What to Do If You Lost Your Immigration Documents Due to a Hurricane
Because of the hurricanes Clea Helena и Milton, which hit Florida one after another, many people were left homeless or forced to evacuate quickly. In such emergencies, people often lose their documents, and for immigrants, documents are a vital thing. What to do in cases of lost documents, explained the US Immigration Service (USCIS).
Unforeseen circumstances, such as natural disasters (hurricanes, wildfires, severe weather, etc.), public health emergencies (such as the COVID-19 epidemic), or conflicts abroad, can sometimes affect the processing of your USCIS application, petition, or immigration request.
What to do in this case?
You can request assistance (postponement of your immigration petition, rescheduling your appointment with an immigration officer, replacement of documents) by calling the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283. For people with disabilities: (TTY) 800-767-1833 or (VRS) 877-709-5797. To request expedited processing of your case through the Contact Center, you must have already filed a request for benefits and have a receipt number.
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When you request assistance, please explain how the impact of the unforeseen circumstances (domestic or international) created the need for the assistance you are requesting. For example, if you lost all proof of status or work authorization, include in your description an explanation of how this happened and include a copy of a police report of the incident, an insurance claim (due to damage from a hurricane), or other official report to support your story.
USCIS is sensitive to the situation of those affected by disasters who reside in a location that FEMA has designated as a disaster area for purposes of public assistance. When you request assistance, please include evidence that you reside in one of the affected counties, in addition to how the disaster created the need for the assistance requested. USCIS may provide assistance to individuals affected by disasters regardless of any FEMA determination. USCIS will review these applications on a case-by-case basis.
Please update your address with USCIS so that you can receive all correspondence in a timely manner and avoid any potential delays related to your case. To update your address with USCIS, visit "How to change your address"Please note that changing your address with the United States Postal Service (USPS) will not change your address with USCIS.
What to do if you have non-immigrant status and extraordinary circumstances prevent you from leaving in time
Nonimmigrant Workers are individuals who enter the United States temporarily on visas granted to perform certain types of work. These visas allow foreign nationals to work in the United States for a set period of time, after which they must return to their home country. Examples of such visas include the H-1B (for skilled workers in specialized fields), L-1 (for intra-company workers), O-1 (for individuals with extraordinary ability), and others. Nonimmigrant Workers do not have the right to permanent residence, as is possible with immigrant visas.
If unforeseen circumstances prevent your planned and timely departure, you may apply to extend or change your status and provide an explanation for your inability to leave. If you do not apply to extend or change your status before the end of your authorized period of stay, USCIS may excuse the delay if it was due to extraordinary circumstances beyond your control.
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A maximum 60-day grace period is available to certain nonimmigrant categories. This grace period gives the worker time to apply for adjustment of status, which will allow the worker to continue seeking employment in the United States even if the grace period and current nonimmigrant status expire.
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