U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced today that it would extend flexible measures for responding to certain requests and notices from the agency through March 23.

The agency expects this will be the final extension of these flexible measures. The measures were first introduced in March 2020 because of COVID-19, and USCIS has extended them numerous times, most recently in October 2022.

Key Points:

  • USCIS said it anticipates “this will be the final extension of these accommodations, and requesters must comply with the response requirements set forth in any request or notice dated after March 23, 2023.”
  • Under the extension, petitioners and applicants will continue to have an additional 60 days beyond the due date to respond to certain requests and notices issued by USCIS.
  • The extension applies to the following documents with an issuance date between March 1, 2020, and March 23, 2023, inclusive:
    • Requests for Evidence.
    • Continuations to Request Evidence (N-14).
    • Notices of Intent to Deny.
    • Notices of Intent to Revoke.
    • Notices of Intent to Rescind.
    • Notices of Intent to Terminate regional centers.
    • Notices of Intent to Withdraw Temporary Protected Status.
    • Motions to Reopen an N-400 Pursuant to 8 CFR 335.5, Receipt of Derogatory Information After Grant.

Additional Information: USCIS will consider a Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion, or Form N-336, Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings (Under Section 336 of the INA), if:

  • The form was filed up to 90 calendar days from the issuance of a decision; and
  • USCIS made the decision between Nov. 1, 2021, and March 23, 2023, inclusive.

As a reminder, the reproduced signature flexibility announced in March 2020 became permanent policy on July 25. The reproduced signature must be of an original handwritten signature, and copies of original documents containing the wet signatures must be retained. More information on USCIS’ response to the pandemic is available here.

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

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