I went here for my biometrics appointment required to renew my green card after 10 years, and I have to say it was about as painless as it possibly could be. It took far longer to renew my WA state driver's license! The staff are all very helpful, polite and understanding, and seem to at least try to make it as stress free an experience as possible. Anytime you have to deal with the DHS its going to be stressful no matter what, but once through security, the three or four employees I spoke to seemed to be aware of that, and so do what they can to make things as comfortable as possible. So kudos to the staff there, who don't have easy jobs to begin with. I'll jot down my experience for others that have to go through this. I had my appointment for 2pm, but got there about 45 minutes early. Tons of parking is available within about 100 yards of the front door at a flat rate of $7 (CASH ONLY), which I think is the same price I paid 10 years ago so that's cool. I was in and out in about 20 minutes, maybe even a little less. You first go in through the front door and immediately stand and wait in a short line to be put through security which is no different than airport security with the shoes off, etc. I didn't time it, but there was only 1 or 2 people ahead of me, so I got through in a minute or so. I don't believe there were any chairs if standing is difficult, but I only stood in line for a minute, maybe two at most. Security were fine, not intimidating at all and helpful with any questions I had. Then I wasn't sure where to go, but signage directed me off to the right down a lane into a room where the biometrics is done. Once in the room I filled out a short form with my name, weight, height, country of citizenship, etc and an employee who just happened to be walking around offered help and pointed me to the window #11 where a nice gal took my documents. I even gave her the wrong document by accident since they sent me two that looked identical, but it didn't appear to be an issue, and I eventually figured that out and give her the correct one. I asked her if there was a restroom available, and she said down the hall to the right. Can't review the restroom as I didn't use it. I then walked through the door into a large room with chairs lined against the wall, but there was only one person there waiting, and so I was immediately waved to the biometrics area and was greeted by a nice woman who was in a good mood, and that immediately put me at ease. Normally I don't say a word or ask questions of DHS staff just to make sure things go smoothly but she was friendly and laughing so that made things feel much less intimidating. My picture was taken (she said I can smile or not), and fingerprints recorded in about a minute or two, then I was ushered down to a desk 30 yards away for which there was no line, and immediately sat down and filled out a customer review card they wanted me to fill out, which is just three questions. I gave them 5/5 for all three. The fellow there was also friendly and explained to me he was going to put an extension sticker on the back of my old green card, which is good for a year, and then said I'll get a new green card in the mail which is good for 10 years again. I think many of the staff there may have been immigrants themselves at one point, so they have some understanding having gone through the process, and so seem to have empathy for those going through it the first time. The staff likely have to say the same thing to each person which has to get tedious, but there was no sign of boredom or apathy, and everyone happily answered all questions I had. Once I had the extension sticker I was free to leave. Like I mentioned it took a total of around 20 minutes and since it was at 2pm, traffic there and back from north Seattle was minimal. It was about a 30 minute drive on I5 from Northgate. The neighborhood the building is in doesn't have a lot of shops, restaurants, etc, so don't expect a Starbucks next door or anything nearby to wait if you get there early, its a bit of a no man's land, but the appointment time just seems to be a suggestion, not written in stone, so I was received immediately even 45 minutes early, and if I had been late, I don't think there would have been an issue, which was one thing I was worried about since it says if you "miss your appointment", your green card will be assumed to be abandoned. Scary for anyone who has had to go through the time and expense of getting one, but being a few minutes late didn't seem to be a concern. Don't quote me on that, and I suggest being on time or early, but the appointment time seemed more so that they can meter people in without very busy times, then dead times etc. All in all it was a very easy experience, and kudos to the staff there for making it so. read more

I was a little nervous coming here for any interaction with the federal government with the current administration. We got through security pretty quickly. It is like airport security, except you get to keep your shoes. The line to show our documents wasn't too bad. We were able to go in as a family, with an adult accompanying the children. The officers taking our biometrics were reasonably friendly and accommodating of little kids. Overall we were in and out faster than I had expected. The scammy part is the expensive required parking in their private lot. The location is on a big, busy road that you can't safely cross on foot, so the only option is to park in their lot. $8 or whatever it was for 15 minutes of parking. It is like you are at a tourist location in Dow town San Francisco for those prices. What a rip off. read more

