Immigration Closure Update for Washington State (3/25/2020)

U.S.C.I.S. (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service)

STATUS: CLOSED TO PUBLIC UNTIL APRIL 7th, 2020

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service ("USCIS") is an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security which processes and handles various immigration matters like work visas, asylum applications, and citizenship interviews. Previously USCIS issued a statement indicating that their offices would be closed until April 1st, 2020. At that point USCIS indicated all interviews scheduled up to that date would be cancelled and new interview notices would be sent out shortly.

As of the date of this blog, USCIS has now increased the date to which field offices will remain closed to April 7th, 2020. This extends the original period of closure by close to a week. This means that interview dates for asylum, green cards, or citizenship will be rescheduled if they fell anywhere in between now and April 7th, 2020.

E.O.I.R. (Executive Office for Immigration Review) (Immigration Court)

Seattle Immigration Court: There has been no recent change in closure for the Seattle Immigration Court. The court remains closed until April 10th, 2020, all hearings scheduled during the date of closure will be rescheduled by the court.

STATUS: CLOSED UNTIL APRIL 10th, 2020.

Tacoma Immigration Court: This court is still open, so individuals who are detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center will still have to attend court hearings, however, all hearings will be conducted in the video conference rooms. Please refer to our prior post for more information on the new restrictions at the Tacoma Immigration Court. STATUS: Court remains open, with restrictions. See: https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1259916/download