If you have been affected by the California wildfires this year, you may need immigration help. You may have missed an appointment, lost documents or run into other problems that could affect your immigration status. Don’t panic. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provides some special immigration services for people affected by unforeseen circumstances, and the California wildfires have been added to the list of covered events.

If you need immigration help due to the wildfires, we recommend contacting an experienced immigration lawyer at Yew Immigration Law Group. The special consideration being offered by the USCIS are only available upon request and will be provided on a discretionary basis. Therefore, it is important to make sure your request is presented properly and convincingly.

The special immigration services available to those affected by the wildfires include:

  • Rescheduling of USCIS interviews
  • Rescheduling of biometrics appointments
  • Extended response time to file a request for evidence or notice of intent
  • Consideration of fee waivers for those unable to pay
  • Expedited replacement of permanent resident cards (green cards) and other USCIS immigration and travel documents that have been lost or damaged
  • Expedited adjudication of employment authorization applications, if appropriate
  • For F-1 students experiencing severe economic hardship, expedited adjudication of requests for off-campus employment authorization
  • Expedited processing of advance parole requests
  • Re-parole of those previously paroled by the USCIS
  • When a delay is caused by extraordinary circumstances beyond your control (such as the wildfires), the USCIS may excuse the delay in applying for a change to your nonimmigrant status or an extension of your nonimmigrant stay

The requirements for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, remain in place, but some accommodation may be made for those whose documents were lost, stolen or damaged.

If you would like to apply for any of these immigration services due to the effect of the California wildfires, Yew Immigration Law Group can help. We have years of experience handling family- and employment-based immigration issues for individuals and businesses in Northern California.