Professional government agency. The staff is extremely accommodating and courteous. Definitely not a place you want to go with a chip on your shoulder, however. read more

Homeland Security - Agent or the DHS in the field. - Police Departments Near Me - Tukwila, Washington

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All the security guards were rude except for the white guy with a mustache this morning. He was nice and polite like the rest of the workers inside the building. The appointment went fast but the other security guards try to make it more difficult than it should be read more

It's a nice facility which could use some improvement. I tagged along, with some friends who needed to get some things done here. Upon arrival, you will enter the paid parking lot. A lot of people are complaining about the $7 parking fee, though from my experience most govt parking lots are paid parking only. So it is what it is, and no issue for me. Also $7 flat is a deal compared to about the same an hour I paid to the meter when visiting the federal building in SF. It would be convenient to take CC though, rather then dig around for loose bills and change. I can't speak to the check-in process, as I did not participate in it. Entry is like any other federal building, taking shoes bags and loose items out and through he X-ray. Sorry, no TSA Pre check here :( The waiting area for interviews could be improved. We sat on the far side of the door where the appointment numbers were called, and it was hard to hear. So we moved to the other side. However if they call you and you don't come right away, they walk to the other side to continue calling. I find it odd they have monitors and overhead speakers setup, but not in use. Hasn't this facility been up and running for a few years now? I guess in that respect you're better off at the CA DMV, their call system works. If I needed to come here, I'd come back since this is the only place you can come to! read more

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- Based on biometrics appointment experience- I just came back with my husband for his biometrics appointment. My husband thought we need to go in together, but that's not the case. This facility is not as strict as the USCIS office in Vancouver where I usually go to get my VISA. They don't check any of your documents at security, so even if you don't have an appointment you can just go in. I basically just walked past everyone in line and grabbed the form for biometrics on the counter, and walked into the next room at the right. Nobody stopped me or anything, and I thought maybe that could be improved since I'm not sure if they want randoms in their building if they don't need to be there... My appointment was at 1pm, and there were a ton of people in line before me. However, my husband's was at 10am and there's like nobody waiting for biometrics. What happened was that he didn't need to wait for 10-15 min for them to call your number to get in the other room, he could just walk in and wait. His technician was super fast and did all fingerprints faster than anyone else while the other technician ladies were busy chatting while working. I'm pretty sure the whole process took less than 25 min for him, and it'd be faster if he fills out his form when he's waiting in line for window #11.. TIP: Bring a clip board and pen to fill out your form while you wait in line for window #11 for biometrics appointment. You will look so pro and make your mom proud (lol jk)! read more

My wife just got her US Citizenship!! However, given this is a relatively new building, it is terribly fitted to handle applicants. The building is pretty much on it's own east of SeaTac. So now that they have you captive, they charge you $7 for parking. I guess this helps reduce the $20 trillion US deficit. Cash or debit card only. Once you go through screening on the ground floor, up a long flight of stairs to a large, noisy second floor waiting area that is split into 2 by the stairs. There is no public address system used. So when your number or name is called, it is nearly impossible to hear the officer call you. Given that so many applicants speak only a little English (as do many of the immigration officers, curiousy), Understanding a simple call for your appointment is a crap shoot Gee, you'd think with all the money collected from the aforementioned parking, a PA system or a video monitor with who is being called might be an upgrade to this building? I don't know. Being the Federal Government, that might involve pounds and pounds of permits and Congressional reviews. read more

Its the only USCIS branch within Great Seattle Area, so its understandable for delays due to the amount of cases being reviewed annually. Unfortunately the reality here is: Prepared to leave empty minded. Applicants usually meet with immigration officers by making appointments, thus provide them with a paper document that includes your appt time, case#, file type and more. However, none of the CBP officers (or security guards whatever you wanna call) were not friendly as I walked in. They didn't even care about our needs and just wanted us to hurry the hell up through the security check after waiting a long line. Again, bureaucracy is the best vocabulary to describe what they behaved. Their so called "Integrity" is just a joke. Only "Demand". I am from China, and I remembered 6 -7 years ago, applying for American Citizenship only less than $100 and would be issued to foreigners who don't even understand a basic word. But since the presidency of Donald Trump , the price's going straight up to a few thousand. Freaking high is it? Do I think the way I got treated like a clown? Probably. Let's just see how it ends. read more

