USCIS Response to COVID-19
Archived Content
The information on this page is out of date. However, some of the content may still be useful, so we have archived the page.
Due to increased spread of the omicron variant of COVID-19, USCIS field offices may need to reschedule appointments based on local conditions. We will send notices to applicants and petitioners with previously scheduled appointments for interviews and naturalization ceremonies if we need to reschedule. Those attending appointments should follow the safety guidelines outlined below.
If you need help with emergency document services (such as ADIT stamps or advance parole), we are working to schedule those appointments as soon as possible. You may experience slightly extended wait times as we gradually and safely resume in-person services. If you need to schedule an emergency document service, you may reach out to the USCIS Contact Center to make an appointment.
Please check to see if the respective office has been reopened by visiting our office closures page before calling the Contact Center.
Visitors are limited to the applicant, one attorney or authorized representative, and one individual providing disability assistance (who may be a family member). Attorneys and/or authorized representatives may accompany applicants to the interview or participate telephonically. If a representative chooses to participate telephonically, the applicant should notify the officer at the time of the interview who will then contact the representative via the phone number listed on the Form G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance of Attorney or Accredited Representative.
Unless USCIS requests the interpreter to be physically present at the office for the interview, the interpreter should plan on being available by phone for the interview. The interpreter should provide the applicant with a valid phone number where they can be reached by USCIS at the time of the interview. If it is determined that an interpreter should be physically present at the interview and is unavailable at the time of the interview, the interview may be rescheduled.
If an applicant needs a Sign Language Interpreter or Certified Deaf Interpreter, they should reach out to the USCIS Contact Center online or call 1-800-375-5283 as soon as possible after receiving their interview notice.
Please check the USCIS office closings page to see if your ASC is closed before coming to an appointment.
Due to added COVID-19 security measures at our ASCs, you may experience:
- A longer wait time to receive your biometrics services appointment notice;
- Restrictions limiting access to ASCs; and
- Longer biometrics collection times.
Individuals with appointments may only be accompanied by an interpreter, attorney, parent/legal guardian of a minor, or individual providing assistance to a disabled person.
To reduce wait times for biometric services appointments, certain ASCs began scheduling appointments during extended hours.
Rescheduling of Cancelled ASC Appointments
USCIS will automatically reschedule any necessary ASC appointments that were cancelled due to the temporary office closure, or send notifications of biometrics reuse to eligible individuals.
Individuals who must still appear in person at an ASC will receive a new appointment letter in the mail.
Note: USCIS cannot automatically re-schedule appointments for Canadian and United Kingdom visa applicants.
- Canada Visa Applicants: visit the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada website for updated information.
- UK Visa Applicants: visit the UK Visas and Immigration website for updated information.
Asylum offices are open with additional precautions to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Please follow the USCIS Visitor Policy when attending an appointment.
If you are feeling sick, please do not come to our office. Follow the instructions on your appointment notice to reschedule your appointment. You may request to reschedule your appointment due to illness or risk of COVID-19 infection, and the delay will not be attributed to you.
If you are attending an appointment, please follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) safety guidelines for the state and county where your asylum office is located https://egov.uscis.gov/office-locator/#/asy.
In areas of high or substantial transmission according to the CDC’s COVID-19 by County webpage https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/covid-by-county.html , all federal employees, contractors, and visitors must wear a mask inside federal buildings. In DHS-controlled spaces, such as USCIS asylum offices, this guidance supersedes state, local, tribal, or territorial rules regarding face coverings.
USCIS asylum offices may need to reschedule appointments based on local conditions. If you already have a scheduled appointment for an interview, we will send you a notice if we need to reschedule.
Depending on local conditions , you may be interviewed in-person or through a video-facilitated interview.
In an in-person interview, you will be in the same room with the interviewing officer separated by a plexiglass barrier.
In a video-facilitated interview, you will be in one room and the interviewing officer in a different room.
Asylum applicants must bring to the interview all immediate family members listed as dependents on the asylum application. Each asylum applicant, or NACARA 203 applicant, may also bring an attorney or accredited representative; witnesses; an individual assisting a disabled person; and a parent, guardian, or “trusted adult” if the applicant is a minor.
Please note the Special Instructions About Interpreters for Asylum Interviews below. NACARA 203 applicants must bring their own interpreters to the interview.
