USCIS pushes back 13,000 furloughs until the end of August

[Haydnator 274]

US Immigration and Citizenship Services, the federal agency responsible for legal immigration processing, pushed back a planned furlough date for more than half of its workforce until August 31.

The immigration agency previously said it would have to furlough more than 13,000 employees at the beginning of August if Congress did not provide emergency supplemental funding.

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/24/politics/ice-furloughs-august/index.html

[millefleur 5,046]

I still find the surplus at the end of the fiscal year part odd. Are they planning to dip into that once the new furloughs start in September?

[user555 196]

They've been threatening to furlough USCIS workes since May 2020. It keeps getting delayed. They want $1.2 billion for two years, so $600 million per year. Their budget is just over $4 billion annually. So they were only calculating a 15% drop in their budget because 97% of their budget comes from the applicants. Why furlough everyone? Just furlough 15% of your workforce because there was a 15% drop in applicants. When applications start coming in again and money is paid, hire back those furloughed workers. 

[xxlian 100]

They introduced a bill yesterday to try and stop the furloughs. I'm not sure how likely it is that this one will be passed or how long that would take.

https://lofgren.house.gov/media/press-releases/bipartisan-house-members-introduce-emergency-stopgap-bill-prevent-uscis

[lesly87 27]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/house-passes-emergency-funding-to-halt-immigration-agency-cuts-11598141852

 

Looks like the bill passed today

[ts0276a 24]

Hi everyone! Just saw this good news posted by the Wall Street Journal! Unfortunately I don't have a subscription so I can't read the entire article, but the headline is promising!!! This was just published an hour ago. From what I could read, the House passed a bill which would provide supplemental funding to avoid furloughs at the end of the month. If you guys could help me find other new sources on this topic please let me know

 

*EDIT* Just saw that me and @lesly87 just posted this at the same time, sorry about that!

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/house-passes-emergency-funding-to-halt-immigration-agency-cuts-11598141852

Edited August 23, 2020 by ts0276a

[Rearviewmirror 397]

11 hours ago, lesly87 said:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/house-passes-emergency-funding-to-halt-immigration-agency-cuts-11598141852

 

Looks like the bill passed today

Still needs to pass the Senate and get signed by the president unfortunately...

[Leeman15251 35]

55 minutes ago, Rearviewmirror said:

Still needs to pass the Senate and get signed by the president unfortunately...

Yes and since the Senate is on “vacation” until September it just looks like an empty gesture. 

[xxlian 100]

47 minutes ago, Leeman15251 said:

Yes and since the Senate is on “vacation” until September it just looks like an empty gesture. 

It's very frustrating, but it's not really an "empty gesture" any more than the bill that they passed just before this one to prevent cutbacks at USPS. It's just the very first step in getting the bill passed. The Senate will be back in two weeks, and it's likely that the bill will be passed then. Having the House finally pass this bill should encourage USCIS leaders to stop the furloughs, but we'll see...

[Akrapovic 31]

For people that want to stay up to date with this bill, you can sign up for alerts here: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/8089/actions

[lesly87 27]

See latest update below. However, looks like it comes at the cost of naturalization case processing delays, and further increasing backlogs....

 

https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/uscis-averts-furlough-of-nearly-70-of-workforce

USCIS Averts Furlough of Nearly 70% of Workforce

Release Date 

08/25/2020

Drastic cuts will impact agency operations for foreseeable future

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that the agency will avert an administrative furlough of more than 13,000 employees, scheduled to begin Aug. 30 as a result of unprecedented spending cuts and a steady increase in daily incoming revenue and receipts.

USCIS expects to be able to maintain operations through the end of fiscal year 2020. Aggressive spending reduction measures will impact all agency operations, including naturalizations, and will drastically impact agency contracts.

“Our workforce is the backbone of every USCIS accomplishment. Their resilience and strength of character always serves the nation well, but in this year of uncertainty, they remain steadfast in their mission administering our nation’s lawful immigration system, safeguarding its integrity and protecting the American people, even as a furlough loomed before them,” said USCIS Deputy Director for Policy Joseph Edlow. “However, averting this furlough comes at a severe operational cost that will increase backlogs and wait times across the board, with no guarantee we can avoid future furloughs. A return to normal operating procedures requires congressional intervention to sustain the agency through fiscal year 2021.”

The additional cost savings come through the descoping of federal contracts that assist USCIS adjudicators in processing and preparing case files as well as a myriad of other support activities. Anticipated operational impacts include increased wait times for pending case inquiries with the USCIS Contact Center, longer case processing times, and increased adjudication time for aliens adjusting status or naturalizing. Naturalization ceremonies will continue. Previously, members of Congress requested that agency leadership avoid operational cuts of this magnitude. However, Congress must still act on a long-term solution that will provide USCIS with the necessary financial assistance to sustain the agency throughout FY 2021 and beyond.

[millefleur 5,046]

**Thread now locked in favor of ongoing thread with news update; see below**

 

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