US Immigration Office in Bangkok Closing its Doors
The Trump Administration recently announced in an internal memo that it will close all overseas US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offices, including the Thailand USCIS branch located in Bangkok.
USCIS offices typically handle family visa requests, international adoptions, and other more specialized immigration matters.
The USCIS currently has 23 field offices scattered across Latin America, Asia, and Europe.
Since the offices will be closing, USCIS field office services will be passed on to US embassies and consulates.
Among the key functions of USCIS overseas offices take care of include helping citizens bring their family members to the US, processing requests from asylum seekers, assisting American families in adopting foreign children, naturalizing US military personnel who don’t already hold citizenship, and investigating fraudulent visa applications.
The closure of the overseas immigration offices are set to take place over the next year and some functions will also be passed along to the State Department.
The State Department already handles some of the duties in foreign countries that don’t have USCIS offices.
Many experts believe that the overseas office closures are a move to cut costs, while others are positing that it might be another way for Trump’s Administration to limit the number of refugees and other immigrants entering the US.
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