For non-detained credible or reasonable fear interviews, applicants must bring any family members listed on the interview notice. Attorneys, representatives, or consultants may attend credible and reasonable fear interviews in person, but we encourage them to participate telephonically. USCIS will provide contracted, professional interpreters for credible and reasonable fear interviews. The information below regarding interpreters for asylum interviews does not apply for non-detained credible or reasonable fear interviews.
Special Instructions About Interpreters for Asylum Interviews
These instructions apply to you if you are not fluent in English and need an interpreter for your asylum interview.
If you fluently speak any of the languages listed below, you cannot bring your own interpreter and must use a USCIS contract interpreter at your asylum interview, unless USCIS informs you to bring your own interpreter to the asylum interview (see below for more information about this exception):
- Akan
- Albanian
- Amharic
- Arabic
- Armenian
- Azerbaijani
- Bengali
- Burmese
- Cantonese
- Creole/Haitian Creole
- Farsi-Afghani/Dari
- Farsi-Iranian
- Foo Chow/Fuzhou
- French
- Georgian
- Gujarati
- Hindi
- Hmong
- Hungarian
- Indonesia/Bahasa
- Konjobal//Q'anjob'al
- Korean
- Kurdish
- Lingala
- Mam
- Mandarin
- Nepali
- Pashto/Pushtu
- Portuguese
- Punjabi
- Quiche/K'iche
- Romanian
- Russian
- Serbian
- Sinhalese
- Somali
- Spanish
- Swahili
- Tagalog
- Tamil
- Tigrinya
- Turkish
- Twi
- Ukrainian
- Urdu
- Uzbek
- Vietnamese
USCIS will provide this interpreter free of charge.
If you are not fluent in any language listed above, you must provide a competent interpreter fluent in both English and your native language or any other language in which you are fluent. Your interpreter:
- Must be 18 years or older;
- Must not be your attorney or accredited representative;
- Must not be a witness for you during your asylum interview;
- Must not be a representative or employee of your country of nationality (or, if you are stateless, your country of last habitual residence); and
- Must not have a pending asylum application.
If you are unable to provide such an interpreter, you may provide an interpreter fluent in both your language and a language listed above. USCIS will provide a relay interpreter to interpret between the language listed above and English.
In limited circumstances, if a USCIS interpreter is not available, USCIS will either reschedule the interview and attribute the interview delay to USCIS for purposes of employment authorization under 8 CFR 208.7 or, at our discretion, allow you to provide an interpreter. If we notify you that a USCIS contract interpreter will be unavailable for your scheduled interview and that we are exercising our discretion to allow you to bring an interpreter to your interview, and you are unable to locate a competent interpreter, we will reschedule your interview and the delay will be attributed to USCIS.
USCIS recognizes that if you are a lawful permanent resident (LPR) who traveled outside of the United States and are or were subject to COVID-19-related travel restrictions, you may have concerns about the effect of an extended absence from the United States.
If you were delayed in returning from a trip outside of the United States due to unforeseen circumstances, such as COVID-19-related travel restrictions, the trip generally retains its temporary character and USCIS will not consider your LPR status abandoned as long as you always intended to return as soon as the original purpose of the visit was completed. For more information, see USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12, Part D, General Naturalization Requirements, Chapter 2, Lawful Permanent Residence Admission for Naturalization.
Documentary Requirements
Generally, if you are an LPR seeking to return to the United States after temporary foreign travel of less than one year, you may use your valid Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card, (also known as a Green Card) as a travel document. If you are seeking to return to the United States after temporary foreign travel of a year or more, you must present a Form I-327, Permit to Reenter, (also known as a reentry permit) or a Returning Resident (SB-1) immigrant visa. If you have been outside of the United States for a year or more without a reentry permit or beyond the validity of your reentry permit, you should consider contacting the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate to discuss your situation. For more information, visit the U.S. Department of State website.
If you are an applicant for naturalization, you must generally have resided continuously in the United States after your lawful permanent resident (LPR) admission for at least five years before filing your naturalization application and up to the time of naturalization. You must also establish that you have resided in the state or service district having jurisdiction over the application for three months prior to filing.
In addition, you are generally required to have been physically present in the United States for at least half the time for which your continuous residence is required.
For example, if you are required to demonstrate five years of continuous residence, you must also demonstrate physical presence in the United States for at least 30 months (at least 913 days) before filing the naturalization application.
Even if due to unforeseen reasons, such as COVID-19-related travel restrictions, an absence from the United States for a continuous period of one year or more (365 days or more) during the period for which continuous residence is required will automatically break the continuity of residence (See INA 316(b)). This applies whether the absence takes place before or after you file your naturalization application.