I have never truly seen better customer service that the Tukwila USCIS office! I understand that this statement may seem a bit off especially in these times, but I want to give a shout out to folks at the biometrics window #11. They were friendly, helpful and genuinely caring and they provided a fantastic service. My husband and I needed urgent biometrics and we had an appointment for another date. However we arrived early and got done with the job in about 45 minutes. They made it seem like this was our lucky day, I am truly impressed. read more

The USCIS office at Tukwila is easy to find and with plenty of parking space. I was there to complete my biometrics process. The folks here are trying to do the best they can with the limited resources they have. They are clearly short staffed when it comes to dealing with the volume of applicants which leads to long wait times. It is also important to understand that the biometrics machines take a while to read fingerprints correctly which causes delays. All in all, I had a reasonable, pleasant experience. I suggest you give our federal employees the benefit of doubt. Also make sure you are prepared with your paperwork and documents to help them streamline the process. read more

One star. Two reasons. $7 parking (flat fee, and cash only so you know they are skimming off the top) for what should be a 2 minute task - biometric reading. If the visit took 15 minutes, it would essential be $28 per hour. But for a scheduled appointment that was set by USCIS for me at 1:00 PM, when I arrived at 12:45 PM. I had to wait 10 minutes at security and then another 10 minutes at the check in desk. When I was third in line, an agent called out that anyone wait for Biometrics could take a form from him, complete and then proceed to window #11. So far this is the typical shit I expect from the the government, without competition and a reason for improvement. So I get to Window #11 just about 1:05 PM and the lady takes my paperwork and tells me it will be a 45 minute wait as the man who I not need to see is at lunch. WTF! I am here for a 1:00 PM meeting and the guy goes to lunch? There were 3 other people waiting for the same thing. 45 minutes pass and my number along with the others is called. Scanning my finger prints took about 30 seconds. And then delete was on my way back to my car in the $7 cash parking lot. By now I have been here about 2 hours so in that regard parking is cheap. Most of the employees there were polite. The visit was just a big waste of time. read more

Rarely am I impressed with US Government agencies or employees. Albeit, when my wife and I had heard nasty things about HLS being rude, lazy and incompetent, you can imagine how VERY surprised and happy we were that quite the opposite was true. All the employees were patient, knowledgeable, humorous, and polite. Thanks to their team, everything went timely & smoothly. Most the people leaving after their meetings seemed to reflect this satisfaction by their smiles as well. Keep up the good work HLS emigration employees! read more

We didn't know what to expect coming to this office. I am an American citizen trying to help my wife with her citizenship. We were treated with respect and dignity. Everyone in the building was very nice and approachable lots of smiles. The associate who helped us was very professional. I am proud that the people working at this office are representing our country it has made me feel refreshed. Thank you USCIS!!!! read more

Great service from efficient and friendly staff. Nice waiting area. Must have $7 cash for public parking!

Is this the Ghana customs house? Computers down, everything is broken, smells like fart. Seriously felt like I was at a third-world bus station. Staff was friendly if not just mildly incompetent (as you come to expect from many of our outward-facing federal employees), but the experience as a whole was awe-inspiringly bad. read more

I have been dealing with immigration services for nearly 20 years; with services ranging from inexcusably rude to polite, the latter being rare (when I first interviewed for a green card the officer at the New York INS office refused -out of the blue- to shake my hand!) Having established that, I've NEVER experienced such a polite and professional service as I did with the Tukwila office. Unlike the "old INS", these officers don't act like they are doing one a favor; they are good-natured, caring, knowledgeable and able. Their service should be a standard to all government agencies. This is not a case of having a low standard and viewing an OK service as the best, these officers are truly top-notch. read more

As a walk in the Biometrics team went above and beyond to accommodate me in their schedule and provide additional support in securing another service. Can't speak more highly of the team working there today ! read more

Green card arrived today - with CORRECT NAME!!! Am ecstatic! Next task - start a petition for Yelp to add a 6th star, cuz 5 just ain't enough! THANK YOU!! YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST! read more

