Local USCIS Office in Portland, Oregon
Over 8,500 people who obtained legal permanent residence were living in Oregon in 2019 (Statista). The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has the responsibility of handling immigration-related applications except for those that are asylum applications. The federal agency fulfills these responsibilities through its physical locations and other services, including an official website and a contact center.
The USCIS offices are spread all over the U.S. and territories. International applicants are encouraged to submit their applications at an office located in their country. The whole U.S. is divided into four regions, namely the Northeast, Southeast, Western, and Central. Within each region, there are multiple Districts, and in each District, there are multiple field offices.
The main duties of a field office include taking interviews of applicants, meeting applicants for case-specific matters, arranging citizenship ceremonies, and providing information that supports that’s available online. The USCIS provides various resources through its official website including, “How Do I” guides, what to do before/after applying, and tools to keep track of applications.
The Portland Field Office
The Portland field office is in the Seattle District and Western Region at the following address:
Portland (POO) 1455 NW Overton Street Suite 1 Portland, OR 97209
The office serves the following areas:
- Oregon
- Washington
- Cowlitz
- Clark
- Klickitat
- Skamania
- Wahkiakum
If you live in one of these areas and are looking to visit the field office, it’s a good idea to first see the visitor policy of the agency. Note that the USCIS comes under the dept. of homeland security and in DHS spaces, the visitor policy supersedes local regulations.
Appointments are necessary for office visits. You can schedule your appointment by calling the contact center of the federal agency: 800-375-5283. You have to call the same number if you need to reschedule an appointment. The USCIS recommends that you cancel your appointment if you have some illness. The following page mentions the symptoms of canceling your appointment.
Case Processing Times
Case processing information is available on the agency’s website. By providing your phone number and office, you can see how long it takes to process. Here are the processing times for the N-400, N-600, and N600K forms at the Portland field office:
- Naturalization (N-400): 11 to 14.5 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
Note that these times are calculated using the new method. The USCIS is using this new method for a number of forms including the I-90, I-485, I-824, I-924, etc. With this method, the second number you see is the time for concluding 93% of the cases. The agency also says that these times are based on historical data and that it cannot project the duration for a case filed today.
Case Delays
In terms of options for a delay in processing, you have the option to submit an inquiry. For this purpose, scroll down on the processing times page to find the date for the case inquiry given there. If the Receipt Date given to you comes before the date given in the processing section, make an e-request. Guidelines for submitting your inquiry are also given on the processing times page.