Unless you have an approved Form N 470, Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes, USCIS must deny a naturalization application for failure to meet the continuous residence requirement if you have been continuously absent for a period of one year or more during the statutory period. Form N-470 preserves residence for LPRs engaged in qualifying employment abroad with the U.S. government, an American institution of research, an American firm or corporation, a public international organization of which the United States is a member, or a religious denomination or interdenominational mission organization.
For more information, please see USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12, Part D, General Naturalization Requirements Chapter 3, Continuous Residence, Chapter 4, Physical Presence and Chapter 5, Modifications and Exceptions to Continuous Residence and Physical Presence.
USCIS field offices will send notices to applicants and petitioners to reschedule postponed naturalization ceremonies. The ceremonies may be shorter to limit exposure to those in attendance. USCIS will not play videos during naturalization ceremonies, but will give attendees a flyer with information and links directing them to the videos on the USCIS website. Under the shortened format, all legally required portions of the ceremony will take place. Attendance is limited to the candidates who are scheduled to be naturalized, a parent or trusted adult if the candidate is a minor and individuals providing disability assistance to a candidate.
As USCIS safely resumes in-person services, some naturalization ceremonies may be conducted differently than in the past. You may receive supplemental information from USCIS that provides detailed instructions for your ceremony. Please pay close attention to this information to ensure a safe and enjoyable ceremony experience.
We will consider a response received within 60 calendar days after the due date set forth in the following requests or notices before taking any action, if we issued the request or notice anytime from March 1, 2020, through March 23, 2023:
- Request for Evidence;
- Continuation to Request Evidence (N-14);
- Notice of Intent to Deny;
- Notice of Intent to Revoke;
- Notice of Intent to Rescind;
- Notice of Intent to Terminate regional centers;
- Notice of Intent to Withdraw Temporary Protected Status; and
- Motion to Reopen an N-400 Pursuant to 8 CFR 335.5, Receipt of Derogatory Information After Grant.
In addition, we will consider a Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion, or a 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 we made; and
- We made that decision between Nov. 1, 2021, and March 23, 2023, inclusive.
See our alert for more information.
Update: June 16, 2021 is the final date that USCIS will accept H-2A petitions requesting flexibilities under the below temporary final rule. The changes made by this temporary final rule will automatically terminate on June 16. All H-2A petitions received after the termination of this temporary final rule will be subject to the permanent provisions of the H-2A program.
Update: On Dec. 18, DHS published a new temporary final rule extending the Aug. 20 temporary final rule. In the new rule, DHS extended the provision that temporarily allows all H-2A petitioners with a valid temporary labor certification (TLC) to start employing certain foreign workers who are currently in the United States and in valid H-2A status. DHS also extended the provision that allows H-2A workers to change employers and begin work before USCIS approves the new H-2A petition. DHS will apply this temporary final rule to H-2A petitions requesting an extension of stay, if they were received on or after Dec. 18, 2020, through June 16, 2021. Additional information is available under the H-2A Requirements During COVID-19 Public Health Emergency section on the USCIS Response to COVID-19 page
On Dec. 18, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security and USCIS published a new temporary final rule extending the Aug. 20 temporary final rule amending certain H-2A requirements to help U.S. agricultural employers avoid disruptions in lawful agricultural-related employment, protect the nation’s food supply chain and lessen impacts from the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Due to travel restrictions and visa processing limitations as a result of actions taken to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, as well as the possibility that some H-2A workers may become unavailable due to COVID-19 related illness, U.S. employers who have approved H-2A petitions or who will be filing H-2A petitions might not receive all of the workers requested to fill the temporary positions, and similarly, employers that currently employ H-2A workers may lose the services of workers due to COVID-19 related illness.
Under the Dec. 18 temporary final rule, all H-2A petitioners with a valid temporary labor certification (TLC) can employ certain foreign workers who are currently in the United States and in valid H-2A status immediately after USCIS receives the H-2A petition, but no earlier than the start date of employment listed on the petition. In addition, the Dec. 18 temporary final rule extends the ability of eligible H-2A workers to change employers and begin work before USCIS approves the new H-2A petition. DHS will apply this temporary final rule to H-2A petitions requesting an extension of stay, if they were received on or after Dec, 18, 2020 through June 16, 2021.
