Politics & Government
USCIS Offers Support To Immigrants Affected By Wildfires
Officials with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said they are taking special measures to help immigrants affected by the wildfires.
BAY AREA, CA – Officials with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said Wednesday they are taking special measures to help immigrants who have been affected by the wildfires in California.
Immigrants who have lost a home, have been evacuated or missed an appointment with the USCIS can reschedule any appointments by calling the National Customer Service Center at 800-375-5283 or write to USCIS at 630 Sansome St., San Francisco CA, 94111.
Immigrants who were living in a burn area and failed to make an appointment will be rescheduled. New appointment notices will be mailed, and if they are returned, USCIS will contact each applicant by phone or email.
Find out what's happening in Petalumafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Also See: California Wildfires Are Causing Problems Well Beyond The Fires' Edge
Those in the burn areas who fail to appear for a naturalization ceremony on Oct. 26 will automatically be rescheduled.
Find out what's happening in Petalumafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
People who were displaced by the fires are urged to change their address on USCIS records by calling 800-375-5283 or going online at USCIS.gov.
Applicants for federal disaster assistance may need to prove citizenship or immigration status. Naturalized citizens also may be required to show their certificates to replace passports, register to vote, or apply
for federal benefits not related to the fires.
Filing to quickly replace a lost certificate can avoid inconvenience in the future. Anyone who lost USCIS documents in a natural disaster can apply to replace them. More information is available on the
USCIS Special Situations site at https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/special-situations.
The agency is reminding victims of the wildfires to be mindful of immigration scams. More information is available at www.uscis.gov/avoidscams.
By Bay City News Service
Photo: Overwhelming generosity by the public has created pallets of goods at the Petaluma Community Center – one of several evacuation centers in Sonoma County. People with donation are being redirected to the Marin-Sonoma Fairgrounds to drop off clothes and other items. Photo by Al Francis
