COVID-19 – MPLG Update: USCIS Office Closures
As the global impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to unfold, MPLG is taking measures to protect the health, safety and well-being of our clients, staff and communities. While we continue to monitor the current coronavirus outbreak and diligently follow orders from federal, state and local agencies, MPLG will ensure business continuity to meet our client’s needs.
Accordingly, MPLG will be adhering to the Shelter-in-Place (SIP) order that has been enforced in the San Francisco Bay Area counties until April 7, 2020 and will be conducting its business operations remotely. We want to assure our clients that MPLG is fully equipped to function remotely in such a critical time. We will be assisting our clients as effectively as possible by monitoring all cases and timely responding to deadlines. Our firm will post updates should the current scenario change. While we need to avoid any in-person interactions until April 7, 2020, our immigration team will be available through emails and phone calls should you need our immediate assistance.
**BREAKING NEWS – USCIS Field Office closures throughout the nation**
All USCIS field offices and Asylum offices throughout the nation will be closed for any face-to-face interactions effective March 17, 2020 until April 1, 2020. This includes USCIS interviews and ASC (biometrics) appointments, naturalization oath ceremonies and Asylum interviews.
Emergency Appointments – If there is an emergency service request, individuals can contact the USCIS Contact Center (1-800-375-5283) for further assistance.
Oath Ceremonies, ASC appointments and Interviews – All scheduled applicants impacted by the closure will be automatically rescheduled once USCIS resumes normal operations.
Infopass appointments – Individuals with Infopass or other USCIS appointments should reach out to the USCIS Contact Center to reschedule appointments after the local field offices reopen. Note: every field office might follow the guidance issued by its state and local agencies for reopening offices and so applicants should contact the USCIS Contact Center only after checking if the local field offices are open again.
Updates in Northern California
- Interviews and ASC appointments
- San Jose and San Francisco – Due to SIP orders in 5 counties in northern California, the San Jose and San Francisco USCIS field offices have announced that they will be cancelling interviews and biometrics appointments effective March 17, 2020 until April 7, 2020. Individuals scheduled until April 7, 2020 will be contacted by the field office clerks to be rescheduled. It is anticipated that the rescheduled dates might be in May/June.
- Fresno – Interviews and biometrics appointments will be cancelled starting March 18, 2020. While no end date has been specified, it is anticipated that the Fresno office will follow the San Jose and San Francisco offices. All individuals scheduled for these appointments may not be contacted for being rescheduled at this time.
- Sacramento – This office will remain closed for interviews and biometrics pursuant to the national closures of field offices.
- Santa Rosa, Oakland and Salinas – These offices have closed for biometrics since March 17, 2020. At this time, we have no additional information about rescheduling of these appointments.
- Oath Ceremonies
- Sacramento – the Sacramento Oath Ceremony on March 24, 2020 at the McClellan Conference Center is cancelled.
- San Francisco – The SF Oath Ceremony on March 18, 2020 at the Paramount Theatre (Oakland, CA) is cancelled. Cancellation notices may have been mailed to applicants already.
- San Jose – The SJ Oath Ceremony on March 26, 2020 at the Heritage Theatre (Campbell, CA) is cancelled.
- Asylum Interviews
San Francisco – Asylum interviews have been cancelled since March 17, 2020. No additional information is currently available about rescheduled date/time.
**In-person decision pick-ups have been cancelled at the SF Asylum Office. Decisions will be mailed instead.**
We will post updates when rescheduled date/location becomes available.
