Local USCIS Office in Des Moines, Iowa
The citizenship and immigration department (USCIS) of the homeland security department decides all immigration cases except for asylum applications. The department fulfills its responsibility by processing cases at its physical locations present throughout the country and overseas. Besides these field offices, the USCIS also provides certain services and a variety of information through its website.
Whether you should make an appointment to visit or browse online depends on your specific needs. For example, if you’re looking to submit your application, then you can do so online for many different forms, including, but not limited to, the N-400, I-95, and N-600K. Similarly, you can learn about the different immigration options available to you online. The explore my options tool shows you these options based on your ultimate goal and current standing.
The Des Moines Field Office
The Des Moines field office is located at:
Des Moines (DSM) Neal Smith Federal Building 210 Walnut Street Room 215 Des Moines, IA 50309
The office serves the following areas:
- Adams, Adair, Appanoose, Allamakee
- Boone, Benton, Bremer, Blackhawk, Butler, Buchanan
- Cerro Gordo, Calhoun, Cedar, Clarke, Chickasaw, Clinton, Clayton
- Davis, Dallas, Decatur, Des Moines, Delaware, Dubuque
- Franklin, Fayette, Floyd
- Guthrie, Grundy
- Hardin, Hamilton, Hancock, Henry, Humboldt, Howard
- Iowa
- Jasper, Johnson, Jackson, Jefferson, Jones
- Kossuth, Keokuk
- Linn, Lucas, Lee, Louisa
- Marion, Madison, Mitchell, Mahaska, Marshall, Muscatine, Monroe
- Poweshiek, Polk
- Ringgold
- Story, Scott
- Tama
- Union
- Van Buren
- Washington, Webster, Warren, Wapello, Wayne, Winnebago, Worth, Winneshiek, Wright
Case Processing Times
The USCIS provides you with processing times online. You can check for processing times at different offices across the country. Here are the processing times, according to the new format, at the Des Moines field office:
- Naturalization (N-400): 8 to 14 months
- Certificate of Citizenship (N-600): 6.5 to 14.5 months
- Citizenship and Issuance of Certificate Under Section 322 (N-600K): 10 to 22.5 months
Looking at these, it’s clear that the range for each form type is a wide one. To further explain this new format, which is available for many form types, let’s take the naturalization range of eight to 14 months. Here 8 months is how long it takes to decide 50% of the cases, while 14 months is the time to conclude 93% of them. If there’s a delay in the processing of your case, see the inquiry date and instructions provided in the processing section linked above.
Freedom of Information
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act (PA) allow you to request your immigration records, along with agency policies, communications, etc. You can also ask for the records of another person with their permission. Like some application forms, you can submit your request for information online.
According to the USCIS, they’ll be able to process faster if you ask for specific documents from an A-file. If the request is not processed correctly, you can also appeal the determination of the request. More information is available in the Records section of the agency’s site.