USCIS Averts Furlough of Nearly 70% of Workforce (merged)

[millefleur 5,050]

**Similar threads merged**

 

VJ Moderation

[SalishSea 18,408]

  On 8/25/2020 at 5:37 PM, Claire6 said:

This is amazing news, but I am kind of worried by the wording in their statement. So are they saying processing times are going to increase anyway? 😐

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Yes.

[ManCharsey 254]

No surprises. Self inflated wound. No secret that this administration is seeking to significantly reduce immigration. Also not a surprise that the current acting director of the USCIS is a so called 'Immigration Hard-liner'.  Just look at his policies when he was Attorney General of Virginia and it will not surprise you why he was put in this position. To the current administration, this is a blessing in disguise. Brace yourselves everyone. We are in for a good ride!

[geowrian 22,338]

  On 8/25/2020 at 6:40 PM, jan22 said:

Sounds like they are going to reduce contracts for part of the support staff that do things like dealing with mail, data entry/scanning as needed, filing, answering the phones, organizing the case files...all of the things that need to be done to a case before it ready to go to an adjudicator.  Means cases will take longer to be ready to move from the submittal stage to the adjudicator stage.

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There's actually more to it than that. I know there have already been some furloughs as well as cancelled projects and projects that are not expected to be funded next fiscal year. That'll result in some slowdowns as well within those areas.

[jeanieCZ 228]

Has anyone read this?

While it sounds like good news that the furlough is averted, it seems that there were actions taken by the USCIS which will result in similar problems the furlough would. 

 

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.” as someone said, the USCIS fiscal year 2021 begins on 1st October 2020

 

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.

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

[Pats5415 97]

  On 8/26/2020 at 12:52 PM, jeanieCZ said:

Has anyone read this?

While it sounds like good news that the furlough is averted, it seems that there were actions taken by the USCIS which will result in similar problems the furlough would. 

 

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.” as someone said, the USCIS fiscal year 2021 begins on 1st October 2020

 

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.

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

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Yes, sounds like they are keeping the 13,000 USCIS staff and decreasing/or getting rid of contract workers that assist them in day to day operation.

[lucardo3 220]

  On 8/26/2020 at 12:52 PM, jeanieCZ said:

Has anyone read this?

While it sounds like good news that the furlough is averted, it seems that there were actions taken by the USCIS which will result in similar problems the furlough would. 

 

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.” as someone said, the USCIS fiscal year 2021 begins on 1st October 2020

 

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.

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

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So at the end, Furloughs isn`t really going to change anything,  longer backlogs and processing times are inevitable.

[jeanieCZ 228]

  On 8/26/2020 at 1:05 PM, lucardo3 said:

So at the end, Furloughs isn`t really going to change anything,  longer backlogs and processing times are inevitable.

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indeed So I feel like there's no real good news

[Trutta 103]

  On 8/25/2020 at 5:54 PM, Cheburashka34 said:

 I was trying to understand what exactly they are going to cut with costs

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Electricity to the office?

[Claire6 26]

I don't know. At this point I'll still take it as some good news. Longer processing times are still not going to be as long as if they furloughed 13,000 people. 

[lucardo3 220]

  On 8/26/2020 at 2:43 PM, Claire6 said:

I don't know. At this point I'll still take it as some good news. Longer processing times are still not going to be as long as if they furloughed 13,000 people. 

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Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

[stringpuller 74]

  On 8/25/2020 at 5:54 PM, Cheburashka34 said:

I don't get why keeping them is going to delay processing? I was trying to understand what exactly they are going to cut with costs, but didn't understand.

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The companies they hire to help them. Subcontractors will be cut

[Cndn 98]

Here is what I don’t understand about there being an inevitable increase in processing times: hasn’t the volume of applications dropped significantly due to both certain visas being paused and covid? Wouldn’t the massive reduction in workload offset the reduction in staff? 

Edited August 26, 2020 by Cndn
Spelling

[Pats5415 97]

  On 8/26/2020 at 4:12 PM, Cndn said:

Here is what I don’t understand about there being an inevitable increase in processing times: hasn’t the volume of applications dropped significantly due to both certain visas being paused and covid? Wouldn’t the massive reduction in workload offset the reduction in staff? 

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That makes sense...only keep the staff to handle the workload coming in. Unless they had extra staff to handle current levels and now can't keep them because of the decrease in applications?

[Cndn 98]

  On 8/26/2020 at 4:17 PM, Pats5415 said:

That makes sense...only keep the staff to handle the workload coming in. Unless they had extra staff to handle current levels and now can't keep them because of the decrease in applications?

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Yeah, maybe. But there would be far less petitions being received right now therefore far less having to ensure everything in the packet is there/issuing RFEs though. That seems like quite a bit of the work they normally do that they wouldn’t be doing anywhere near as much right now.