No, USCIS does not work on Saturdays. Field offices, Application Support Centers, lockboxes, and the Contact Center all run on a Monday-through-Friday schedule and close on weekends and federal holidays.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Policy Alert – Filing Periods and Response Timeframes Ending on Saturdays, Sundays, or Federal Holidays Online filing and case status tools stay available, and the agency occasionally holds Saturday naturalization ceremonies for civic events, but no routine interviews, biometrics, phone support, or paper processing happen on a Saturday.
What’s Closed on Saturday
Field offices handle interviews and ceremonies on weekdays only. Application Support Centers, where fingerprints, photos, and electronic signatures are collected, keep the same schedule, generally 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. local time. The internal service centers that adjudicate petitions also work within the standard weekday framework. If a field office or ASC has to close on short notice for weather or another emergency, USCIS reschedules biometrics automatically and mails a new appointment notice.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Office Closings
Phone and chat support follows the same rhythm. The USCIS Contact Center takes live calls Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern, at 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833), and closes on weekends and federal holidays.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Contact Center The Emma virtual assistant on the USCIS website answers automated questions any time, but it can only route you to a live agent during weekday business hours.
Lockboxes are closed too. USCIS lockbox sites do not receive package deliveries on Saturdays, Sundays, or federal holidays. Even if a carrier attempts a Saturday drop-off, the package is not processed until the next business day.
The One Saturday Exception: Naturalization Ceremonies
The clearest exception is special oath ceremonies. USCIS periodically schedules Saturday naturalization events tied to national celebrations, especially during Constitution Day and Citizenship Week in September. In 2024, the agency held Saturday ceremonies at national parks, libraries, and other public venues around the country.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Celebrating Constitution Day and Citizenship Day 2024 with Naturalization Ceremonies Similar events sometimes fall around Independence Day.
These are invitation-only. If you have already been approved for naturalization and USCIS assigns you a Saturday ceremony, you’ll receive a notice with the date, time, and location in advance. You can’t walk in, and you can’t book a Saturday interview or biometrics appointment.
What You Can Still Do Online Over the Weekend
The USCIS website runs around the clock. You can check case status, update your address, review processing times, and manage your online account on any Saturday or Sunday. Many common forms, including Form N-400 (Application for Naturalization) and Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative), can be filed electronically through a USCIS online account.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Forms Available to File Online
An electronic filing is treated as received the moment the system accepts your form, signature, and payment, and USCIS issues a receipt number right away.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 6 – Submitting Requests A Saturday submission gets a Saturday receipt date. No adjudicator opens it until Monday, but the date is locked in. Drafts you never fully submit don’t count as filed.
USCIS occasionally takes online systems down for scheduled maintenance, which can briefly disrupt case status, the online filing portal, and myUSCIS.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Tools Outage Windows are usually short, but if you’re filing close to a deadline on a weekend, give yourself a buffer.
How Saturday Closures Affect Your Deadlines
If the last day to file a paper application or respond to a USCIS notice falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, the deadline automatically extends to the end of the next business day.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Updates Policy on Time Frames for Paper-Based Filings and Responses Ending on Saturdays, Sundays, or Federal Holidays This covers Requests for Evidence, Notices of Intent to Deny, age-based cutoffs, and other paper-based deadlines. The received date on your Form I-797 still shows the actual day the package arrived, but the filing is treated as timely.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Policy Alert – Filing Periods and Response Timeframes Ending on Saturdays, Sundays, or Federal Holidays
Electronic responses are outside this rule entirely. They are considered received the instant you submit, weekend or not.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Policy Alert – Filing Periods and Response Timeframes Ending on Saturdays, Sundays, or Federal Holidays If you can respond online, weekend timing stops mattering.
One caution on the received date: USCIS uses the day it actually receives your package for statutory deadlines, not the postmark. Track every paper submission with the carrier so you can prove when it arrived. Only USPS, FedEx, DHL, and UPS are authorized for lockbox deliveries.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Five Steps to File at the USCIS Lockbox
RFE Response Windows Count Every Day
Response periods for Requests for Evidence and similar notices run in calendar days, not business days.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Case Management Timelines Most applications get 84 calendar days; Form N-400 gets 30. Every Saturday, Sunday, and holiday inside that window counts. The weekend extension helps only when the final day itself lands on a non-business day.
Here’s where filers get caught. If day 84 is a Friday, that Friday is a hard deadline. Aim to submit well before the last day so a mailing delay or courier hiccup doesn’t leave you stranded.
Premium Processing Skips Weekends by Design
Premium processing through Form I-907 runs on a different clock. Since April 2024, the timeframe is measured in business days rather than calendar days. For most eligible petition types, USCIS commits to acting within 15 business days. Because Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays don’t count, the real calendar time is closer to three weeks than two. Premium processing fees vary by category, with most set at $2,965 as of 2026.11Federal Register. Adjustment to Premium Processing Fees
2026 Federal Holidays When USCIS Is Also Closed
USCIS closes on every federal holiday. In 2026, those are:12U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Federal Holidays
- January 1 (Thursday): New Year’s Day
- January 19 (Monday): Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
- February 16 (Monday): Washington’s Birthday
- May 25 (Monday): Memorial Day
- June 19 (Friday): Juneteenth National Independence Day
- July 3 (Friday): Independence Day observed (July 4 falls on a Saturday)
- September 7 (Monday): Labor Day
- October 12 (Monday): Columbus Day
- November 11 (Wednesday): Veterans Day
- November 26 (Thursday): Thanksgiving Day
- December 25 (Friday): Christmas Day
Watch the long weekends. With Independence Day observed on Friday, July 3, USCIS is closed Friday through Sunday, so any deadline falling July 3 through July 5 shifts to Monday, July 6. Thanksgiving week works similarly. For RFE responses, those holidays still count toward your calendar-day total; you just lose filing days at the lockbox.