The temporary final rule was effective on Dec. 18, 2020, through Dec. 18, 2023. If the new petition is approved, the H-2A worker will be able to stay in the United States for a period of time not to exceed the validity period of the TLC. DHS will issue a new temporary final rule in the Federal Register to amend the termination date in the event DHS determines that circumstances demonstrate a continued need for the temporary changes to the H-2A regulations.
It is important to note to the public that this temporary final rule does not amend the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) regulations covering the labor market test and recruitment of U.S. workers for the H-2A process. Before filing an H-2A petition with DHS, the H-2A petitioner must have obtained a valid TLC from DOL for the job opportunity the employer seeks to fill with an H-2A worker(s). This temporary final rule is not a joint rule with DOL, and USCIS is not proposing changes to DOL’s H-2A TLC process or its regulations.
UPDATE: On April 5, 2022, the Department of State (DOS) provided guidance to U.S. Embassies and Consulates that DNA collection for overseas beneficiaries, including for USCIS cases, should resume according to DOS’s routine prioritization schedule. In response, USCIS will resume normal (pre-COVID) processing steps related to DNA collection for Form I-130 petitions, including the following:
- USCIS will issue Requests for Evidence that include instructions for voluntary DNA collection in cases where evidence is insufficient to demonstrate the claimed genetic relationship; and
- USCIS may adjudicate Form I-130 petitions based on the record, unless the petitioner communicates to USCIS that DNA results are pending or there are other circumstances resulting in delayed DNA submission.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the Department of State’s capacity to provide routine services to foreign nationals. Many U.S. Embassies and Consulates are unable to collect DNA on behalf of USCIS. If you are pursuing DNA collection in response to a Request for Evidence (RFE) issued by USCIS in the adjudication of your Form I-130, and your beneficiary lives overseas, your case may be impacted. For more information on the Department of State’s COVID-19 response and consular service prioritization schedule, see the Department of State Visa Services Operating Status webpage.
If you do not have other evidence to establish or verify a claimed genetic relationship to an overseas Form I-130 beneficiary, you may voluntarily submit DNA results to support your claim. Previously, USCIS had issued RFEs suggesting DNA collection with instructions on the process. If you had chosen to pursue DNA collection, you are responsible for initiating and funding the process through an AABB accredited laboratory. Before COVID-19 restrictions, the Department of State (through U.S. Embassies and Consulates) oversaw the DNA collection for beneficiaries residing overseas and submitted results to the AABB laboratory for analysis.
USCIS proceeds with adjudication of Form I-130 when it receives the DNA report from the AABB laboratory. If you fail to respond to an RFE suggesting DNA collection by the due date, USCIS may adjudicate your Form I-130 without the DNA results, on a case-by-case basis.
When U.S. Embassies and Consulates return to normal operations, the Department of State will resume DNA collection procedures for beneficiaries residing overseas. Until the Department of State resumes normal operations for DNA collections:
- USCIS will not include DNA suggestions or instructions in RFEs;
- USCIS will continue to accept completed DNA results as evidence; and
- USCIS may hold your Form I-130 as outlined in the Deadlines for Certain Requests, Notices, and Appeals guidance, if you communicate to USCIS an intent to continue to pursue DNA testing.
During, and in response to, the COVID-19 public health emergency, USCIS continues to take action to protect U.S. workers while also providing resources needed to combat the spread of COVID-19.
USCIS is providing guidance to officers in relation to former J-1 foreign medical graduate physicians who have received a waiver of the two-year foreign residence requirement under section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
These foreign medical graduates are former J-1 exchange visitors who currently practice medicine in the United States as H-1B nonimmigrant physicians based on interest from a government agency, or through the Conrad State 30 program created by Congress.
USCIS is providing flexibilities for these foreign medical graduates who are assisting in the fight against COVID-19—saving lives, reducing the strain on over-worked hospital workers, and improving access to necessary medical care. These flexibilities include:
- Telehealth. USCIS will allow these physicians to deliver telehealth services during the COVID-19 public health emergency, provided the physicians continue to serve their intended population. USCIS notes that if an employer offers these foreign medical graduates the flexibility to telework from their home, it must offer those same flexibilities to its U.S. workers similarly employed.
- Waiver of Certain Immigration Consequences of Failing to Meet the Full-Time Work Requirement. USCIS will not consider these physicians to have violated their contracts with their employers if they are temporarily unable to work full-time due to illness, reduced hours at healthcare facilities, or other impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a limited flexibility and only relates to the foreign medical graduate’s eligibility for future immigration benefits that would be affected by the re-imposition of the two-year home residence requirement as the result of a contract violation. It does not otherwise affect a petitioning employer’s responsibilities under the statutes and regulations relating to H-1B nonimmigrants.
