There has been a lot of anxiety over the fingerprinting issues lately. I compiled following questions from various FAQs of this website. The answers are sometimes CSC-centric, but hopefully will be informative to others as well.
Q-1:What if I want to reschedule my appointment?
Follow the rescheduling instructions listed on the fingerprint notification you received.
Q-2:What if I have been scheduled but my spouse and/or children have not been scheduled?
The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (“BCIS”, the new name for INS) uses a national scheduler computer generated system to schedule fingerprint appointments and it is possible that not all family members will be scheduled at the same time. We recommend that you wait and see if the appointment notices for your spouse and /or child(ren) arrive in the mail before your appointment date. If they do not, we suggest that your family members accompany you to the appointment. It is possible that the BCIS Application Support Center (ASC) will agree to take their fingerprints on the same day even though they do not have appointment notices. Be sure to take the I-485 receipt notices, photo identification (e.g., passports) and evidence of relationship (e.g., birth or marriage certificate) for family dependents with you. If ASC refuses to take the prints and/or your family members have still not received appointment notices for their own fingerprints, please contact our office and we will begin the inquiry process to have them scheduled.
Q-3:I have been scheduled for another fingerprint appointment although I have already had my fingerprints taken, do I still have to appear?
The BCIS notice indicates that you can disregard this appointment notice if you were fingerprinted within the last 90 days. Based on our experience, we believe that you should not disregard this notice even if you were recently fingerprinted. The BCIS uses a national scheduling system for fingerprint appointments and often times there are problems with the system. There have also been occasions when the FBI results were not properly relayed to your file with the BCIS. Therefore, it is better to return to the ASC to determine if your prints have “cleared” or if new prints are required.
Q-4:Can I go in and have my fingerprints taken before the date specified on my appointment notice?
You can try, but the ASC may refuse because normally they only fingerprint individuals who have appointments at the specified appointment time. However, some of our clients have been successful in being fingerprinted earlier than their scheduled appointment. Please note that the BCIS may not fingerprint you and if they do not, you will have wasted several hours at the ASC. Therefore, we recommend that you appear only on your scheduled appointment date and time.
Q-5:If I am unable to appear at the ASC assigned, can I go to another one? If so, how do I locate another ASC nearest my residence?
BCIS prefers that you to appear at the ASC which has been assigned to you. However, you may try to be fingerprinted at another ASC. Although the alternative ASC may not accept you, we have had clients who have successfully managed to have their fingerprints taken at an ASC which was different from the one listed on the fingerprint notice.
Q-6:I have been scheduled for another fingerprint appointment although I have already had my fingerprints taken, do I still have to appear?
The BCIS notice indicates that you can disregard this appointment notice if you were fingerprinted within the last 90 days. Based on our experience, we believe that you should not disregard this notice even if you were recently fingerprinted. The BCIS uses a national scheduling system for fingerprint appointments and often times there are problems with the system. There have also been occasions when the FBI results were not properly relayed to your file with the BCIS. Therefore, it is better to return to the ASC to determine if your prints have “cleared” or if new prints are required.
Q-7:For how long are fingerprints valid?
Fingerprints are valid for 15 months. If an I-485 application is pending beyond this period, BCIS will issue a new notice for the applicant to appear at an Application Support Center (ASC) office to be fingerprinted.
Q-8:If my fingerprints expire, can you contact the Service Center and ask them to reschedule me for new fingerprints?
The BCIS has advised us that this will be in the hands of the officer assigned to adjudicate your application and that we cannot request a new fingerprinting appointment. If the adjudication officer determines that the fingerprints have expired, s/he will order that a date be set to schedule a new fingerprint appointment. On a system-wide level, the CSC has stated that it is working on identifying applicants with expired fingerprints in order to schedule new fingerprint appointments. However, there is no guarantee that this will happen. Please note that there is currently no mechanism for attorneys or their clients to alert the CSC and request new fingerprint appointments. None of the other Service Centers have indicated that they will take any such action.
