Duplicate biometrics appointment notices sent by USCIS

For the second time in two months, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has sent out duplicate biometrics appointment notices to applicants who had received prior notices and who had already attended biometrics appointments.

A batch of duplicate biometrics notices went out in August when USCIS switched to a new system for sending them. The new system mistakenly sent notices that had already been sent by the old system, USCIS said at the time. The most recent round of duplicate notices appears to have been generated from the USCIS Texas Service Center and is believed to be related to the initial mix-up.

USCIS has indicated that if an applicant receives a duplicate notice after already completing their biometrics, it should not be necessary to attend a second appointment.

BAL Analysis: In some cases, the biometrics provider has confirmed with attorneys that duplicate notices were sent in error and that those individuals do not need to attend a second appointment. Clients who do not receive this confirmation may want to respond to a second notice in writing, stating that they have already submitted biometrics, and include a copy of their initial stamped notice.

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