Quick Takeaways:
- Recently announced response extensions applied to NOIR, NOIT, and I-290B Filings
- Previously gathered biometrics utilized for new EAD Applications
On March 27, 2020, USCIS announced responses to Requests for Evidence (“RFE”) and Notices of Intent to Deny (“NOID”) issued between March 1 and May 1 would be considered timely filed if they arrived within 60 days of their due date. Today, USCIS extended this convenience to other responsive filings: Notices of Intent to Revoke (“NOIR”) and Notices of Intent to Terminate (“NOIT”) regional investment centers issued within this same time period will also be considered timely filed if they arrive within 60 days of their previously stated deadline. Likewise, Motions to Reopen, Motions to Reconsider, and Administrative Appeals, which customarily have a 30 or 33 day deadline following a denial, will also be granted up-to-60-days for submission. These measures have been taken in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and with the aim “to protect our workforce and community, and to minimize the immigration consequences for those seeking immigration benefits during this time.”
Along these same lines, USCIS Field Offices have cancelled all, routine face-to-face interactions with the public, including but not limited to biometric appointments at Field Offices and/or Application Support Service Centers, until at least April 7, 2020. To prevent undue delays in the adjudication of pending applications for employment authorization, USCIS also announced today that it will, when possible, re-use previously taken biometrics for employment authorization applications that are presently processing.
We at Green and Spiegel welcome these accommodations and look forward to additional guidance from USCIS. If you have any questions as to how these and other updates affect your pending or future immigration process, please do not hesitate to call our office.
