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Old thread info cleaned up. Copy/paste to a new post. Add your own info alphbetically. Keep it short. ALABAMA Birmingham - He give us a hard time. Successful. ARIZONA Phoenix- Gave no reason, no questions asked, Successful. Tucson - 12/28/15, I-751, gave no reason, no questions asked, successful. Tucson- 01/03/17, N-400. Successful. CALIFORNIA Buena Park - No reason, just gave security guard my appt letter. YES Chula Vista - 2 Walk-ins, Successful. Chula Vista - 06/27/16 No reason asked. Successful! El Monte - 13 days early. Work conflict. Sup wasn't nice about it, but biometrics got done! Fresno - 07/14/14 - Successful, no questions asked. After 2 pm walk-ins allowed. Fresno - 06/28/2016 - UNSUCCESSFUL. Guard advised to come back on actual appointment Gardena - 5/24/12 Los Angeles - (USCIS Fairfax on W. Pico). Successful with no questions asked. 01/11/2015 Los Angeles - (downtown) July 2012. NO Los Angeles - San Fernando valley (Chatsworth) Successful. 6/11/13. Modesto - SuccessfulWent in to try our luck and no questions asked. Oakland - Oct 2013 successful Oxnard - July 21st 2016 - Successful. Went first thing in the morning. Pomona - long wait. Successful Riverside - Nov 10, 2014 - Unsuccessful. Guard was firm and unfriendly. San Francisco - Feb 2014 - Successful, no questions asked. San Francisco - 05/19/2014 - No question asked for three weeks early walk-in. Santa Ana - Walked in 2 times in June 2012. No questions asked. Santa Ana - early walk-in successful, the day after I recieved the biometrics letter Santa Ana - 7/30/2014 Early walk-in successful (Original appt date is August 14, 2014). Santa Ana - 7/28/2014 Early walk-in successful. Really nice staff. Santa Rosa - Not happy, but didn't send us away. San Marcos - Walked in 2pm and we're 2nd in line. Successful San Marcos - Went 20 min before closing.Successful San Jose - 4/29/14 - Successful. West Sacramento - 4/28/14 - Unsuccessful Chula Vista, San Diego - Successful. 3 pm. COLORADO Aurora - Went 10 days early. Successful. 9:15. Denver - went in 2 days early. Had no issues FLORIDA Jacksonville - May 2013- Gave no reason, 2 weeks before appointment, successful in 25 minutes. Miami - June 2012 - Gave no reason. Showed up 2 weeks before - was in and out in 5 minutes. Oakland Park - Feb 2013 - Gave no reason, 2 weeks before appointment, succsessful in 10 minutes. Tampa - May 2014 - Said I would be out of town, 2.5 weeks before appointment, successful in under 30 minutes Tampa - 8/12/2014 - Appointment for 8/21/14 - Gave no reason, successful Tampa - 9/18/2015 - Appointment for 9/22/15 - Not successful, was told they were understaffed and there were no walk-ins allowed all day West Palm Beach 6/14/2016 Appointment for 6/24/2016. Successful, wasn't asked why. GEORGIA Atlanta - No reason Officer had us wait outside until the earliest appts went in (about 15 minutes). Yes. Atlanta - Successful with no questions. The office just wrote on our form Walk-in. Atlanta - Did a walk-in at 3PM 04/17/13 successfully. No question of reason. Atlanta -Did a walk-in at 3PM 10/01/13 as we are on vacation on appointment day. No problems. ILLINOIS Naperville -Went on 8/30 at 2pm but was unsuccessful - only one technician on duty. INDIANA Michigan City - January 2012 - No reason needed - Yes to successful walk-in(asked about it, I was there the same day as appointment) IOWA Des Moines - April 2010 - Successful Des Moines - March 2011 - To get it over with - Successful LOUISIANA Metairie - Unsuccessful. Must arrive on the correct day/exact time of your appointment.Two friends have also been refused. New Orleans - August 2018 - Successful. They gave me a hard time. MAINE Portland - Sept. 2, 2016 - Successful, early and at a different location. MARYLAND Baltimore - April/2013. Denied walk in. Wheaton - told Security guard I was not going to be in State on the day. Yes Wheaton - July 2012, asked why could not make appointment. Successful Wheaton - Dec 27, 2013 - Guard said he would allow it this time. MASSACHUSETTS Boston - I took my wife for her scheduled biometrics appointment on 1/14/14. Need reason. Boston - Tried to do early walk in for my appointment in Lawrence. - Not successful. Boston - I missed my 01/08/2016. Showed up a 01/12/2016 with letter and ID. No problem. Boston - 08/01/2016. Success! Stopped by at 2:30pm - 30 mins before closing, Lawrence - did an early walk in 3 weeks before my appointment. Lawrence - 05/08/14 - Went one day early. Successful. Should've tried there first instead of Boston. MICHIGAN Detroit 07/29/14 SUCESSFUL-We arrived about 245pm MINNESOTA Duluth - successful Minneapolis - May 2012- NO because one of the computers was down St Paul - No reason asked or given. Successful St Paul - April 14th, 2014. Guard noted we were kind of early. Successful St. Paul - No reason asked or given. Successful. They will let you in if it is a slow day at the office. MISSOURI St. Louis - No problems, no questions asked, Successful MONTANA Helena - family had appts on different days. Did all the same day. Friendly office. NEBRASKA Omaha - 3/22/2012- appointment was for Apr 5. No questions. Successful Omaha - 4/08/2014 - Appointment was for 4/18. No questions asked. Successful NEVADA Las Vegas- 9/30/2016- Successful. 