USCIS Reopens Offices For In-Person Visits With Restrictions

If you are fully vaccinated, you may enter our offices without a face covering. To be considered fully vaccinated, it must be at least two weeks after you received your second dose in a two-dose series or at least two weeks after you received a dose of a single-dose vaccine.

In DHS-controlled spaces, this guidance supersedes state, local, tribal, or territorial rules and regulations regarding face coverings.

To protect our workforce and the public from exposure to the coronavirus (COVID-19), we require all applicants, petitioners, and visitors two years of age or older who are not fully vaccinated to wear face coverings that cover both the mouth and nose while in a USCIS office. The CDC provides measures for selecting and wearing face coverings.

Due to potential safety risks, we do not allow neck gaiters, bandanas, or masks with exhaust valves to be used as face coverings. If you appear at a USCIS office without an acceptable face covering, we may offer you a replacement mask or ask you to reschedule your appointment. We reserve the right to deny entry to anyone who does not wear an acceptable face covering.

We may direct you to briefly remove your face covering to confirm your identity or take your photograph. Please follow the instructions included in your appointment notice, including for your scheduled appointment at the designated date and time.

Face coverings are not a replacement for social distancing. Follow USCIS signs or instructions to maintain social distancing during screening and while in USCIS space.

To limit the number of people in the waiting room, applicants with scheduled appointments may only be accompanied by:

• An attorney;
• An interpreter (if permitted under specific guidance regarding interpreters for affirmative asylum interviews);
• A parent, legal guardian, or a trusted adult, if the applicant being interviewed is a minor;
• Immediate family members listed as dependents on the application or interview notice; and
• An individual assisting a disabled person.

For now, we cannot allow guests at naturalization ceremonies. We are limiting attendance at ceremonies to the candidates who are scheduled to be naturalized and individuals helping disabled persons. We require the wearing of face coverings during the naturalization ceremony if you are not fully vaccinated, even if it is held outside of a USCIS building.

If you are feeling sick, please do not come to our office. Follow the instructions on your appointment notice to reschedule your appointment for when you are healthy. There is no penalty for rescheduling your appointment if you are sick. You will not be allowed to enter the USCIS office if you:

• Have COVID-19 or any symptoms of COVID-19 per the CDC, including, but not limited to, a recently developed cough, fever, difficulty breathing, new loss of smell or taste, fatigue, muscle aches, headache, congestion, sore throat, or vomiting (list is not all-inclusive);
• Have been in close contact (within six feet for a total of 15 minutes or more) with anyone known to have COVID-19 in the past 14 days (unless you are fully vaccinated or if you are a health care worker and consistently wear an N95 respirator and proper PPE or equivalent when in contact with COVID-19 positive individuals);
• Have returned from domestic air, international air, or cruise ship travel in the past 10 days (unless you are fully vaccinated);
• Have been instructed by a health care provider, public health authority, or government entity instructed to self-isolate or self-quarantine in the past 14 days; or
• Refuse to wear a face covering or mask in accordance with USCIS policy (unless you are fully vaccinated).

To reschedule your appointment, call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833). To reschedule your appointment with an asylum office, please follow the instructions in your interview notice.

Please visit uscis.gov/coronavirus for updates. For the latest information on the status of an office, visit https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/uscis-office-closings.