USCIS InfoPass Appointments: How to Book an In-Person Field Office Visit

You can't walk into a USCIS field office without an appointment anymore. Here's how the current booking process actually works and who qualifies.

You called USCIS about a case that's been stuck for months, or you need a green card replaced before a trip next week, and the phone line said what everyone still says out of habit — "request an InfoPass appointment." The problem is that the old InfoPass website where you picked your own date and time is gone, and searching for it now just leads to a dead redirect. Here's how USCIS field office appointments actually get booked, and which situations genuinely qualify for one.

"InfoPass" is the name that stuck even though USCIS retired the self-service booking site years ago. You can no longer log into a public site, browse open slots at your local field office, and pick a time yourself. Instead, USCIS decides whether your situation needs an in-person visit at all, and if it does, an officer or the Contact Center schedules it for you. The name survived; the process underneath it changed completely.

What USCIS field office appointments cover, and what they don't

A USCIS field office is a domestic USCIS location that handles green card interviews, naturalization interviews, some biometrics, and — the InfoPass use case — one-off customer service issues that can't be resolved by phone, mail, or your online account. It is not the same as:

• An Application Support Center (ASC) biometrics appointment, which is scheduled automatically after you file most immigration forms and arrives as its own separate notice with its own date and location.
• A consular visa interview, which is booked through the US Department of State at an embassy or consulate abroad, not through USCIS at all.

If you landed here searching for a visa stamping appointment overseas, that's a different agency and a different system. For a clear breakdown of which appointment type applies to which situation, see USCIS appointment types compared — ASC, InfoPass, and consular.

Try these first — USCIS pushes self-service before it grants a visit

USCIS routes people through self-service tools before it will schedule an in-person appointment, and skipping this step is the most common reason people can't get one at all. Work through these in order.

1. Check your case status. Sign in to your myUSCIS online account or look up your receipt number through Case Status Online. If your case moved or a notice is already on its way, you don't need an appointment. For what each status message actually means, see how to read your USCIS case status and receipt notice.
2. File an e-Request if your case is outside the posted processing time. USCIS's online e-Request tool exists specifically for cases that have exceeded normal processing or a decision notice you never received. It resolves a large share of "where is my case" questions without a visit.
3. Consider an expedite request only if the issue is genuinely urgent. Expedite criteria are narrow — things like severe financial loss to a company, a documented humanitarian emergency, or a clear US government interest, not general anxiety about a timeline. Walk through the real criteria in our guide to USCIS expedite requests before you file one.
4. Call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283. The automated system, and a live officer if needed, tries to resolve the issue over the phone first. An in-person appointment is generally what happens when the Contact Center genuinely can't fix the problem remotely.
5. If your case was filed on paper and isn't linked to your online account, link it first. An unlinked paper case is a common reason people end up with no visibility into their status and no way to request help online. See how to link a paper-filed case to your USCIS online account.

How the appointment actually gets booked

Once USCIS agrees an in-person visit is warranted, the appointment gets set up in one of a few ways depending on your case and local office:

1. Your myUSCIS account shows an appointment notice with a date, time, and QR code — USCIS assigns the slot based on availability, you don't browse and pick one yourself.
2. The Contact Center schedules it for you during or shortly after your call and follows up with written confirmation.
3. For a narrow set of service types, a specific field office's own page on uscis.gov lists a direct appointment request option. This isn't universal — check your local office's page rather than assuming every office offers it.

You should always end up with a confirmation notice or email showing a specific date, time, and location before you go. There's no reliable path to showing up unannounced and being seen — more on that below.

What actually qualifies for an in-person appointment

Field offices aren't a general customer service counter, and USCIS reserves in-person slots for issues the online tools and phone line genuinely can't resolve.

If your situation is "I'm worried" or "it's taking longer than I expected" without a specific, imminent consequence attached, that's what e-Request and the Contact Center are for — not an in-person appointment.

What to bring and what to expect

Bring:

• A government-issued photo ID that matches the name on your case
• Your appointment confirmation notice or email, printed or on your phone
• The specific documents tied to your reason for the visit — receipt notices, prior USCIS correspondence, a dated travel itinerary for an emergency travel document request, or evidence of the error you need corrected

Arrive early. Most field offices run security screening similar to an airport checkpoint, and some restrict phones, bags, or electronics inside the building — check your specific office's page on uscis.gov before you go, since the rules vary by location. Appointments are short and scoped to the one issue you were scheduled for; it isn't a venue for raising unrelated questions about your broader case.

Common mistakes

• Trying to book through the old InfoPass website. It no longer functions as a self-service booking tool, and searching for it just wastes time you could spend on the current process.
• Skipping the self-service steps and demanding an in-person appointment immediately. Contact Center representatives are trained to route you through case status and e-Request first — arriving prepared with a receipt number and a specific, concrete reason moves faster than insisting on a visit.
• Showing up without a confirmed appointment. Field offices generally don't accept walk-ins for InfoPass-type issues, and you will likely be turned away even for something that feels urgent to you.
• Confusing a field office visit with an ASC biometrics appointment. These are different notices for different purposes — don't assume one covers the other.
• Confusing a USCIS field office with a consular section abroad. If your issue is a visa stamp or an interview at an embassy or consulate, USCIS field offices can't help — that's the State Department's process, not this one.
• Not bringing the specific evidence tied to your stated reason. If you requested the appointment for an error or an emergency, arrive with the documents that prove it, not just the confirmation notice itself.

When to involve an attorney or your DSO

If the issue behind your appointment touches your ability to work, travel, or remain in status — including anything connected to an F-1, OPT, or STEM OPT timeline — loop in the right person before you rely on what happens at the counter. For anything tied to SEVIS or your F-1 record, that's your school's Designated School Official. For anything involving a pending petition, a status question, or a case that isn't behaving the way you expected, that's a licensed immigration attorney. A field office officer can process the specific issue you were scheduled for, but staff at the counter generally won't — and shouldn't be expected to — advise you on strategy.

Frequently asked questions

What is a USCIS InfoPass appointment? It's the common name for an in-person appointment at a USCIS field office. The original self-service InfoPass booking website is gone. Today USCIS decides whether your situation needs a visit and schedules it through your myUSCIS account or the Contact Center rather than letting you pick your own slot online.

How do I request a USCIS field office appointment? Start with self-service tools. Check your case status online, file an e-Request if your case is outside normal processing time, and call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 if those don't resolve the issue. If your situation genuinely requires an in-person visit, USCIS schedules the appointment and sends a confirmation notice with the date, time, and location.

What situations qualify for an in-person USCIS appointment? Common reasons include an emergency travel document request for imminent travel, a lost or damaged green card or EAD needed on a tight timeline, correcting a significant document error causing real hardship, and proving pending or approved status when no other document exists and a concrete deadline is at stake. General timeline anxiety without a specific, imminent consequence usually doesn't qualify.

Can I walk into a USCIS field office without an appointment? No. Field offices generally do not accept walk-ins for InfoPass-type customer service issues, and you will likely be turned away without a confirmed appointment notice. Scheduled biometrics and interview appointments are separate processes with their own notices.

Is a USCIS field office appointment the same as a visa interview at a consulate? No. USCIS field offices are domestic offices that handle things like green card interviews, naturalization, and in-person customer service issues. A visa interview or stamping appointment happens at a US embassy or consulate abroad and is scheduled through the Department of State, not USCIS.

Stuck on a USCIS case and not sure whether it's an InfoPass situation, an expedite situation, or something that just needs a DSO or attorney's eyes on it? F1Jobs can help you figure out the right next step.