1:30 pm. Original appointment Oct 13. NEW HAMPSHIRE Manchester - Lady gave me lecture on how to change appt. NEW JERSEY Hackensack - The guard asked me what I was doing. The walk-in attempt was SUCCESSFUL. Elizabeth - Early walk-in only in case of emergency and with proof in hand. NEW YORK Brooklyn (60th St) - 5/7/14 (9am Wednesday morning) - no reason asked or given - successful, but an hour or so wait Holtsville (Long Island) - 5/22/12 No reason asked. YES Holtsville (Long Island) - 4/11/16 Successful. Officer asked for a reason. No wait. We were the only ones there at 12:30PM. Long Island City, Queens 07/26/16 - Successful, though asked for reasons. Manhattan - Oct 2010 - Successful. I did a walk-in at Varick Street went at 8am, Manhattan - 11/22/2010 - Successful. Went at 7:45am this morning. Manhattan - 09/15/2011 - Successful. I arrived at 7:50 with 3 people ahead of me in line. Manhattan - 02/21/2012 - Successful. I Arrived at 8, 10 people in line before me. Manhattan - 08/08/2012 - Successful. I arrived at 7:50 and got into a long line to go through security which opened at 8 am. Manhattan - 01/15/2013, Couldn't get to Philadelphia, Walk in Successful Manhattan - 02/01/2013 - Successful. Walked into Varick ACS 2:00 PM Manhattan - 05/31/2013 - Successful. I walked into Varick offie at 10:10 am. Manhattan - 02/08/2016 - Successful. around 8.10. No questions. Manhattan - 03/04/2016 - Successful, no questions asked. Went at 08.00, Manhattan - 04/01/2016 - Successful. Friday afternoon at 3pm. Super fast and excellent service! Manhattan - 05/11/2016 - Successful. Manhattan - 06/13/2016 - Successful. No questions asked. Arrived at 9:00am. It was a busy Monday morning, Port Chester - 02/21/2013, No reasons asked, very friendly, successful. . Port Chester - 03/01/2016 - Successful. No questions asked, friendly guard smiled. NORTH CAROLINA Morrisville- 09/27/2016 - 3pm. Successful. Charlotte - 11/08/2016 - 1.45pm successful. No questions asked. OHIO Cincinnati - 01/27/2017 - Successful Cincinnati - 07/23/2014 - Successful. Cleveland - no questions. Successful. OREGON Portland- 07/2012 Unsuccessful, no walk-ins allowed. PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia - Drummond Road -Successful. No questions asked. YES Philadelphia - Oct 2013 successful Philadelphia (May 12, 2014) - Drummond Road. SUCCESS. Pittsburgh - did this twice and no questions asked! YES York - Successful. Place was basically empty. Pittsburgh - 7/7/14: No issues, place was empty and they were happy to do it. TENNESSEE Nashville - 06/13/2016 - Success Nashville - 06/24/2016 - Success Nashville - Feb./2016 - Successful. Nashville - 10/03/2016 - Successful. Accepted only after noon, but ok at 10:45 because they were not busy. TEXAS Austin - We were in the area that day (we live an hour away) - Yes Austin - Feb 2014. Was initially told to come back after 12noon but then success. Dallas (Whitehurst) - Yes, had to give a reason, come early and they will take you Fort Worth (Landmark Lake) - Successful, but they were not happy about doing it early. Houston (Hwy 290 office) - Jan 2012 - gave no reason, only appt letter. Yes (3 times-AOS, ROC, Citizenship) Houston (Hwy 290 office) - June 2016 - Went first thing Monday. Told to come back in the afternoon Houston SW (Sugarland) - No questions. YES Houston SW (Sugarland) - Successful, but they were not happy about doing it early. VIRGINIA Alexandria - Successful Alexandria- 01/07/2014- A week early. No questions asked about date on letter. Successful. Alexandria- 02/27/2014- A week early. Gave no reason. Successful Alexandria- 05/16/2014- 3 weeks early.Gave no reason. SUCCESSFUL. Alexandria- 09/15/2015- A week early, work conflict. No questions asked. Successful. Alexandria- 06/13/2016- no questions asked. Crowded at 10 AM. Successful. Alexandria- 07/18/2016- Gave no reason. Took 45 minutes. 9:30 a.m. Successful. Alexandria - 5/30/18 - no questions asked. Successful. Noon Alexandria - 6/5/18- Walked in 1:45 pm, took 20 min. Successful. WASHINGTON Tukwila - 06/19/2014 - No reason necessary. In and out in 20 minutes. Successful. Tukwila - 06/21/2014 - No reason necesssary. In and out in 10 minutes. Successful. Tukwila - 10/12/2018 - In and out in 20 minutes. Successful.

