Furloughs of the USCIS Employees have been Postponed
The USCIS downturn in revenue
Due to the arrival of the Coronavirus, most countries decided to close the borders. This emergency measure aims to protect the health of the local population, prevent the export and import of the virus, and safeguard the resources necessary to overcome the current crisis.
Thus, immigration and international travel have been suspended around the world in recent months.
In the case of the US, apart from the fact that the current government has always tried to decrease the number of immigrants that enter the country annually and has increased restrictions for certain immigration processes, the arrival of the global pandemic also contributed.
In fact, the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), which is the entity in charge of the country’s immigration processes, decided to close its offices for more than two months and the on-site services were not available to the public from March through June 2020.
This generated a substantial downturn in revenue for the USCIS. Mainly because:
- The largest amount of the USCIS income depends on the application fees that foreigners must pay when submitting an application.
- The number of applications decreased considerably during the massive outbreak of Coronavirus in the US.
- Overall, the country’s economic crisis also worsens the circumstances for the immigration agency.
Thus, due to the downturn in revenue, the USCIS announced that, if it does not receive monetary aid from Congress, it will furlough approximately 70% of its employees around the country. It means that more than 13,000 people will be temporarily suspended.
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The USCIS announces a new date
Initially, the USCIS had announced that the suspensions would take effect on August 3, 2020. However, the immigration agency stated that the date will be postponed until August 31.
This means that the USCIS employees will continue to work normally until the end of the month, unless the agency receives monetary aid from Congress and can continue with its responsibilities after that.
In this way, the government has enough time to discuss in depth how to bail out the USCIS to protect employee wages and speed up responses to delayed immigration applications.
This is valuable time for your immigration case!
This is hopeful news for foreigners who want to submit an application for legal entry or residence in the US.
We still do not know what Congress is going to decide to rescue the USCIS, but for now, the most important thing is to use your time wisely and prepare your immigration application as soon as possible.
We recommend for you to follow the advice of a reliable guide to avoid possible rejection by the USCIS and so that you can feel relief in the midst of the current juncture.
In addition to that, several processes have been modified considerably and it is better for you to know all of your options to choose the most suitable for your immigration needs.
Our experienced attorneys are up to date with current immigration processes and policies of the US.
If you have any questions about an immigration issue or relating to a case you may have currently in progress, then please don’t hesitate to contact us for a FREE Phone Consultation with one of our expert immigration attorneys.
Simply call Motion Law today at: (202) 918-1799.