How to Reschedule Your Biometrics Appointment Online

To reschedule a biometrics appointment online, sign in to your myUSCIS account, link your case using your Form I-797C, and select a new date at an Application Support Center at least 12 hours before your current appointment time.¹ You can only do this twice through the portal; after that, or inside the 12-hour window, you have to call the USCIS Contact Center.² Missing the appointment without moving it first can get your entire application denied as abandoned, so don’t let the clock run out.

What You Need Before You Log In

The rescheduling tool sits inside your USCIS online account. If you haven’t created one, you’ll set up a profile with a valid email address and finish the verification steps first.

Once you’re in, you link your case using two identifiers from the Form I-797C notice USCIS mailed you.³ The first is your receipt number: three letters followed by 10 digits. Common prefixes include EAC (Vermont Service Center), LIN (Nebraska), MSC (National Benefits Center), and IOE (cases filed online). The second is your Alien Registration Number, a seven-to-nine-digit identifier. Both are printed on the I-797C. One wrong digit and the system won’t pull up your appointment.

Rescheduling Through myUSCIS, Step by Step

From your dashboard, open your case and choose the option to reschedule the biometrics appointment. The system displays available dates and times at Application Support Centers near you.⁴ You can pick a different ASC if it’s more convenient, though most people are assigned the one closest to their mailing address.

Pick a slot, review the confirmation screen, and submit. The change goes into the USCIS scheduling system right away, and you should receive an updated Form I-797C showing the new date, time, and location. This is the piece of paper you bring with you on the day.

You Have to Give a Reason

USCIS doesn’t hand out reschedules on request alone. Federal regulations require “good cause” for missing the original date, and the online tool will ask you to pick a reason.⁵ The USCIS Policy Manual lists examples that qualify:

Illness, a medical appointment, or hospitalization
Previously planned travel you can’t change
A wedding, funeral, or graduation
Inability to get to the ASC location
Inability to take time off work or from caregiving duties
A late-arriving appointment notice, or one that never arrived

That list isn’t exhaustive. The underlying standard is a “sufficient reason” for not being able to appear as scheduled.⁶ Most legitimate scheduling conflicts clear the bar; pure convenience is a weaker argument.

When the Online Tool Won’t Work

Three situations lock you out of the portal and force a phone call:

Your appointment is less than 12 hours away. Call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 or use the Emma virtual assistant on the USCIS website.¹
You’ve already rescheduled twice. A third change has to go through the Contact Center.²
The appointment has already passed. The online tool cannot rescue a missed appointment, and USCIS may have already flagged your case for abandonment.²

If the Contact Center can’t resolve the issue either, USCIS lets benefit requestors ask for an in-person appointment at a local field office for further help.⁷

What Happens If You Just Don’t Show Up

This is where the stakes get real. If USCIS hasn’t received a rescheduling request or a change of address by your appointment time and you don’t appear, the underlying application, petition, or request is treated as abandoned and denied.⁵ That covers the whole case, not just the biometrics step. Your filing fees are gone, and any priority date tied to that filing may not carry over to a new application.⁶

USCIS must notify you and any attorney or representative on your case in writing when it denies for abandonment. A late rescheduling request submitted while the case is still technically pending gives USCIS discretion to look at the circumstances rather than deny automatically. The agency weighs how much time passed between the missed appointment and the request, whether you had a good reason for not appearing, and whether denial would cause undue hardship or expense.⁶ That’s a gamble. Reschedule before the appointment whenever you can.

One boundary worth noting: if you filed Form I-589 for asylum or withholding of removal, missing biometrics doesn’t trigger the automatic abandonment rule above. USCIS may instead dismiss your application if you’re in lawful status or paroled, or refer it to an immigration judge if you’re not.⁶

What to Bring on the New Date

Bring your updated Form I-797C with the new appointment details. If you also still have the original notice, bring that too; USCIS tells applicants who received multiple biometrics notices to bring all of them.¹

You’ll also need a valid, unexpired photo ID. USCIS lists a Green Card, passport, and driver’s license as examples.⁶ Plan to arrive about 15 minutes early so check-in isn’t rushed.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Preparing for Your Biometric Services Appointment
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Launches Online Rescheduling of Biometrics Appointments
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797C, Notice of Action
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Application Support Centers
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eCFR. 8 CFR 103.2 – Submission and Adjudication of Benefit Requests
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 1 Part C Chapter 2 – Biometrics Collection
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 1 Part A Chapter 3 – Types of Assistance