Washington, D.C., May 1, 2020: In response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it is extending a measure recently adopted to assist applicants and petitioners who are responding to requests for evidence (RFEs) and notices of intent to deny (NOIDs).

USCIS’ announcement today confirms that for applicants and petitioners who receive an RFE or NOID dated between March 1 and July 1, 2020, any responses submitted within 60 calendar days after the response deadline set forth in the RFE or NOID will be considered by USCIS before any action is taken.

The announcement confirms that the extension measure applies to the following USCIS requests:

• Requests for Evidence;
• Continuations to Request Evidence (N-14);
• Notices of Intent to Deny;
• Notices of Intent to Revoke;
• Notices of Intent to Rescind and Notices of Intent to Terminate regional investment centers; and
• Filing date requirements for Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion.

Although the announcement is welcome news to applicants and petitioners who are responding to USCIS requests during the COVID-19 pandemic, the piece-meal measure and extension are still incredibly narrow given the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating effects on U.S. companies and foreign visa applicants. USCIS has still not considered issuing a broad moratorium on filing deadlines for Extension of Status or expiry of valid visa status, as many countries around the world have already implemented months ago.

Please visit uscis.gov/coronavirus for latest facts and other USCIS updates.

Donoso & Partners, a leading immigration law firm based in Washington, D.C., will continue to report on developments regarding the immigration law and policy through our news section of donosolaw.com.