USCIS opens new international field office in Ethiopia to “support fraud prevention”

On September 3, USCIS announced that it will be opening a new international field office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The office began operations on September 9th and is set to handle all USCIS matters in Ethiopia.

Assignments at the Addis Ababa field office will include verifying the authenticity of foreign documents, leading investigations of suspected fraud, and collecting DNA to verify claimed family relationships. USCIS explains that historically, these functions were completed with the support of the Department of State. The new Addis Ababa office will "provide USCIS with a dedicated presence to perform these critical workloads directly," an action which is " part of a broader effort to better align USCIS’ overseas operations with agency priorities and strengthen the agency’s overseas operational capacity."

Find more information about the Addis Ababa field office here.