Hello. My American wife petitioned for me from abroad and I completed the whole visa process abroad. Last year I received my i551 visa from the embassy in Stockholm and in January this year I entered the US and got my i551 visa endorsed. Two weeks later I was notified that my petition was approved and that the card was being produced and mailed to my US address. A few weeks after I immigrated I also received my Social Security Card. Then, about 1,5 months after I entered the US I received a appointment notification for collecting of biometrics. Being told that the card was produced and being mailed to me I did not expect any more appointments. Travelling abroad for work I did not pay attention to the arriving notification and thus missed my appointment. I called the USCIS last week and asked for a reschedule and they said I would hear back from them within 72 hours, which now has passed. Does anyone else have experience with being asked to come in for biometrics after getting their i551 visa endorsed, being told that the GC is on its way and after receiving their SS card? As far as I recall the embassy in Stockholm collected all my biometrics; fingerprints, photo and signature. Just curious if this is a glitch or standard procedure. Thanks.

My wife is a citizen of Singapore, a permanent resident of Australia, and a green card holder in the U.S. She arrived in the U.S. on a K-1 visa, and we successfully adjusted her status (I-485). She is on a temporary green card, and we have a letter from USCIS stating that its validity has been extended into 2025 (48 months past our I-751 filing date). We have been waiting over two years for her Removal of Conditions (I-751). For several reasons, we intend to move back to Australia next month. We can’t postpone this move further due to Australia's Resident Return Visa (RRV) rules. Because my wife has been outside Australia for over 4 years, the Australian government has told us that they will require her to get another visa if we delay the move further. Currently, we are not considering this to be a definitely permanent move. We need to try living in Australia first and determine if living there will be a better fit for us. We need to sell our house and cars to be able to buy a house and car(s) in Australia, so for now our ties back to the U.S. will primarily be my job (as a full-time contractor of a U.S.-based company) and my parents (who live here). If our house here does not sell, we will still own it and will pursue renting it out. We will also continue to file U.S. tax returns — and Australia tax returns when we have become tax residents there. I have seen some topics here at VisaJourney (like this one) about this type of move, but they are from years ago. I am not sure if the laws have changed. I am trying to find out how she can get back to the U.S. if we need to come back. So far, she got an I-131 combo card (EAD/AP) during the Adjustment of Status process, and she has already had biometrics taken for Removal of Conditions. What is the re-entry permit that we need to get for my wife? (Is this the same as either the I-131 Advanced Parole for the combo card from our I-485 process, or the Returning Resident Visa for the U.S.?) Does my wife already have this re-entry permit based on having a conditional green card (plus USCIS’s extension letter and an I-551 Extension stamp in her passport)? How long does my wife need to be in the U.S. for this re-entry permit to be processed? (She already had biometrics taken as part of the I-751 process.) Can we make the deadline of moving to Australia by a month from now? If not, what is our best option? Can my wife be outside the U.S. while the re-entry permit application is being processed? Is my wife’s (future) job with an organization based in Australia or the sale of our house a red flag? We most likely do have a place to stay temporarily if we need to come back to the U.S. Do we need to buy round-trip flight tickets to Australia? (One-way and round-trip to Australia are currently about the same price. But I don’t see why we should get another ticket to come back to the U.S. when we would need a round-trip ticket from Australia in order to make a trip back here.) Will changing our mailing address with USCIS to my dad’s address have any tax implications for us? (His state has state income tax; our current state does not.) What would happen to our ongoing I-751 application if we leave the U.S.? Will it still be processed?

