US embassies instructed to prepare for staff reductions

[nastra30 2,410]

US embassies instructed to prepare for staff reductions

 

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-embassies-instructed-prepare-staff-reductions-sources/story?id=118755936

[Lemonslice 4,989]

Awesome - that will speed up visa issuance, I am sure!  

[EatBulaga 407]

@nastra30 @Lemonslice 

Maybe USCIS staffing won't affect as much since USCIS is self-funded?

[nastra30 2,410]

Just now, EatBulaga said:

@nastra30 @Lemonslice 

Maybe USCIS staffing won't affect as much since USCIS is self-funded?

This specific directive is to embassies which are part of DOS. USCIS is part of DHS so this specific directive does not apply to USCIS. But who knows what might be coming for USCIS; it's wait and see.

[Lemonslice 4,989]

22 minutes ago, EatBulaga said:

@nastra30 @Lemonslice 

Maybe USCIS staffing won't affect as much since USCIS is self-funded?

Having worked in a very similar situation, I can assure you that some of the support on site is staff shared between agencies, so they will all enjoy the cuts.  I would not be surprised that they will also reduce the numbers of posts where visa are issued.  It is great to see people getting what they voted for. 

Edited Saturday at 10:50 PM by Lemonslice

[nastra30 2,410]

3 minutes ago, IXL said:

https://www.valverdelaw.com/layoffs-at-processing-center-likely-to-lead-to-government-delays

 

 

Although the rumblings of whether USCIS would issue layoffs have been brewing for several months, employees were still caught by surprise in early December when 74 employees at the USCIS Vermont Service Center received layoff notices. Almost 400 people used to be employed at the Vermont Service Center, but in today's world the 74 people laid off amounted to almost half of the current staff at the Vermont Service Center.

The layoffs feel like a sign of the times. On the West Coast, USCIS's California Service Center used to have 400 employees, but now is reported to have none. According to USCIS records, the staff reductions are part of a “broader shift by the federal government to draw down paper-based immigration filing and move toward electronic filing.” USCIS has plans for all its forms to be available for online filing by the end of 2026, but for now the vast majority of its forms still require snail mail. Currently…

And this wasn't even Trump administration so who knows what might be coming.

[Dashinka 24,870]

My company is going through similar staffing reviews.  Based on other news there were nearly a million federal employees added over the past four years.  Are they all needed?  How many were added due to others not doing their jobs?    There may be some initial impact, but maybe efficiency increases and more technology will alleviate that.

[Nywoek 17]

My embassy has already had to take on cases from a lot of new countries starting recently, so I am worried that I won’t be able to schedule my interview for months and months once my case reaches them. >_<

Edited Sunday at 03:30 PM by Nywoek

[EmilyW 1,547]

18 hours ago, IXL said:

https://www.valverdelaw.com/layoffs-at-processing-center-likely-to-lead-to-government-delays

 

 

Although the rumblings of whether USCIS would issue layoffs have been brewing for several months, employees were still caught by surprise in early December when 74 employees at the USCIS Vermont Service Center received layoff notices. Almost 400 people used to be employed at the Vermont Service Center, but in today's world the 74 people laid off amounted to almost half of the current staff at the Vermont Service Center.

The layoffs feel like a sign of the times. On the West Coast, USCIS's California Service Center used to have 400 employees, but now is reported to have none. According to USCIS records, the staff reductions are part of a “broader shift by the federal government to draw down paper-based immigration filing and move toward electronic filing.” USCIS has plans for all its forms to be available for online filing by the end of 2026, but for now the vast majority of its forms still require snail mail. Currently…

 

As mentioned above by another poster, great to see people getting what they voted for.  I believe Biden was in power at this time.