On March 30, 2020, in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced that it was adopting measures to assist applicants and petitioners who are responding to certain Requests for Evidence (RFE) and Notices of Intent to Deny (NOID) and other filings. Specifically, the measures held that any response to an RFE, NOID, Notices of Intent to Revoke (NOIR), or Notices of Intent to Terminate (NOIT) received within 60 calendar days after the response due date set in the request or notice would be accepted and considered by USCIS before any action is taken. The flexibility measures also extended to any Form I-290B received up to 60 calendar days from the date of the decision being challenged.
On January 28, 2021, USCIS announced that these same flexibilities have been extended for an indeterminate period of time. The brief announcement simply reiterates that USCIS will continue to extend flexibility for the filing of certain responses to government requests or notices, and confirms that USCIS will continue to consider a response to the above-noted requests and notices if they are received within 60 calendar days after the response due date set in the request or notice before taking any action. Additionally, USCIS will consider a Form N-336 or Form I-290B received up to 60 calendar days from the date of the decision before the Service takes any action. The precise notices and responses that benefit from this extended flexibility are:
- Requests for Evidence;
- Continuations to Request Evidence (N-14);
- Notices of Intent to Deny;
- Notices of Intent to Revoke;
- Notices of Intent to Rescind;
- Notices of Intent to Terminate;
- Motions to Reopen an N-400 Pursuant to 8 CFR 335.5, Receipt of Derogatory Information After Grant; and
- Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion, or Form N-336, Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings (Under Section 336 of the INA).
Green and Spiegel welcomes the extension of this greater flexibility by USCIS as the nation and the world continue to cope with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. We will continue to monitor the situation and will report here with updates as needed.
