Over the past two weeks, many USICS applicants have received a concerning notice from the agency. The notice is head with the subject “FBI Privacy Requirements,” and is often received after a biometrics appointment.
The notice is so vague in its wording that it has led to serious confusion among applicants. Many are afraid that their case may have some issue and the FBI may be getting involved.
The law firm Reddy Neumann Brown has released a blog post to explain what this strange notice means. They clarify that the notice is routine in nature and does not require any action from the applicant.
It also does not mean that the USCIS is serving a Request For Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID).
Federal law requires the USCIS to submit the fingerprints of applicants to the FBI for criminal history checks. This notice is being sent simply to make applicants aware of this.
It states that since 2017, the USCIS has been moving from the normal point-in-time screening to an event-based system. This system of background checks is called Continuous Immigration Vetting.
Under this, an applicant’s biometrics remain enrolled with the FBI. This allows the USCIS to skip rechecks for an applicant.
Attorneys have adviced to simply file away the letter and not worry about it. It is simply a routine update from the USCIS to its applicants.
