Potential impact of COVID-19 (coronavirus) epidemic on the citizenship process (and timelines)

[N400NYC 380]

I don't see many people discussing the topic here but I think before long it will become a reality we all have to deal with: the negative effects of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak on the citizenship process. 

 

One thing is for sure - this past week was just the beginning of what is going to be a prolonged period of societal disruption relating to the spread of this infection/illness throughout communities across the country. As more testing is done, more positive test results will occur and more restrictions relating to travel and daily life will be put in place. 

 

Already we have seen one field office temporarily closed: SEATTLE. And USCIS last week issued an alert advising people of the necessity to reschedule appointments if they are sick, have traveled to an area severely impacted by coronavirus, or have had recent exposure to someone with the infection. I also heard of an instance where questions were being routinely asked, at the time of checking in for an interview, about recent travel to areas where there have been severe COVID-19 outbreaks (e.g. China, SK, Italy, Iran etc.). 

 

I see the *potential* for a negative impact on the citizenship process in the following ways:

 

- temporary field office closures (in certain areas): e.g. the SEATTLE office was ordered to close for 14 days this past week after an IO tested positive for COVID-19 (read that story here) 

- temporary closures of support centers where biometrics appointments are conducted

- applicants having to self-quarantine (for up to 14 days) depending on recent travels

- USCIS staff being away from work (due to illness or recent travel or recent exposure to COVID-19)

- rescheduling of interviews

- rescheduling of oath ceremonies

- worsening of existing backlogs resulting in further delays...delays...delays...

 

Also, just this past week, we saw individualized case completion times disappear from my.uscis profiles. Not sure if that's related to the above or merely a coincidence. 

 

What do others think?

[Crazy Cat 39,226]

I am not downplaying this virus, but I think it is important to put everything into perspective.

 

https://www.health.com/condition/cold-flu-sinus/how-many-people-die-of-the-flu-every-year#:~:text=

 

Feb 11, 2020

"While everyone is in a panic about the coronavirus (officially renamed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization), there's an even deadlier virus many people are forgetting about: the flu.

Flu season is hitting its stride right now in the US. So far, the CDC has estimated (based on weekly influenza surveillance data) that at least 12,000 people have died from influenza between Oct. 1, 2019 through Feb. 1, 2020, and the number of deaths may be as high as 30,000. "

[N400NYC 380]

3 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

I am not downplaying this virus, but I think it is important to put everything into perspective.

 

https://www.health.com/condition/cold-flu-sinus/how-many-people-die-of-the-flu-every-year#:~:text=

 

Feb 11, 2020

"While everyone is in a panic about the coronavirus (officially renamed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization), there's an even deadlier virus many people are forgetting about: the flu.

Flu season is hitting its stride right now in the US. So far, the CDC has estimated (based on weekly influenza surveillance data) that at least 12,000 people have died from influenza between Oct. 1, 2019 through Feb. 1, 2020, and the number of deaths may be as high as 30,000. "

 

It's true that regular flu impacts many people. The huge difference is that there is no vaccine for COVID-19 and because of that the societal response is very different. As such the potential for widespread infection (to rates higher than that for regular flu) is high. Also, the death rate for COVID-19 is much higher than it is for flu. Has a USCIS office ever closed because of a flu outbreak? I doubt it. But the office in SEATTLE closed because one employee tested positive for COVID-19 so that just shows the response to this is going to be very different. An excerpt from the Guardian: 

 

CORONAVIRUS: FACTS CHECKED

 

Claim: "It is no more dangerous than winter flu"

 

"Many individuals who get coronavirus will experience nothing worse than seasonal flu symptoms, but the overall profile of the disease, including its mortality rate, looks more serious. At the start of an outbreak the apparent mortality rate can be an overestimate if a lot of mild cases are being missed. But this week, a WHO expert suggested that this has not been the case with Covid-19. Bruce Aylward, who led an international mission to China to learn about the virus and the country’s response, said the evidence did not suggest that we were only seeing the tip of the iceberg. If borne out by further testing, this could mean that current estimates of a roughly 1% fatality rate are accurate. This would make Covid-19 about 10 times more deadly than seasonal flu, which is estimated to kill between 290,000 and 650,000 people a year globally."

[Crazy Cat 39,226]

Here is an interesting Johns Hopkins article which compares Influenza and Covid-19.

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/coronavirus-disease-2019-vs-the-flu

[Crazy Cat 39,226]

One thing is for sure.  I have never seen seasonal influenza cause the panic buying that the Covid-19 is causing......

[N400NYC 380]

1 minute ago, Lucky Cat said:

One thing is for sure.  I have never seen seasonal influenza cause the panic buying that the Covid-19 is causing......

 

Personally I have no anxiety about either one (flu or coronavirus) but I do have anxiety about my citizenship process being disrupted...and that's really my point here. The response to COVID-19 has been such that the prospect of widespread societal disruption (to daily life) is high.

[Liam2021 551]

You just need to caution, not worry. The reason people worry about COVID-19 because it's spreading like "Fast and Furious".

[N400NYC 380]

8 minutes ago, H&T said:

You just need to caution, not worry. The reason people worry about COVID-19 because it's spreading like "Fast and Furious".