Q-1:What if I want to reschedule my appointment?
Follow the rescheduling instructions listed on the fingerprint notification you received.
Q-2:What if I have been scheduled but my spouse and/or children have not been scheduled?
The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (“BCIS”, the new name for INS) uses a national scheduler computer generated system to schedule fingerprint appointments and it is possible that not all family members will be scheduled at the same time. We recommend that you wait and see if the appointment notices for your spouse and /or child(ren) arrive in the mail before your appointment date. If they do not, we suggest that your family members accompany you to the appointment. It is possible that the BCIS Application Support Center (ASC) will agree to take their fingerprints on the same day even though they do not have appointment notices. Be sure to take the I-485 receipt notices, photo identification (e.g., passports) and evidence of relationship (e.g., birth or marriage certificate) for family dependents with you. If ASC refuses to take the prints and/or your family members have still not received appointment notices for their own fingerprints, please contact our office and we will begin the inquiry process to have them scheduled.
Q-3:I have been scheduled for another fingerprint appointment although I have already had my fingerprints taken, do I still have to appear?
The BCIS notice indicates that you can disregard this appointment notice if you were fingerprinted within the last 90 days. Based on our experience, we believe that you should not disregard this notice even if you were recently fingerprinted. The BCIS uses a national scheduling system for fingerprint appointments and often times there are problems with the system. There have also been occasions when the FBI results were not properly relayed to your file with the BCIS. Therefore, it is better to return to the ASC to determine if your prints have “cleared” or if new prints are required.
Q-4:Can I go in and have my fingerprints taken before the date specified on my appointment notice?
You can try, but the ASC may refuse because normally they only fingerprint individuals who have appointments at the specified appointment time. However, some of our clients have been successful in being fingerprinted earlier than their scheduled appointment. Please note that the BCIS may not fingerprint you and if they do not, you will have wasted several hours at the ASC. Therefore, we recommend that you appear only on your scheduled appointment date and time.
Q-5:If I am unable to appear at the ASC assigned, can I go to another one? If so, how do I locate another ASC nearest my residence?
BCIS prefers that you to appear at the ASC which has been assigned to you. However, you may try to be fingerprinted at another ASC. Although the alternative ASC may not accept you, we have had clients who have successfully managed to have their fingerprints taken at an ASC which was different from the one listed on the fingerprint notice.
Q-6:I have been scheduled for another fingerprint appointment although I have already had my fingerprints taken, do I still have to appear?
The BCIS notice indicates that you can disregard this appointment notice if you were fingerprinted within the last 90 days. Based on our experience, we believe that you should not disregard this notice even if you were recently fingerprinted. The BCIS uses a national scheduling system for fingerprint appointments and often times there are problems with the system. There have also been occasions when the FBI results were not properly relayed to your file with the BCIS. Therefore, it is better to return to the ASC to determine if your prints have “cleared” or if new prints are required.
Q-7:For how long are fingerprints valid?
Fingerprints are valid for 15 months. If an I-485 application is pending beyond this period, BCIS will issue a new notice for the applicant to appear at an Application Support Center (ASC) office to be fingerprinted.
Q-8:If my fingerprints expire, can you contact the Service Center and ask them to reschedule me for new fingerprints?
The BCIS has advised us that this will be in the hands of the officer assigned to adjudicate your application and that we cannot request a new fingerprinting appointment. If the adjudication officer determines that the fingerprints have expired, s/he will order that a date be set to schedule a new fingerprint appointment. On a system-wide level, the CSC has stated that it is working on identifying applicants with expired fingerprints in order to schedule new fingerprint appointments. However, there is no guarantee that this will happen. Please note that there is currently no mechanism for attorneys or their clients to alert the CSC and request new fingerprint appointments. None of the other Service Centers have indicated that they will take any such action.
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