My family and I were super nervous considering the fact that I was the only one who had my I-797C ASC notice. We knew my parents and I all had our appointments today but they just didn't have their notice so we were unsure whether or not they'd be able to get their biometrics done. Fortunately, the staff was so kind, beginning with the lady at the front of counter #11, I really wish I got her name, she was so nice to us! Next was the guy who helped my parents get their ASC notice, I struggled so hard trying to find it online and he did it in a matter of like five minutes. I cannot stress it enough, everyone was so nice and you can tell they were there to truly help you. I will say as the nice guy was helping us, another worker came in and started going on about how they were letting in too many walk-ins, and he was making it such a big deal and was making comments about how this was part of the reason he wanted to quit. It was honestly very unprofessional and rude of him to say that as the walk in lady who had came in had to get her fingerprints done before a surgery she was having the following day. Other than that little encounter everyone was super considerate and helpful, even the guy who did my fingerprints was nice! read more

Gave 3 because the officer Doherty was very nice and kind, but very disappointed my friend missed her citizenship ceremony due to major dysfunction and miscommunication of the ceremony organizers. We got there for the 10.30 am ceremony but they didn't give my friend a packet indicating she can attend the ceremony, we were waiting upstairs while ceremony was going, no one asked us to go to the auditorium , it was a once in a lifetime opportunity she had to miss because of employees carelessness. Very unhappy!! read more

Had finger prints appointment on Feb 11th , drove 100 miles on the bad roads because of snow, but office was closed, no warning on the website, very disappointed. read more

I think the one poor review here likely is too young to understand just how far this has come. Visiting the INS was similar to being forced to hammer your nutsack paper thin and feed it to an aging relative. If the Relative was a member of the KGB who enjoyed threatening you with deportation. I thought a few words on what goes down might be in order to help some others. In fact that's why I found this review as I was looking for info because I didn't know what to expect. I was there as they opened, and way too early for my appointment. (I was trying to beat traffic) thinking I would have trouble parking and, it would be the usual horrific experience anything in Seattle is. It's very much in it's own space though and they have on site parking. A lot of it. Parking costs 7 dollars in cash. While there, the usual security thing happens. You put your shoes and belongings in a plastic tub and walk through a scanner. You walk up to a triage desk, and they tell you where to head to. You can ask them any questions you might need to. Hey get this.. She was friendly and smiled. Inside, there was much confusion among applicants as to what anyone does, as the main windows to serve other items (the one where you grab a ticket and wait for the number to be called) doesn't open at the same time as the general services window. This caused people to think they were missing their appointment. Also, it might be worth pointing out that even though they say no cell phones, this seemed to be completely ignored by most. I left mine in the car outside, but some people were gathering information and openly talking/texting on theirs. If you have an appointment time, and appointment letter, you simple wait until vaguely the time of that appointment, line up if there is a line, and then go and hand in your appointment notice paperwork along with your proof of ID at window #11. I think I was half an hour early for mine, and they didn't seem to care. It isn't a one on one thing. They just stagger the times to avoid rushes. Things have come a long way. It's still very much as is and department of licensing-like, but as I haven't set foot in one of these places in ten years, the differences shone through. The little card given out to ask how they did. I mean.. Wow? It isn't as if they're going to offer you coffee and ask how your day is going, because they didn't so much as speak to me or say hello, at all during any of the processing to get my fingerprints and photographs, but it was still all a step in the right direction, and I didn't leave an INS office feeling like crap. Which is a first. Perhaps the staff themselves might feel a little less suicidal if this momentum is continued, because the main unpleasantness is still in feeling like you're trudging through bureaucracy and experiencing the human embodiment of what that does to people.. IE, the staff are unhappy, and very bored and don't want to talk to anyone. Overall, I would recommend this process over deportation. I hope they continue the obvious hard work. It really is noticeable and very appreciated for what is a uniquely stressful occasion in the lives of the people who find themselves there. read more

Competent, well organized and pleasant staff. I was flabbergasted. Way to go Homeland Security

The most efficient government experience I've ever had! Parking is very easy, a spacious lot, with large stalls $7 cash. A clean building with well marked directions to move people through quickly. All the staff was professional and kind. An easy experience, and there were 6 of us. read more

I had an appointment today and let's just say it was completely disappointing. The guy wouldn't listen to me and refused me right away as soon as he saw my Canadian passport. He asked my husband if he was American, by which my husband replied, yes. He then proceeded with the following discriminatory comment, "Canadians have all these freedoms they enjoy and when they come here they think they can apply them here, that's why we make it harder for Canadians." The comment was completely unnecessary, rude, and discriminatory. read more