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Manila Bulletin devider devider United States to close its citizenship and immigration services office in Manila

United States to close its citizenship and immigration services office in Manila

Published Jun 6, 2019 09:00 pm
By Roy Mabasa Due to insufficient workload, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will close its Manila Field Office beginning on July 5, the US Embassy in Manila said in a statement on Thursday. (PHOTO COURTESY OF US EMBASSY / MANILA BULLETIN) (PHOTO COURTESY OF US EMBASSY / MANILA BULLETIN) With the closure, the USCIS will transition forms I-407 (Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status) and I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) solely to domestic and electronic processing. These two form types, according to the Embassy, “account for approximately 65 percent of the office’s workload.” Under an existing inter-agency agreement, the US Embassy in Manila said it will assume responsibility for certain limited immigration services previously provided in the Philippines by USCIS. It said the USCIS is working to better leverage funds to address backlogs in the United States while also leveraging existing Department of State resources at the post. Furthermore, it stressed that “there will be no change” in visa processing at the US Embassy in the Philippines. The US Embassy in Manila was compelled to issue a statement after it has received a number of queries on the closure of the USCIS Manila field office. Aside from the Manila Field Office, USCIS will also close the Ciudad Juárez, Mexico Field Office on June 30, and has entered into discussions to phase out all international offices.
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