USCIS Policy
USCIS Biometrics Update: December 2023
Real-world insights from recent cases. Learn what worked and how to apply these lessons.
Biometrics in the nonimmigrant visa context
Biometrics — fingerprints, photographs, and electronic signature — are a standard component of many USCIS benefit filings, but their role in O-1 petitions specifically is frequently misunderstood. For the O-1 petition itself, which is filed by a U.S. employer or agent on behalf of the beneficiary, USCIS generally does not require biometrics at the petition stage for the primary beneficiary. Biometrics requirements apply more commonly in adjustment of status applications, naturalization filings, and certain green card renewals. The December 2023 biometrics updates were therefore more directly relevant to O-1 holders who were simultaneously pursuing adjustment of status or who held dependent status as O-3 family members than to the primary O-1 beneficiary's petition.
Where biometrics are required for an O-1 related filing — typically an I-539 filed by O-3 dependents seeking to extend or change status — the applicant is scheduled for a biometrics appointment at a USCIS Application Support Center. Wait times for biometrics appointments at ASCs have varied considerably by location and season, and December 2023 reflected backlog conditions at many metropolitan ASCs that had persisted through much of 2023. Dependents filing I-539 applications should account for potentially extended biometrics wait times when planning overall visa timelines.
O-1 beneficiaries who enter the United States through consular processing rather than change of status are screened biometrically at ports of entry by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, not by USCIS. The State Department collects biometrics as part of the nonimmigrant visa application process at consular posts. There is no separate USCIS biometrics appointment for individuals entering on a freshly issued O-1 visa obtained through consular processing. The distinction between USCIS-administered biometrics (for benefit applications filed domestically) and State Department-administered biometrics (for consular visa issuance) is an important one for beneficiaries coordinating multiple immigration filings.
December 2023 USCIS fee and processing updates
USCIS announced a significant fee rule update in late 2023, with changes to filing fees scheduled to take effect in early 2024. The proposed fee increases affected a range of nonimmigrant petitions including I-129 filings (which cover O-1 petitions) and I-539 filings (for dependents). Petitioners and beneficiaries filing in December 2023 were operating under the existing fee schedule but should have been aware that fees would increase with the implementation of the new rule, affecting both initial petitions and extension filings submitted after the effective date. Immigration attorneys advising clients in December 2023 routinely flagged the fee changes as a timing consideration.
The proposed fee rule also included modifications to how Premium Processing fees were structured and, in some cases, how Premium Processing timelines were calculated. For O-1 petitions, Premium Processing had remained a reliable mechanism for obtaining a 15-business-day USCIS adjudication decision throughout 2023. Under 8 C.F.R. § 103.7, Premium Processing is available for I-129 petitions, and O-1 petitions filed on I-129 are eligible. The practical value of Premium Processing in December 2023 was high given seasonal filing volume increases, and petitioners with time-sensitive situations routinely elected it.
Petitioners should verify current fee schedules directly with USCIS at uscis.gov before filing, as fee amounts change and the differences between filing under an old versus new fee schedule can result in rejected or delayed filings if the incorrect fee is submitted. For December 2023 filings specifically, practitioners advised clients to file promptly if they were close to a deadline and to use the then-current fee schedule rather than the proposed schedule, which had not yet taken effect.
How biometrics requirements affect O-1 extensions
O-1 status extensions are filed on I-129 petitions by the employer or agent petitioner. The extension filing itself does not require biometrics from the beneficiary at the USCIS level under standard procedures. However, beneficiaries who have pending adjustment of status applications, are concurrently filing I-539 applications as O-3 dependents transitioning to another status, or have other benefit filings pending simultaneously may have overlapping biometrics requirements from those other filings. Coordinating the timelines of multiple concurrent USCIS filings — particularly when biometrics requirements, interview schedules, and adjudication timelines interact — is an important case management function that immigration attorneys typically track.
The portability provisions of O-1 status allow beneficiaries who have a timely-filed extension petition pending to continue working for the same petitioner under the same terms and conditions while the extension is pending. This portability benefit is available when the extension petition is filed before the current O-1 period expires. Beneficiaries and employers who rely on this portability protection should ensure that the extension is filed with sufficient lead time to account for USCIS intake processing, which can add several business days to the effective filing date for petitions submitted by mail.
For beneficiaries who travel internationally while a domestic O-1 extension petition is pending, re-entry into the United States requires a valid, unexpired O-1 visa stamp in the passport (or a new visa stamp if the existing one has expired). Re-entry does not require the extension petition to have been adjudicated — beneficiaries may re-enter using an O-1 visa stamp obtained under a prior petition while a new petition is pending — but the visa stamp must be valid at the time of re-entry. Expired visa stamps combined with pending extension petitions create a situation where the beneficiary must apply for a new visa stamp at a U.S. consular post before re-entering.
