USCIS Issues Guidance on Mobile and Remote Biometrics Collection

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued policy guidance on March 7, 2023, to address mobile biometrics collection and the biometrics collection of benefit requestors in remote locations.

USCIS said the guidance is intended for benefit requestors who may be unable to attend appointments at USCIS Application Support Centers (ASC) due to health or other issues, or because their physical location requires multiple modes of transportation or substantial travel times to reach an ASC, where USCIS generally collects biometrics. The policy provides for circumstances under which USCIS may conduct mobile biometrics collection for benefit requestors who reside in remote locations in relation to ASCs, and provides an alternative method to fingerprint collection, to include fingerprint cards and coordination with other agencies, for certain benefit requestors who live in locations so remote that USCIS mobile biometric services would not be practical, the agency said.

Related Links:

• USCIS policy alert (PA-2023-06) (Mar. 7, 2023)
• “USCIS Updates Policy Guidance on Mobile Biometrics Services” (Mar. 7, 2023)
• USCIS Policy Manual, Chapter 2—Biometrics Collection