Generally, nonimmigrants must depart the United States before their authorized period of admission expires. However, we recognize that nonimmigrants may unexpectedly remain in the United States beyond their authorized period of stay should apply for an extension or change of status in advance. Should this occur, the following options are available to nonimmigrants:
Apply for an Extension. Most nonimmigrants can mitigate the immigration consequences of COVID-19 by timely filing an application for extension of stay (EOS) or change in status (COS). USCIS continues to accept and process applications and petitions, and many of our forms are available for online filing.
If You File in a Timely Manner. Nonimmigrants generally do not accrue unlawful presence while the timely-filed, non-frivolous EOS/COS application is pending. Where applicable, employment authorization with the same employer, subject to the same terms and conditions of the prior approval, is automatically extended for up to 240 days after I-94 expiration when an extension of stay request is filed on time.
Flexibility for Late Applications. USCIS may excuse a nonimmigrant’s failure to timely file an extension/change of status request if the delay was due to extraordinary circumstances. Under current regulations and as noted on our Special Situations page, if a petitioner or applicant files an extension of stay or change of status request (on Forms I-129 or I-539) after the authorized period of admission expires, USCIS may excuse the failure to timely file if it was due to extraordinary circumstances beyond their control, such as those that may be caused by COVID-19. The length of delay must be commensurate with the circumstances. The petitioner or applicant must submit credible evidence to support their request, which USCIS will evaluate in its discretion on a case-by-case basis. These special situations have been used at various times in the past, including for natural disasters and similar crises.
Flexibility for Visa Waiver Entrants. Visa Waiver Program (VWP) entrants are generally not eligible to extend their stay or change status. However, under current regulations, if an emergency (such as COVID-19) prevents the departure of a VWP entrant, USCIS in its discretion may grant up to 30 days to allow for satisfactory departure. Please see 8 CFR 217.3(a). For those VWP entrants already granted satisfactory departure and unable to depart within this 30-day period because of COVID-19 related issues, USCIS has the authority to temporarily provide additional 30-day periods of satisfactory departure. To request satisfactory departure from USCIS, a VWP entrant should call the USCIS Contact Center.
For More Information. Please see 8 CFR 214.1(c)(4) and 8 CFR 248.1(c) for additional information on late requests to extend or change status. In addition, please see our Form I-129 and Form I-539 pages for specific filing and eligibility requirements for extensions and changes of status.
- USCIS recognizes that prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) may have concerns about potential delays in completing certain requirements to allow for adjudication of their adoption applications or petitions because of COVID-19 restrictions and closures.
Suitability Determinations
-
At this time, there are no changes to eligibility requirements for adoption applications and petitions, which includes suitability determinations.
-
USCIS has an obligation to continue to review suitability applications submitted by PAPs and make determinations regarding whether PAPs remain suitable for intercountry adoption therefore, USCIS will not extend the validity period of suitability application approvals without conducting an updated suitability assessment.
-
As a reminder:
-
A suitability application approval is valid for 18 months for the orphan process (Form I-600A) and for 15 months for the Hague Adoption Convention process (Form I-800A). USCIS allows for a one-time free extension of the suitability application approval and for unlimited extensions of Form I-800A suitability approval (with fee).
-
Once a PAP files Form I-600 or Form I-800, they do not need to continue to extend their suitability approval or file new Form I-600As or Form I-800As. However, certain changes in the household must be reported to USCIS and may require an updated home study as noted below. For the orphan process, PAPs may choose not to file Form I-600A and, instead, submit all required evidence and request a suitability determination with their child’s Form I-600 (known as concurrent or combination filing).
-
Please see the Extension and Validity Periods webpage for more information, including suitability approval extensions or new requests in the event a PAP has not filed their Form I-600 or Form I-800 before their one-time extension will expire.
-
-
While we are unable to waive the requirement for an updated home study, certain home study requirements do have some flexibility:
-
Unless the family has moved or it is otherwise required, a home study update does not require the home study preparer to conduct another home visit or in-person interview. Instead, the home study preparer may conduct the update by Skype, FaceTime, phone, email, etc.