Consular processing and biometrics for O-1 applicants
O-1 beneficiaries who have never held O-1 status in the United States, or whose O-1 visa stamp has expired while they were outside the United States, must apply for a new O-1 visa stamp at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate. The consular application process for nonimmigrant visas requires submission of the DS-160 application form, payment of the MRV fee, scheduling of a consular appointment, and attendance at an interview. Biometrics — photographs and fingerprints — are collected at the consular post as part of this process. The USCIS I-797 approval notice for the underlying O-1 petition is a required document at the consular interview, along with the petitioner's support letter and other supporting documentation.
Biometrics collected at U.S. consular posts are retained in State Department databases and are linked to the applicant's passport and visa record. For most O-1 applicants from countries with established USCIS and State Department working relationships, biometrics collection at the consulate is a routine procedural step that does not affect the substantive visa determination. However, applicants who have prior immigration violations, who have been refused a visa previously, or whose fingerprints trigger any administrative review may experience additional processing time for biometric clearance, sometimes referred to as administrative processing.
Administrative processing following consular biometrics collection can add weeks to months to the consular processing timeline, and the grounds triggering it are not always predictable in advance. O-1 applicants with complex immigration histories, prior visa refusals, or travel to countries subject to heightened State Department review procedures should discuss the administrative processing risk with their immigration attorney before relying on a specific consular timeline. In these cases, building additional timeline buffer into the start date planning is a practical precaution.
O-1 holders and identity verification requirements
The December 2023 period saw continued USCIS emphasis on identity verification across nonimmigrant filings, including expanded use of USCIS online accounts for case tracking and communication. Beneficiaries with active USCIS filings were encouraged to create and link myUSCIS online accounts to enable electronic communication about pending petitions, including receipt notices, RFE notifications, and approval notices. While the underlying O-1 petition is filed by the petitioner rather than the beneficiary, beneficiaries can monitor case status and receive notifications through the linked account structure.
For O-1 dependents filing I-539 applications, the biometrics and identity verification requirements are more extensive. I-539 applicants must complete biometrics at an Application Support Center, and the adjudication of the I-539 is tied to the biometrics appointment and processing. In the December 2023 environment, I-539 processing times were significantly longer than I-129 processing times, and O-3 dependents who needed to transition to or extend O-3 status should have filed well in advance of any status expiration. Premium Processing is not available for I-539 filings.
E-Verify requirements for employers of O-1 beneficiaries did not change materially in December 2023, but employers who had not previously enrolled in E-Verify were reminded of their eligibility to do so voluntarily and of the E-Verify requirements that apply to federal contractors. Immigration compliance programs at employers of O-1 beneficiaries should maintain records of the petitioner-employee relationship consistent with I-9 requirements, even though O-1 beneficiaries present unexpired I-797 notices and foreign passports as List A documents rather than work authorization cards.
Practical implications for December 2023 filings
O-1 petitioners and beneficiaries navigating the December 2023 filing environment should have been aware of two concurrent concerns: the end-of-year USCIS volume surge and the pending fee rule changes anticipated for early 2024. Petitions filed in December 2023 under the existing fee schedule were processed under existing procedures, but practitioners advised clients to verify fee amounts carefully and to file with complete and well-organized documentation to minimize RFE risk during a period of heightened processing volume. Premium Processing remained available and was the recommended approach for beneficiaries with time-sensitive needs.
For employers managing international talent in biotechnology, research, technology, and the arts, the December 2023 period was a reasonable time to review the visa status of all O-1 beneficiaries for upcoming expiration dates and to initiate extension filings for any beneficiaries whose status would expire in the first half of 2024. Extension petitions filed in December 2023 would benefit from the existing fee schedule and, if filed with Premium Processing, would likely be adjudicated before the anticipated fee changes took effect. This calendar management approach is standard immigration compliance practice for organizations with multiple concurrent O-1 beneficiaries.
The broader administrative environment at USCIS in December 2023 reflected continued recovery from pandemic-era processing backlogs. Adjudication times for O-1 petitions without Premium Processing ranged from several months to over a year depending on the service center and petition type. The gap between Premium Processing and regular processing times was unusually large in this period, making Premium Processing an especially valuable tool for beneficiaries who could not afford extended uncertainty about their work authorization status. Employers who had historically relied on regular processing timelines should have reassessed that approach given December 2023 conditions.