Hello wonderful people! I have applied for N-400 through mail a week back and still waiting for receipt notice. I am applying through the 5 years rule. My last biometric was done back in Apr 2017 as part of green card process. If you had applied as part of 5yrs rule, did USCIS reuse your biometrics or scheduled a fresh appointment? Any idea how USCIS decided to resuse biometrics? Thanks!

Just submitted my documentation for RCMP National Repository entire holdings but wanted to know anyone who had a YCJA (Youth Criminal Act) where it was dismissed for indictable offences over 10 years ago. Did it show up in your test? OR did you have to provide other proof? Usually when I did background checks for jobs, it hasn't doesn't show. Wondering since this is under the "Privacy Act" searching in the "RCMP National Repository entire holdings"

Hi l have filed an I-824 action on approved i360 petition for my file to be transferred to the NVC so I can go through consular processing. (I’ve done biometrics back in the States before I departed the country. As well as having a history of fingerprints at the US embassy in the home country) I just received the receipt notice for the i824 stating that USCIS will contact me with a biometrics appointment if needed. Does anyone know or have had any experience with consular biometrics, and if they will request me to go for another biometrics appointment here at the embassy? Or will I just do the fingerprints the same day as my IV interview at the embassy? it will be difficult to make two different trips to the location of the embassy so I wanted to know if they will require a stand alone appointment for biometrics before the appointment of the interview? Or will it be done the same day as my IV interview appointment so I can be prepared for 2 different appointments thanks in advance

Hi, I applied to remove the conditions on my residence and received a letter that I'll need to show up to a biometrics appointment first. I was sick at the time, so I called and they said they'll call me back to reschedule me, the call back may take a month. Unfortunately, I missed the call. Now they're saying they'll contact me again, and they can't provide a time reference for the next call back. Anyone else experience this?

hi everyone, my husband entered the us on a k-1 visa, and we sent the AOS package the first week of November. We just got a biometrics appointment date for next month (which was fast) but it’s for a USCIS location in OHIO. We sent our paperwork to the Chicago office and live in Indiana, so not sure why they didn’t just schedule him here in Indiana. we can make the trip ofcourse but just wanted to ask if this is normal? and is there a chance we’ll go to the appointment and they’ll tell us no since it’s the wrong state?

