In recent weeks reports surfaced about USCIS scheduling “petitioners” for biometrics (fingerprints and photos) appointments at local offices. In immigration cases, the “petitioner” typically is the U.S. permanent resident or citizen sponsoring a family member for a green card (lawful permanent resident status) or an employer sponsoring an employee for a work visa or a green card. Until now only the “beneficiary” of the petition, who often also concurrently submits an “application” for a green card, needed to appear for a biometrics appointment. The immigration regulations allow USCIS to require petitioners to appear for biometrics appointments. Under the current administration’s enforcement-focused approach, this development comes as little surprise. When sponsoring a family member for a green card, therefore, you now might need to visit a local office to have your fingerprints and photo taken.
A related development from late April 2026 is the USCIS directive to USCIS adjudications officers to re-process fingerprints and background checks for pending I-485 adjustment applications and N-400 naturalization applications. Up to now, after an applicant provided biometrics, USCIS conducted the background check and put the case in the queue for adjudication or scheduled a local office interview. The new, extra step is to repeat the background check before the reviewing officer approves the application. For the near term, longer delays are expected while USCIS re-processes hundreds of thousands of background checks. After that batch for review-ready cases is completed, delays hopefully will be eliminated or at least be much shorter.