USCIS requires its customers to submit biometrics information after they file their immigration petitions and it is where you will get your fingerprints registered. Biometrics information that you provide will be used by the USCIS to conduct background checks and this is one of the most important parts of the immigration process and this step cannot be skipped. After you file a particular immigration form with the USCIS, USCIS will send you a biometrics appointment notice and information about the application support center that you must visit and time of the fingerprinting session, will be printed on that notice. Remember that, you will have to bring with you to the application support center, the biometrics appointment notice and the other supporting documents that are mentioned on the notice. Some application support centers accept walk-ins and if your biometrics appointment is scheduled in such an application support center, you may visit that particular application support center and submit biometrics information at an earlier date. However, you will have to check with the particular application support center whether they accept walk ins, before visiting and see to that you leave your electronic gadgets such as your mobile phone, at home while going for biometrics.
After you reach the application support center, you will be given a form in which you will have to fill in personal details about yourself and you need to specify the form that you have filed. After that, your fingerprints will be taken and you will also be photographed and this process may not take much of your time. Biometrics information that you submit will be valid for a period of 15 months and if your petition is not adjudicated within that time, you may be required to appear again and submit biometrics information. A separate fee must be paid as biometrics fee and this fee must be paid along with the application filing fee and the applications submitted by applicants who fail to appear for biometrics will be denied. People applying for US Green Cards and Green Card holders who are applying for US citizenship must submit biometrics information and the naturalization applicants will be required to attend the biometrics scan after the approval of their petitions.
Biometrics information is nothing but the physiological data. This information may not be similar and it can be used to identify an individual. USCIS will collect fingerprints and take digital photographs, at the biometrics appointment. The whole process will take only around 20 minutes to complete. People who have been given the same appointment time will be served on a first-come, first-served basis and you will be given a number as soon as you arrive at an application support center and that number will show your place in the line. After collecting biometrics information, your appointment notice will be stamped and that will confirm that you came to the appointment. But you may not be provided information about your application status at the biometrics appointment as the people who collect biometrics information may not have access to your case. After collecting the information, your fingerprints will be sent to the FBI and they will send a report to the USCIS after confirming your identity.