USCIS to Open International Field Office in Quito, Ecuador
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced the opening of an international field office in Quito, Ecuador on Sept. 10. The Quito Field Office will focus on increasing refugee processing capacity, consistent with USCIS commitments under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, and helping reunite individuals with their family members already in the United States.
“Opening the Quito Field Office expands USCIS’ international presence and expertise in a critical location and is part of our commitment to the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to facilitate safe and orderly lawful pathways and meet our humanitarian mission,” said USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou. “USCIS is dedicated to fairness, integrity, and respect for all we serve, and our presence in Ecuador is part of an effort to expand USCIS’ footprint outside the United States to more effectively support that mission.”
The Quito Field Office will be located in the U.S. Embassy in Ecuador and will support the U.S. government’s effort to resettle refugees from the Americas, as outlined in the June 2022 Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection. The fiscal year 2024 Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions increased the target for Latin America and the Caribbean to a range of 35,000-50,000 admissions. With a field office in Ecuador, USCIS staff will be able to provide immigration expertise to U.S. embassy and regional partners in support of the Oficinas de Movilidad Segura, or Safe Mobility Offices, in Ecuador. The Safe Mobility initiative facilitates expedited refugee processing through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and provides information and referrals to other lawful migration pathways to the United States and other countries.
In addition to supporting refugee processing in Ecuador and the region, USCIS staff will focus on family reunification work and resume other critical USCIS duties at the embassy. This workload includes interviewing and processing Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition, fingerprinting beneficiaries of certain USCIS applications, overseeing collection of DNA samples, and performing essential fraud detection activities.
Services at the office in Quito will be available only by appointment. USCIS will update its International Immigration Offices webpage to include information about the field office, its services, and appointments.
The Quito Field Office will be the 12th USCIS international field office. Currently, there are USCIS international field offices in Ankara, Turkey; Beijing; Doha, Qatar; Guangzhou, China; Guatemala City; Havana; Mexico City; Nairobi, Kenya; New Delhi; San Salvador, El Salvador; and Tegucigalpa, Honduras.