The INS has taken the surprising step of dramatically changing the fingerprinting policy overhaul only issued a few months ago. As of March 29, 1998, ALL applicants for immigration must be fingerprinted by the INS or an INS-designated facility after they have filed their applications. This is the same as the new requirement imposed on naturalization applicants. When the INS overhauled its fingerprint rules last autumn, it allowed green card applicants to be fingerprinted by designated Law Enforcement Agencies ("LEAs"). Now the LEAs will have no role in fingerprinting. Whether any LEAs will join the private Designated Fingerprint Service providers in a class action lawsuit against the INS remains to be seen.

Applicants should now be filed without fingerprints even if the applicant has had fingerprints taken by an LEA. Instead, applicants will be notified when to appear at one of the 100 INS Application Support Centers ("ASCs") or the INS mobile units. The INS has now opened 40 ASCs. Applicants will be scheduled for fingerprinting in the order they file their I-485 adjustment of status applications and will be given the opportunity to appear during any work hour in a specific week. The INS claims that it will take no longer than 90 days to be scheduled for fingerprinting. If a person does not get fingerprinted during the designated week, they can show up on any Wednesday and be fingerprinted on a first-come, first-served basis. But if the applicant waits more than 84 days, the application may be denied. Also, the INS claims it will attempt to have all family members scheduled for the same time.

Persons filing applications after March 29th will be charged a fingerprint application fee of $25 for each family member in the petition submitting fingerprints. Asylum applicants will not be charged the fingerprint application fee and INS District Directors can waive the fee on a case by case basis. Applicants requested to resubmit fingerprints either because the prints are rejected or the fingerprints have passed the 15-month expiration date will not have to pay an additional fee. THE INS HAS NOTED THAT ITS SOFTWARE CANNOT HANDLE ONE CHECK FOR THE FINGERPRINTS AND THE UNDERLYING REQUESTED BENEFIT. IT IS THEREFORE STONGLY ADVISED TO SEND A SEPARATE CHECK FOR THE FINGERPRINTS.

Applicants should bring photo identification (such as a driver's license or passport). They should also bring the scheduling notice received in the mail.

The INS claims that the new procedures will help "guarantee the overall integrity and improve the customer service of the immigration benefit process." As many as 60% of fingerprints were being rejected under the old system due to problems with the biographical information data or the poor quality of the fingerprints. The INS claims that the rejection rate under the new system is less than 2% largely due to the automation of the process (thanks to 100 new electronic fingerprint scanners) and improved training of workers.

The INS plans to establish a system to notify attorneys when their clients are scheduled for fingerprinting, but asks applicants to notify their attorneys until the system is implemented.