Beginning August 31, 2020, USCIS will operate with only one-third of its usual staff. According to USA Today, notices were already sent to 13,400 USCIS employees that they will be furloughed as of August 30, 2020.
Most USCIS operation costs are taken from fees that are paid by applicants or petitioner’s. But for this specific year, USCIS claims that because of COVID-19, there were less revenues received resulting in a budget shortfall. The agency was requesting Congress for a $1.2 billion bailout through the coronavirus emergency package which unfortunately was never passed into law. Claiming a shortage in budget, USCIS made a decision to furlough two thirds of its employees until a budget is allocated by Congress.
As a result of this impending furlough, several immigration related petitions and applications will be affected which includes among others:
- U.S. citizenship applications;
- Permanent residents needing to renew or replace their green cards;
- Applicants for employment authorization documents;
- DACA applicants seeking renewals of their deferred action and EADS;
- U.S. citizens and permanent resident petitioning their families;
- Applicants for adjustment of status, and;
- Petitions by US employers.
While these applications and petitions may still be filed, the fact that USCIS is operating with a skeletal staff means more delays in the adjudication process. Interviews of visa applicants before immigration offices will also be delayed if not suspended during the furlough.
Senator Patrick Leahy, Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations tweeted on August 18, 2020 that USCIS has sufficient funds to avoid furloughs. In his letter to DHS, Senator Leahy said that USCIS has consistently projected that it has a carryover balance even after this fiscal year. He asked USCIS to reconsider its decision to furlough the 13,400 employees.
If Senator Leahy’s statement is accurate, what is then the reason for this furlough? Could it just be the administration’s policy decision to suspend immigration rather than a budget issue?
(Atty. Lourdes S. Tancinco is an immigrant advocate and legal counsel based in San Francisco CA. She is the principal and co-founder of Tancinco Law Offices and may be reached at law@tancinco.com, tancinco.weareph.com/old, facebook.com/tancincolaw, or at 1-888-930-0808)