I'm not worried about it (the virus). 

 

Just worried about potential impact on citizenship process!

[N400NYC 380]

26 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

Here is an interesting Johns Hopkins article which compares Influenza and Covid-19.

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/coronavirus-disease-2019-vs-the-flu

This is a good comparison. What makes it difficult to reasonably compare numbers/rates though is the fact COVID-19 is new and there is no vaccine. 

 

The comparison will be more effective in the future after COVID-19 has been around for a while and there is a vaccine. Then it will be easier to see the relative impact/danger of each one under the same settings (not new, vaccine available). 

[Mounat02 63]

16 minutes ago, N400NYC said:

I'm not worried about it (the virus). 

 

Just worried about potential impact on citizenship process!

It's hard to predict the impact but assuming it causes widespread disruptions, your N400 may be delayed a few weeks or months. In such case, it would probably still not be such a big a deal. If you are employed, your job status is not likely to change because you are already an LPR. If looking for employment only available to US citizens, that hiring is likely to be slowed down or stopped with mass societal disruption. If you need to travel, that may be not available. If you can't wait to sponsor someone, the whole USCIS will be slowed down anyway. If you're eager to vote in November, the election itself maybe delayed due to risks of large gatherings. Whatever it is you are worried about on your citizenship process, it is likely to pale in comparison to the larger disruptions you (and all of us) might face under an out of control pandemic.

 

Is there a reason you need to urgently naturalize? There could be many reasons.

[kline19 102]

I agree with N400NYC. The potential of corona-virus turning into an epidemic would have negative implications for the N400 processing timelines.

I am mentally adjusting my expectations for the conclusion of my N400 process. 

[databit 328]

People: It's not just  the number of people who die from annual flu, because it spreads all over, so of course many more people die, and Covid-19 hasn't spread all over yet---but what's important is that Covid-19 not only kills at a higher rate, but even those who survive are coming out of it with permanent lung damage. Read foreign newspapers!

 

World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news briefing March 3 that the global case fatality rate for the coronavirus is believed to be about 3.4 percent, higher than the 2.3 percent reported in a China CDC study released in February. 

“By comparison, seasonal flu generally kills far fewer than 1 percent of those infected,” Tedros said of the global flu caseload during the news briefing. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has said that the mortality rate for seasonal flu is 0.1 percent.

[N400NYC 380]

41 minutes ago, Mounat02 said:

It's hard to predict the impact but assuming it causes widespread disruptions, your N400 may be delayed a few weeks or months. In such case, it would probably still not be such a big a deal. If you are employed, your job status is not likely to change because you are already an LPR. If looking for employment only available to US citizens, that hiring is likely to be slowed down or stopped with mass societal disruption. If you need to travel, that may be not available. If you can't wait to sponsor someone, the whole USCIS will be slowed down anyway. If you're eager to vote in November, the election itself maybe delayed due to risks of large gatherings. Whatever it is you are worried about on your citizenship process, it is likely to pale in comparison to the larger disruptions you (and all of us) might face under an out of control pandemic.

 

Is there a reason you need to urgently naturalize? There could be many reasons.

Yes all of those things...

 

Urgent reason? Nothing "urgent" other than being almost at the finish line (oath ceremony pending). I fly back/forth overseas on a regular basis to visit my fiance and also want to spend significant time with my very elderly parents (who reside overseas also), so the need to finalize my citizenship status is a pressing one for me personally. Applied N400 April 2019. And have been on visas/green card for >10 years. So I'm over it and see the finish line! My worst fear (as of now) is the oath being postponed! 

 

But beyond my own personal situation, I started this post more as a general discussion because the N400 process is so stressful for many people (for a variety of reasons) and I think we need to start preparing themselves mentally for some more delays....to add to the existing list of delays. 

[Mounat02 63]

5 minutes ago, N400NYC said:

Yes all of those things...

 

Urgent reason? Nothing "urgent" other than being almost at the finish line (oath ceremony pending). I fly back/forth overseas on a regular basis to visit my fiance and also want to spend significant time with my very elderly parents (who reside overseas also), so the need to finalize my citizenship status is a pressing one for me personally. Applied N400 April 2019. And have been on visas/green card for >10 years. So I'm over it and see the finish line! My worst fear (as of now) is the oath being postponed! 

 

But beyond my own personal situation, I started this post more as a general discussion because the N400 process is so stressful for many people (for a variety of reasons) and I think we need to start preparing themselves mentally for some more delays....to add to the existing list of delays. 

Yours is definitely almost at the finish line. A delayed oath would be crushing and an indefinite separation from elderly parents and fiance would be even worse.

 

Hopefully it won't get out of control and the disruption is minimal, but I totally understand where you're coming from.

 

Good luck!

[N400NYC 380]

1 minute ago, Mounat02 said:

Yours is definitely almost at the finish line. A delayed oath would be crushing and an indefinite separation from elderly parents and fiance would be even worse.

 

Hopefully it won't get out of control and the disruption is minimal, but I totally understand where you're coming from.

 

Good luck!

Thank you! Fingers crossed! <1 week to go...