I'm sharing my nightmarish situation so we can all commiserate because what else can we do when it comes to USCIS lol Story time: I filed my AOS package in late January 2021, got receipt notice in mid Feb, and then radio silence until August when I received a biometrics appointment notice. Went to the bio appointment in September, had a terrible experience where the ASC worker refused to retake my fingerprints even though they all showed orange "fingerprint mismatch" warnings. Oh well. Then 5 days later I got my EAD/AP combo card approval and received the card in the mail a week later. Woohoo! At the end of October I got an interview notice telling me to show up to our local field office at the beginning of December. This must mean that my fingerprints went through ok, or so I thought. Showed up to our interview and waited for an hour until our adjudication officer came out with the bad news: apparently the FBI rejected my fingerprints. Without the FBI background check the officer could not access our file and therefore could not conduct our interview. We drove 85 miles to the field office for nothing. Funnily enough the adjudication officer could see my fingerprints on his computer and said "they look fine to me but I guess they weren't good enough for the FBI" lmao I cannot make this stuff up. Now I have another bio appointment scheduled (which might go ok or it might not, guess I should prepare to obtain police clearances) and then will have to wait for another interview to be scheduled and make the drive out to the field office again. This whole ridiculous ordeal has probably delayed our process by months (if not more), not to mention the complete waste of time and effort. How did an interview even get scheduled if it couldn't be conducted because the background check isn't completed? What is even going on behind the scenes at USCIS lol I submitted a complaint to my Congressman, it probably will go nowhere but it's a little cathartic at least.

I can't seem to get a straight answer from my online research - is the petitioner ever asked to come in for biometrics, or just the beneficiary? Thanks in advance!

Wondering how much notice everyone had between receiving their biometrics letter and the actual appointment? My I-751 was received 4/15, NOA1 5/3 MSC center, haven’t heard anything since and I know some people have waited up to a year for biometrics. The UK just made entering the country much easier and after not seeing my family for 2 years I’m desperate to go back, however I’m worried we will miss the biometrics appointment by being away for 10 days. We are moving to a new house in a couple of weeks and don’t know anyone to check our mail for us while away. Any advice is very welcome!! Thank you.

My husband (beneficiary) and I (USC) had our initial interview yesterday, which I think went really well and I was hoping for our application to be approved on the spot. It seemed things were going that direction when the officer who interviewed us said there was a name spelling error on my husband's biometrics. This misspelling was present on the biometrics request letter my husband received in August, and when he went to give biometrics they said they recognized that they messed up his name but that they would fix it and they took his biometrics that day. The interviewing officer said he put in a ticket to have the name fixed, but then he couldn't run the background checks until it was fixed and there was some possibility that my husband would have to redo the biometrics. He gave us a bunch of information very quickly if he approved the application, such and such would happen, we might get a letter in a couple weeks, we might get a call, we might get the green card in the mail, etc. It was kind of a nebulous 'wait and maybe something will happen' answer. He said we could call the information number in 30 days. Wondering if anyone else has been in this situation and how long it took to fix and get a final decision. It sucks that it felt like we were so close to being finished with the process and then because of their mistake we might have a major delay. We are checking the online account for updates daily, right now it still says 'interview was scheduled.' Any input is appreciated!

Hi, I just went to my Biometrics appointment today and two of my right fingers (ring and pinky) showed up as orange with an exclamation mark on the screen. The technician mentioned that those two fingers are sweaty. She tried everything from wiping them with paper, using hand sanitizer to drying them with a table fan, but nothing worked. Every other scan was green. She mentioned it shouldn't be an issue since the 4-finger scan showed green and went ahead and submitted the scans. I was wondering about the timeline when I would know : 1. Whether the scans were accepted i.e. when does the status on myUSCIS typically change online after biometrics and what does that say 2. If not, the timeline to receive a second notice for Biometrics for poor quality scans. Appreciate your replies on this.

