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2020-08-26 Government
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US immigration services cancels furloughs for 13,000 employees
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[FoxNews] U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced Tuesday that it has canceled previous plans to lay off 13,000 employees, nearly 70% of the agency’s workforce, by the end of the month.
“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,” USCIS Deputy Director for Policy Joseph Edlow said in a statement Tuesday.
The agency, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, processes citizenship, asylum requests, visas and passports – and is largely funded through fees.
But the USCIS announced in May that due to COVID-19 restrictions, it was headed toward a $571 million deficit and furloughs were likely.
Edlow said that cost-saving measures such as reducing federal contracts that assist the agency with a range of duties, including large amounts of paperwork, have enabled the agency to refrain from furloughs but will extend waiting periods.
“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,” the USCIS statement said Tuesday.
The USCIS said that lawmakers have encouraged the agency not to make these operational changes, but Congress has denied the immigration agency a requested $1.2 billion in emergency funds to assist in with operational needs.
“A return to normal operating procedures requires congressional intervention to sustain the agency through fiscal year 2021,” Edlow said.
It is unclear at this time to the extent at which the operational turnaround will fall, but due to the new changes the agency will see a surplus of $230 million, enabling them to put off furloughs through the end of the year.
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Posted by Skidmark 2020-08-26 00:00||
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