Will UK visa applicants be accepted on a walk-in basis for biometric appointments at ASC locations once services resume?

Question

Updates with answer at bottom

Today, 4/15/2019, I went to my scheduled biometrics appointment where I received the same slip of paper shown in a previous question: Why are UK visa biometrics appointments suspended at USCIS Application Support Centers?

One answer to that question quoted from the VFS Global website:

If you are an affected customer and have missed your appointment due to this service interruption, you may present at your chosen ASC location on a ‘walk-in’ basis, as soon as you see the message on this page that service has been restored.

However, the VFS Global website currently doesn't mention this bit about a 'walk-in' basis once the problem clears up. Does anyone have a screenshot of this earlier update? My stage 1 visa endorsement letter is only good for three months, two and a half months have already passed, and my worry is that even if this issue does clear up before my letter expires, I'll have to reschedule a biometrics appointment and with the backlog of applicants, the earliest possible appointment time may be well after my letter expires. My hope is that with this evidence, I may indeed walk-in at my appointed ASC location even if VFS Global later decides to do reschedulings rather than take walk-ins. I realize it's quite a long-shot.

Also, any update on the why these services have been suspended?

Update on the why: Bureaucratic glitch: UK suspends visa enrolment for American citizens

Update on Walk-ins: According to the most recent update on the VFS site (VFS UKVI Update) biometric services at non-premium ASC sites will resume April 18th. They are assigning dates on which you may walk-in at either PACs or your original ASC based on your original appointment date. Reference the table below.

Update 4/18: Despite my original appointment being on April 15th and therefore I should wait to go on April 25th, I took my chances and just walked in this morning. Nobody hassled me about showing up on the wrong date. My application is now in the hands of UPS and VFS.

Answer 1

The Internet Archive has a copy of the web page from April 6 that contains the "walk-in" language. However, if VFS Global has removed this text, it may still not be operative, and as you note, there's no guarantee that the ASC locations will honor something that used to be on a website, but there's a copy of it for you one way or another.

According to the most recent update, they are now inviting people who had ASC appointments to visit one of the 10 VFS Premium Application Centres (at no additional charge) starting this week according to the calendar they provide. Since your appointment was for the 15th, it stands to reason that they'll continue the schedule and provide you with a date to visit a VFS facility in the coming weeks if normal service isn't restored, but that may be too late for your purpose.

I suppose you could try walking into the VFS office if you can get to one. If they are sticklers about following the calendar they've laid out there, it looks like you could still opt to pay the not insignificant premium fee and the walk-in fee to get it done.

Answer 2

VFS Global provided an update today with a helpful infographic on when applicants may visit a premium application centre. Presumably they will keep updating the schedule in the above mentioned link until normal operations are restored at USCIS application centers.