US ASC Biometric alternatives?

Hi all,

My wife has submitted her visa application, we paid for VFS priority visa for settlement service,  and she is due to have her biometrics appointment on Monday 22nd April. However, given the current disruption, it looks likely this will be suspend on arrival due to the ongoing service disruption at ASC's. I emailed UKVI, and they said "unfortunately we are unable to provide information about biometrics".

The advice on VFS global's site is that if an appointment is cancelled due to the disruption then you can attend a VFS premium centre for biometrics. Based on the current schedule on the link:

https://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/us/en/news/update-on-service-disruption-message-from-uk-visas-immigration [nofollow]

It looks like there will be a ~2 week wait to be able to attend a VFS premium centre walk-in free of charge. Unfortunately my wife does not live near a premium centre, so attending one of these will be difficult. However, perhaps serendipitously, I will be in LA for work for a week on the 26th April, so she could fly to LA and stay with me for a few days.

My question is, if her appointment is cancelled on Monday, can we go to the premium centre in LA and get the biometrics down without waiting?  I'm assuming there would be some additional cost involved, but neither VFS or UKVI can clarify anything. Also, will this interfere with the application, given that we had arranged to have it done at an ACS, even if it is cancelled?

Any insight would be appreciated.

The only way to schedule an appointment at a premium center is to purchase the premium settlement package from VFS. You could ask them if you are able to upgrade the priority service to premium and schedule an appointment in LA? It's expensive, about $1900, but if you have the funds I definitely understand wanting to be able to schedule that when the centers are difficult to reach.

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Ah ok, I thought there was a Bronze package where they did the Biometric appointment for you or you could pay for a walk-in.

Ah ok, I thought there was a Bronze package where they did the Biometric appointment for you or you could pay for a walk-in.

There is a Bronze package, but it is not available for Settlement visa applications.

All other visa types have Priority, Bronze, Silver and Gold package options, but Settlement visa applicants can only use the Settlement Priority Service or the Settlement Premium Service.


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