hello, two weeks ago I went to get my biometrics done (fingerprints + photo). On my USCIS profile, the status of my EAD and AOS says "Case is being actively reviewed by USCIS", and the date of this update is the same date of my biometrics. My question is: am I supposed to receive a notification/message from USCIS about my fingerprints? If so, how long does it take/do I need to contact USCIS? Thanks for your help, Sara

So we are currently in the waiting game the last letter we received after our RFE was accepted at the end of March was about getting my wife's immunizations and that we would take to an interview unless it was not needed and would be required to send. However looking through our process we have never been scheduled a biometrics appointment. From what I see other state this is normally done within the first few months of processing. We got married last August and submitted in September, with the accepting the fees by the end of September. The next communication was the RFE in January which took us a few months to get situated due to the legalities of adding her to my bank accounts. Anyone know if this is normal or is there a way to inquire if/when they would request it be completed?

Hello, I filed I-751 since January 12, 2021. Received my NOA on Feb 27 but still hasn't received Biometric Appointment Notice and it's been over 3 months now. Does this happen to anyone? I'm trying to contact them by the phone, sent e-request but has no luck. They never response. Any suggestion is much much appreciated here. Thank you!

On May last year I sent the whole package for adjustment of status (i-485 / i-130/ i-130a/ i-944) two weeks later I got the confirmation that my package was received and the check was cashed, the letter also said I would receive a following letter with confirmation for my Biometrics, but I haven't received it yet, and its been almost 1 year, should I be worried or this is normal time because of covid? does hiring a lawyer help? BTW Im located in Orlando, FL. thanks for your comments! Ari

Hello, My husband came on a K1 a few years ago, we got married, he got his card and now it is expiring within 90 days so we are going through with the Form i-751. He already did biometrics and got finger printed when he first came here. This form is telling us to include a $85 charge for biometrics that is non refundable. Would we have to include this? Do they usually perform 2 biometrics? Thank you

Hello, I just got my appointment notice yesterday and it says that I'm going to have the appointment in Miami on 4/26/2021, the only problem is that I live in Jacksonville which is 6-7 hours away from Miami and right now, it's not impossible, but it's a little bit complicated to go. I was wondering if I can go to the center here in Jacksonville, without having to wait again 4 to 8 weeks. I sent everything back in August 2020 and I just got my biometrics appointment, so I don't wanna wait that long again. I read about people with the same problem and they just went to the nearest office, like a week before the appointment, and they had no problem. I really don't know what to do.

Hi everyone, I checked the forums and I'm not sure if I see to many concerns about this topic yet. My husband has been here almost a year and has not received his green card because he has not been able to get an appointment to complete his biometrics. Also, I saw a YouTube video that said biometric appointment have not only been backlogged due to COVID but also the Trump administration. Does anyone have more information about this? My husband's main concern involves traveling because he does not want to travel without his green card.

Hi everyone! I have filled N-400 January 11, 2020. I received a Biometric Reuse Notice dated January 24. My mother is not feeling well and I have to travel and go take care of her. Is it safe to travel now? I don't assume I will get any other notices on my case any time soon. I am traveling, regardless of the consequences, but would love some insight. Thank you! Happy Valentines Day, you love bugs!

Hey guys, I wonder if anyone has ideas of what’s going on with the biometric letter. I’m one of the October 2020 filers. I was looking at our google sheet and it seems that nobody received the biometric letter any more after 11/18. I know they’re moving VERY slow but it was moving. Now it seems that they completely stopped mailing out biometric letters? Also, who sends out the biometric letters? Is it who sends out receipt? Or is it the service center’s job? Please share your ideas. Thank you.

So, the Application Support Center in Austin has been open since late July, three months (!) ago. We applied for AOS in early May and received the NOAs on May 12. It's been over five months since our application was received, and others here (according to the VJ Timeline progress reports) who applied for AOS in May have received their EADs already with biometrics done 1-2 months ago. Anyone else in Austin who applied in March-July (when the ASCs were closed) received their biometrics appointment yet? The EAD can't be issued until biometrics are complete so I'm just sitting here waiting to get to work...