USCIS offers immigration services to those affected by Hurricane Florence

Hurricane Florence has caused dozens of deaths, countless damages and flooding mainly in the states of North Carolina and South Carolina.

The storm has impacted several highways and roads, many of which are submerged under water and will likely remain closed until the end of September.

The agricultural sector has been severely affected by flooding and among the people most affected by Hurricane Florence are migrant workers.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recognizes that extreme situations caused by natural disasters may affect immigration processing. Therefore, announced that it is offering certain services to affected immigrants by Hurricane Florence and Typhoon Mangkhut in the Philippines.

USCIS offered the same assistance to immigrants following the destruction of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria and the earthquake in Mexico in 2017.

The following measures may be available to individuals upon request, evaluated on a case-by-case basis:

1. Change of status or extension of nonimmigrant period of stay for a person currently in the United States. If you do not apply for the extension or change before your authorized period of admission expires, you may be excused for the delay if it was due to extraordinary circumstances beyond your control, such as the California fires or other natural disaster.
2. Renewal of parole for persons to whom USCIS has previously issued parole.
3. Expedited processing of parole requests.
4. Expedited adjudication of F-1 off-campus employment authorization petitions for students who are experiencing severe financial hardship.
5. Expedited adjudication of employment authorization applications, where appropriate.
6. Consideration of fee waivers due to inability to pay.
7. Extension of time to respond or acceptance of a late response to a Request for Evidence or a Notice of Intent to Deny, if they were unable to submit evidence or respond on time.
8. Rescheduling an interview with USCIS.
9. Expedited replacement of lost or damaged immigration documents or travel documents that were issued by USCIS, such as a Permanent Resident Card (Green Card).
10. Rescheduling of biometric data collection appointments.

Important: When filing a petition, they must explain how Hurricane Florence or Typhoon Mangkhut has affected them and created the need to apply for relief.

To find out how to request this relief or to determine if an office is open, visit the following website USCIS Office Status.

If your appointment of InfoPass was affected by Hurricane Florence or Typhoon Mangkhut, you can reschedule your appointment online. If you need additional assistance, please visit the USCIS Contact Center or call toll-free 1-800-375-5283 or TTY (for people with disabilities): 1-800-767-1833.

All requirements of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, remain in effect.

If you were affected by the natural disasters and as a result your documents were damaged, lost or stolen, please review the list of acceptable Form I-9 documents for more information on how to complete Form I-9. You can also visit the Central I-9  from the USCIS website for more information.