UU.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services introduces community based facilities to improve customer service

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, (USCIS) is introducing its model office concept to transform its district and field offices into standard full-service, community-based customer processing facilities.

The public will see an improvement in services because USCIS’ new customer-centric buildings will contain all the resources necessary to efficiently process the full range of immigration benefits, including incorporating application support centers.

This will make it easier for clients to access services by eliminating the need for them to travel to multiple locations during the application process. It will also greatly enhance the level and efficiency of services USCIS provides by increasing opportunities to conduct interviews, answer customer questions and conduct on-site naturalization ceremonies, all in one location.

USCIS is identifying the best locations to build new offices based on geographic analysis of where our customers are and how we can best provide services. In some cases, the analysis will indicate the need to renovate or replace an existing facility with an upgraded, centrally located, full-service office.

In other cases, the analysis will show the need to replace an existing structure with several smaller full-service offices in surrounding areas, bringing services closer to the communities where the applicants live.

The goal is to renovate or replace approximately a dozen facilities each year beginning with the four full-service offices in Miami and the surrounding communities. Other projects include replacing the Orlando field office, the Denver district office, the Dallas district office, the West Palm Beach field office and the Portland, Ore. field office.

The decision to renovate or replace a facility depends on its physical condition and sustained ability to serve the mission of the USCIS and the needs of its customers. When the Department of Homeland Security assumed control of immigration services, most of the facilities were overcrowded, inefficient and were located in areas that did not serve the immigrant community.

Because it is cost-prohibitive to replace all facilities at once, USCIS is using a systematic approach, focusing on the worst facilities first, followed by successive upgrades to new facilities as leases expire.

Each upgraded facility will include energy efficient systems that comply with the federal greening policies. These include improved indoor air quality, water conservation systems, recycled materials, and the use of increased natural light. Both the building design and landscape feature environmental considerations designed to reduce energy consumption and operating costs.