B. Accommodating a Disability

• Library: Becoming a U.S. Citizen (Nolo) (2021 Ed.)

B. Accommodating a Disability

In a normal USCIS interview, the applicant must get to the USCIS office, wait an hour or more for the interview (without food or water), walk into the USCIS officer's cubicle or space, sit by the officer's desk, raise one hand to take an oath, answer questions, and generally cope with a stressful situation. Any of these tasks, which might seem simple to another person, can seem like giant challenges to someone with physical or mental disabilities.

Fortunately, applicants can ask for accommodations in advance. If these accommodations are reasonable, and the applicants can prove need for them (particularly with reports from a doctor), USCIS will make an effort to grant them.

Not all accommodations need to relate to the interview (though many do). An accommodation can be any change to normal USCIS policy and procedures that helps someone participate in the naturalization process and reduces the disadvantages the person would otherwise face. For example, if you need USCIS to come up with a method other than fingerprinting to check your background for criminal activity, perhaps because your fingers have been badly burned or amputated, you can ask for that.

1. What Disabled Applicants Can Ask For

Although you know best what you might need in the way of help, we include examples below of the type of accommodations others might reasonably request. The accommodations that USCIS will arrange usually have to do with the physical setting of the interview—where it's held, how quickly you're called in, whether your medical equipment will fit, whether you can bring a caregiver or guardian, whether someone will show you the way if you're blind (or you can bring your guide dog), whether someone will interpret for you if you're deaf, speak loudly if...