BCIS Director Aguirre on Pilot Program
Posted Jul 04, 2003

At the 2003 AILA Annual Conference in mid-June 2003 in New Orleans, LA, Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) Director Eduardo Aguirre addressed the Plenary Session of AILA. Mr. Aguirre said the goals of BCIS were to become efficient and prompt in the delivery of services to its clients. Towards this end, Aguirre has made it a priority to implement state-of-the-art technology at the BCIS Service Centers and local offices. In keeping with this goal, the BCIS has initiated a pilot program in Miami for scheduling appointments with the local Florida BCIS offices via the Internet. The appointments can be set for requesting advance parole, case status check, and general immigration information. Though people are still permitted to line up at the Miami BCIS, those with an interview will be served at the appointed interview time. This will be a relief to those who have experienced the long queues at some of the local offices.

To schedule an appointment online, a foreign national will need the following: a zip code; a first, middle, and last name; a date of birth; a phone number; and an eMail address. The system then will ask the foreign national to choose an available date and time. Once all of this information is entered, the foreign national will need to print the online notice that sets the appointment at the local BCIS office. The notice advises the foreign national that, should s/he fail to appear on time, the appointment time will be lost and a new appointment will need to be scheduled. The foreign national should take any of the following that is available: government-issued identification, passport, valid driver's license, I-94, EAD card, green card, and all applicable immigration forms, letters, receipts, translations, and originals of supporting documents. The minimum the person must take is the appointment notice and photo identification.

We applaud this new pilot program at the BCIS and hope that this test in Florida is successful so that foreign nationals throughout the U.S. may soon begin to enjoy the benefit of scheduling via the Internet an appointment to appear at the local office.