Would SHUTDOWN affect biometric appointment?

[SKY5513 1]

Hello,

Im suppose to have my biometric (fingerprint) appointment on next Monday (10/07 2pm). While shutdown is effective, would they open and do take care of these tasks? Should I check with them before I go?

Thank you in advance.

[cathy2904 97]

My appointment was not until October 18th but I am going to be away that week. I had already decided before the shutdown to try an early walk-in today. I went anyway. They were open and they let me in and I was done in 10 minutes. There was almost no-one there.

Edited for typo.

Edited October 1, 2013 by cathy2904

[cahrie99 12]

Just my opinion but I would call ahead. They will probably be open but it there is no harm to call and just check with them before you head out to be on the safe side. good luck!

[sand_dancer 0]

Well according to the USCIS website everything will run as normal

[Hypnos 6,576]

Since USCIS is chiefly self-funding then they are mostly exempt from appropriations tussles like the one going on now.

[Mo007 3]

My wife did her 2nd Biometrics today. Business as usual.

[SKY5513 1]

thank you all!

[mrjack 9]

It is business as usual. I'm wondering if the FBI checks that happen after biometrics are completed will be done?

This is on the FBI website:

In the event of a government shutdown, Departmental Order requests will not be processed. Once normal operations resume, Departmental Order requests will be processed in the order they were received, but expect delays.

I'm assuming a departmental order request would be a request from USCIS. If that is the case, there could be delay moving to the T&I phase after biometrics....but I guess time will tell....we should be getting info soon from timelines here....

[Frankbocanegra07 0]

So walkings are welcome or not

[jerni 24]

Depends on the office you go to. Some allow it, others may not, seems to depend on how busy the office is and how 'strict' they are. If you search the forum there are many threads where people share their walk-in biometric experiences.

[MichaelOrtho 0]

There are three parts of background checking:

1. IBIS (can be instantly)

2. Fingerprints check (done by FBI in 24-48 h)

3. Name check (by FBI, two to three weeks)

I think they can do No 1 from USCIS. No 2 and No 3 are paused during the Shutdown. The INA says that they cannot give you green card without all three done, but I hope that they can send EAD before third one is done. No 3 is the "real thing" and if your processing is delayed, it is nearly sure you stucked with No 3. They say this happens if you have any trace of criminal activity, but more often if you have common name (John Smith, etc) because they have really tough job to distinct your data from others.

Regarding walk-ins, if you arrive first in the morning or any not crowded situation (mornings) and show genuine humility, they will let you do it in nearly any Support Center.