking 3 months. What did that accomplish? covid19 has no end in sight.

[love Miami]

Stairsandstars,

I completely agree with you. I think they will not start rescheduling biometrics before the general election. Probably they are using most of the officers for the election processes.
Be patient!

[Lina123]

It all depends on field office and on the officer you have. I had my biometrics reused, so I didn’t have to go to biometric appointment at all. I think if your biometrics were taken 3 years ago or less, they will just reuse them.

[love Miami]

Lina 123
Yes, I heard before from my friend, reusing the old biometrics. But as you said the biometrics should be taken 3 years ago or less. My biometrics were taken 5.5 years ago.

[stairsandstars]

Lina 123
Yes, I heard before from my friend, reusing the old biometrics. But as you said the biometrics should be taken 3 years ago or less. My biometrics were taken 5.5 years ago.

Then you, like me, are out of luck. anyone like us who didn't have to deal with ROC b/c we didn't get the greencard through marriage will need to sit around for years years, years,, and potentially a decade for biometrics unless one day-maybe 4 years from now, a more favorable (Democratic) admin comes in and solves this issue.
I found out recently that the reason no one is getting biometrics appointments is that USCIS decided to terminate contracts and furlough their contractors. those are the guys who staff ASCs.
The only thing you'll see are people getting reuse notices . otherwise, I've seen maybe a handful of people who get bios rescheduled. I have yet to see A SINGLE CASE of a new biometrics for ANYONE WHO FILED AFTER FEBRUARY.
Imagine, as the applications pile up, just imagine the backlog generated. Is it it in the 10-20, or 100 million range now?
One field office has a month of reschedulings that they haven't been able to establish in 100 days since reopening. that is roughly 700 OLD cases in limbo. these are people who filed in Feb and had original bios for March.
so unless USCIS is completely overhauled nothing will move ever.
good news is that the H4 workers have lawyered up and slapped USCIS with lawsuits. this biometric debacle has resulted in people falling out of status, and that is after the lovely Trump admin instituted bios for h4s.

[love Miami]

Hi all!

Any good news about biometric appointments?

[Aanbaan]

mightyindian which field office and ASC do you belong to ?

[monum]

Hello,

We just received this notice today:

"November 24, 2020 Interview Cancelled


On November 24, 2020, we cancelled or descheduled the interview scheduled for your Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, Receipt Number YYYY YYYY . We will notify you by mail if the appointment is rescheduled, a decision is made, or if the office needs something from you."

Our timeline:

November 24, 2020 Interview Cancelled
June 17, 2020 We are ready to schedule your Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, for an interview.
January 14, 2020 We transferred your Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, to another USCIS office that now has jurisdiction over your case.
January 10, 2020 Your Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, was transferred to another office for processing.
December 4, 2019 The fingerprints relating to your Form I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, were taken.
October 22, 2019 We received your Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence.


What does this mean since we never had an interview scheduled? Any help or insight would be very helpful.

We've also been trying to call USCIS but it won't let us go past the computer.

Thank you.