USCIS biometrics appointment

Your appointment notice

After USCIS receives a request that needs biometrics, it schedules an appointment at an Application Support Center (ASC) and sends you a Form I-797C, Notice of Action, with the date, time and ASC address (Preparing for Your Biometric Services Appointment). The notice comes by mail or in your USCIS online account. USCIS asks you to wait for it before visiting an ASC (Application Support Centers).

At the ASC, staff take your fingerprints, photograph and signature. USCIS uses them for background checks and identity, and for some forms to make your card: if you filed an I-765, the biometrics are used to produce your work permit, and for an I-90, your new green card.

In your online case status, this stage shows as (biometrics stage):

What to bring and what happens at the ASC

Bring:

1. Your I-797C appointment notice. If you got several notices, bring all of them.
2. A valid photo ID, such as a green card, passport or driver’s license.

What USCIS says about the visit itself:

• No attorney needed. Your attorney or accredited representative does not have to come, even if they filed for you.
• Digital signature. If you are 14 or older, you sign on a biometrics machine. With it, you attest under penalty of perjury that what you filed was complete, true and correct when filed.
• Language. If you do not understand spoken English, USCIS says to bring someone who can translate for you. Its biometrics page also has instructions in several languages.
• Someone with you. You may bring a family member, attorney or accredited representative.
• Weapons are not allowed in the building.
• No name changes. USCIS cannot change your name or personal information at the ASC; the appointment uses what you filed.

Find your ASC with the USCIS office locator.

How to reschedule

The rules come from the USCIS biometrics page and the Policy Manual on biometrics:

• Where: only through your USCIS online account. USCIS does not accept reschedule requests by mail.
• When: at least 12 hours before your appointment time.
• Why: you need good cause. The Policy Manual’s examples include illness or a medical appointment, travel planned before the notice, a wedding, funeral or graduation, no transportation, no leave from work or caregiving, and a notice that came late or never arrived.
• Less than 12 hours, or already missed: call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833), or chat with Emma, USCIS’s virtual assistant. These late requests are at USCIS’s discretion.
• A different ASC: you also have to reschedule; going to another ASC without one won’t work.
• Your representative with a Form G-28 on file can reschedule for you.

If an ASC closes unexpectedly, USCIS says it reschedules you automatically. If a disability makes the visit hard, you can request an accommodation through USCIS’s disability accommodations page or the Contact Center (800-375-5283), and the Policy Manual describes mobile biometrics in some cases.

If you miss it without rescheduling, the Policy Manual leaves it to USCIS’s discretion whether to reschedule or to consider the case abandoned and deny it. An abandonment denial cannot be appealed; you can file a motion to reopen, which USCIS grants only in limited circumstances. For DACA renewals, USCIS also says rescheduling the appointment adds time: see DACA renewal status.

Reused photos. The Policy Manual says USCIS may reuse an ASC photo taken within the previous 36 months, but not for the N-400, N-600, I-90 or I-485.

What happens after biometrics

Once the ASC takes your biometrics, your status should change to “Case Was Updated To Show Fingerprints Were Taken”. USCIS publishes no figure for the gap between biometrics and the next step, so we don’t give one. What comes next depends on your form:

• I-485 (green card inside the U.S.): review, maybe an interview, then the card. See I-485 processing time and green card status.
• N-400 (citizenship): an interview. See N-400 processing time.
• I-765 (work permit): the decision and card production. See I-765 processing time.
• I-90 (green card renewal): USCIS uses the biometrics to make the new card. See I-90 processing time.
• I-751 (removing conditions): see I-751 processing time.

A request for evidence can come at any point; see the evidence stage. Every message is explained in our status index. The YourCaseStatus app (coming soon) will alert you when your status changes.

If your case then sits longer than normal, compare it with your office’s time on the processing times page before you contact USCIS. Past that time, use e-Request or the Contact Center. For every form, see the processing times hub. En español: verificar caso USCIS.

Official links

• Preparing for your biometrics appointment
• Reschedule in your USCIS online account
• Application Support Centers
• USCIS office locator
• Check your case status
• USCIS Contact Center