-
We understand that PAPs may be experiencing changes because of COVID-19. USCIS does not require PAPs to notify USCIS or their home study preparer of a change unless it’s a Significant Change. For more information, see our Guidance on Determining Suitability of Prospective Adoptive Parents for Intercountry Adoption.
-
If a significant change occurs in the PAP’s household, they must provide notification and submit an updated home study that reflects the significant change. The timeframe for this notification depends on the type of significant change and at what point in the process the significant change occurs.
-
For most significant changes, PAPs may generally wait until the next suitability determination point to provide notification, even if it’s been more than 30 days since the significant change occurred.
-
However, PAPs need to provide immediate notification to USCIS and their home study provider if the significant change is:
-
Related to arrest, conviction or a history of substance abuse, sexual abuse, child abuse, family violence, or any other criminal history as an offender; or
-
Any significant change that occurs after Form I-600 or Form I-800 petition approval, but before the child immigrates to the United States.
-
-
Humanitarian Parole
- Some parents ask about the use of parole for children to enter the country. USCIS rarely approves parole requests for adoption-related cases because parole does not provide the same procedural safeguards for prospective adoptive children, PAPs, and birth parents that exist in regular adoption-based immigration avenues, such as determinations that a child is an orphan or available for intercountry adoption.
- Additionally, parole does not give children the U.S. immigration status protections that regular adoption-based immigration avenues provide. For example, a child who is paroled has not been admitted into the United States for purposes of immigration law and would have to take additional steps to become a lawful permanent resident (LPR) and a U.S. citizen. The child would not be admitted as an LPR and would not automatically acquire U.S. citizenship as many children entering based on adoption do.
- For more information on parole, visit our webpage, Guidance on Evidence for Certain Types of Humanitarian or Significant Public Benefit Parole Requests.
Contact Information
- USCIS has a dedicated team to assist you with adoption questions. For information, visit our USCIS Adoption Contact Information page.
- For any matters pending with the Department of State (DOS), including matters related to the issuance of visas, please see the latest information on the DOS Intercountry Adoption webpage.
K-1 and K-2 Nonimmigrants
The Immigration and Nationality Act requires a K-1 nonimmigrant to enter into a valid marriage with their U.S. citizen fiancé(e) within 90 days of being admitted to the United States in K-1 status. K-2 nonimmigrants are admitted as the minor children of their K-1 parents. K-1 nonimmigrant status automatically expires after 90 days and cannot be extended.
However, as noted on our Visas for Fiancé(e)s of U.S. Citizens page, if the marriage between a K-1 nonimmigrant and their U.S. citizen fiancé(e) takes place after the 90 day period, the U.S. citizen spouse may file Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, on behalf of the former fiancé(e), based on the marriage. The U.S. citizen spouse may also file Form I-130 for the K-2 stepchild as long as they meet the definition of stepchild under INA 101(b)(1)(B). See our Bringing Spouses to Live in the United States as Permanent Residents page for more information.
Extending the Following-To-Join Timeline for K-2 Nonimmigrants
A minor child of a K-1 nonimmigrant who wants to join their K-1 parent in the United States at a later time (called “following to join”) may be eligible for a K-2 visa for up to one year after the Department of State issues the K-1 principal’s visa. The K-2 child may follow to join even after the K-1 principal marries their U.S. citizen fiancé(e) and acquires lawful permanent resident (LPR) status.
While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect worldwide consular services and travel, the Department of State may extend the one-year follow to join period for an additional 180 days if the child demonstrates that the reason they did not obtain a visa within one year of the K-1 principal receiving their visa or travel to the United States on a previously issued K-2 visa was a direct result of:
- The worldwide suspension of visa services;
- COVID-19 related travel restrictions; or
- Other COVID-19 factors which were beyond their control.
This relief does not affect rules related to fees or fee collection, or other eligibility factors for K-2 status or a K-2 nonimmigrant’s eligibility to adjust status.
Learn about measures to assist you in extreme situations on our Special Situations page.
Visit our Multilingual Resource page and select COVID-19 under the topics section to access COVID-19 information in several other languages.
We translate our materials into other languages to help people with limited English skills. If there are differences between English and another language, the English version is the official version. To learn more, see our Accuracy and Translation Disclaimer.
What the U.S. Government is Doing
- COVID-19 | CDC.gov: primary federal site for general information
- U.S. Government Response | USA.gov: catalogue of U.S. government activities
- Find a Vaccine | Vaccines.gov: primary federal site for COVID-19 vaccines locations
- DHS.gov/coronavirus: Department of Homeland Security information