In May, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) notified Congress that the agency predicted a budget shortfall for the remainder of 2020, reportedly due to a lower volume of filings received during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The agency requested a $1.2 billion bailout from Congress and noted that, if it did not receive the money, it would furlough 13,000-plus people or nearly 70 percent of its workforce. Then, a congressional inquiry revealed a USCIS surplus for the fiscal year. USCIS ultimately canceled the scheduled furlough, but advised that—despite the fact that the furlough will not happen now—the agency will still institute “aggressive spending reduction measures,” which will result in increased processing times. USCIS further stated that it may not be able to avoid future furloughs without congressional intervention.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has provided guidance on this issue which can be found here.
