The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will open an international office in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, with the aim of increasing refugee processes and family reunification.
According to what is stated on its official page, USCIS seeks to support "the efforts of the U.S. government to resettle refugees from the Americas, as outlined in the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection of June 2022."
Likewise, "it will focus on family reunification work and will resume other critical tasks at the embassy."
The office will open to the public on September 10 and will be located inside the American embassy in the South American country. Services will only be available by appointment through the USCIS platform.
It will be the twelfth international office of the entity, as there are already offices in Ankara, Turkey; Beijing, China; Guatemala City, Guatemala; Mexico City, Mexico; Doha, Qatar; Guangzhou, China; Havana, Cuba; Nairobi, Kenya; New Delhi; San Salvador, El Salvador; and Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
According to USCIS, its staff will assist the headquarters in tasks such as interviewing petitioners, processing certain forms, taking fingerprints of beneficiaries of certain applications, supervising the collection of DNA samples, and conducting fraud detection activities.
Since some services in Cuba have been suspended since the U.S. withdrew personnel in Havana, it is likely that its citizens can use this new avenue in the same way they process applications at offices located in Guyana, Mexico, among other countries.
This new office seeks to streamline and strengthen services related to immigration in the region, responding to the growing demand for processing and assistance for those seeking refuge or reuniting with family in the United States.
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