USCIS winds down services abroad

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is expected to close all of its international field offices in the next nine months and has already begun limiting services abroad.

Key points:

• USCIS is expected to close all 22 of its international field offices by March 10, 2020.
• The agency closed the Moscow field office in March. The next offices to close will be the field offices in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico and Manila, the Philippines.
  • The Ciudad Juárez office will close on June 30 and is no longer accepting applications or petitions. Filing instructions for those who would previously have used the Ciudad Juárez field office are available on this USCIS website.
  • The Manila office will close on July 5 and is no longer accepting applications or petitions. Filing instructions for those who would previously have used the Manila field office are available here.
• Press reports indicate that the field offices in Monterrey, Mexico, and Seoul, South Korea, are slated to close in September. Most offices are expected to be closed by the end of January, with the last offices closing in March.
• USCIS said Monday that beginning July 1 it will no longer accept Form I-407, Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status at international field offices by mail or in person. Those who wish to voluntarily record abandonment of their lawful permanent resident status will be required to submit Form I-407 via mail to:

USCIS Eastern Forms Center
Attn: I-407 unit
124 Leroy Road
PO Box 567
Williston, VT 05495

BAL Analysis: USCIS has already begun to limit services at its international field offices, and additional restrictions should be expected in the coming months, even for offices that will remain open until March. U.S. consulates and USCIS offices within the U.S. will share workload as USCIS offices abroad shut their doors. Those outside of the United States who are in need of USCIS services are encouraged to work closely with BAL in the coming months to determine their best filing options.   

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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