Featured Issue: USCIS Budget Shortfall and Furloughs

Summary of Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act

On September 30, 2020 the President signed H.R. 8337 - the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act, which will fund the government through December 11, 2020. The bill, introduced on September 22, 2020, Rep. Nita M. Lowey (D-NY) includes the language from Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act (H.R. 8089), seeks to address USCIS budget shortfall by giving the agency immediate access to existing premium processing funds that were dedicated to infrastructure improvement to cover operating expenses. It also increases revenues by raising existing premium processing fees for most form types and expanding premium processing to other form types to address USCIS’s current budget shortfall. The relevant language begins on page 30 of the Act. Please note that while the law takes effect immediately, the increased fees and expanded availability of premium processing will not take effect until USCIS is able to implement. Timing of implementation is unknown at this time, but we expect a public announcement will be made. The bill would:

1. Immediately give USCIS access to premium processing funds to pay for operational expenses, which are otherwise reserved for infrastructure improvement.
2. Authorizes premium processing services to be provided to:
   
   1. Employment-based nonimmigrant petitions and associated applications for dependents;
   2. Form I-140 petitions;
   3. Form I-539;
   4. Form I-765; and
   5. Any other immigration benefit type deemed appropriate by the Secretary.
3. Increases the premium processing fee for benefit requests that are already eligible for premium processing services from $1,440 to $2,500, except for H-2B and R-1 petitions.
4. Requires rulemaking to set fees for expanded premium processing services, but it must be consistent with the following:
   
   1. EB-1 petitions for Multinational Managers and Executives or EB-2 NIW petitions – fee is no greater than $2,500 and processing time is no greater than 45 days.
   2. Change of status requests for F, J and M - fee is no greater than $1,750 and processing time is no greater than 30 days.
   3. Change of status requests for dependents seeking E, H, L, O, P and R – fee is no greater than $1,750 and processing time is no greater than 30 days.
   4. Form I-765 – fee is no greater than $1,750 and processing time is no greater than 30 days.
5. Allows for a biennial adjustment of premium processing fees based on the Consumer Price Index without rulemaking.
6. Clarifies that the processing time clock does not begin until “all prerequisites for adjudication are received” by DHS.
7. Ensures that providing expanded premium processing services does not result in an increase in processing times for other benefit applications.
8. Requires a semi-annual congressional briefing and that within 180 days, USCIS provide a five year plan on establishing:
   
   1. Electronic filing procedures for all applications and petitions;
   2. Acceptance of electronic filing at all locations; and
   3. Issuance of all correspondence and notices electronically; and
   4. Improving processing times for all immigration and naturalization benefit requests.

Read H.R. 8337   Read Section-by-Section of H.R. 8337

Past Updates

On September 10, 2020, the Kansas Reflector reported that USCIS intends to furlough 800 people who work for a private contractor at the agency's National Benefit Center (NBC) in Lee's Summit, Missouri. The NBC collects information, conducts background checks, and prepares a variety of applications for USCIS's local field offices. Agency cutbacks like this furlough of private contractors will increase backlogs and processing delays throughout the country. Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) led a group of his colleagues in sending a bipartisan, bicameral letter to USCIS requesting a briefing to better understand how the agency reached this decision.

AILA continues to support the bi-partisan Case Backlog and Transparency Act of 2020, H.R 5971, and urges Congress to pass this much needed legislation along with other measures to get the agency back on track. Email your members of Congress to support H.R. 5971

Read AILA's Statement on USCIS's Announcement   Take Action

On August 25, 2020, USCIS announced that it will avert an administrative furlough of more than 13,000 employees, or nearly 70 percent of its workforce, that was scheduled to begin August 30, 2020, "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 FY2020. USCIS states, however, that “Aggressive spending reduction measures will impact all agency operations, including naturalizations, and will drastically impact agency contracts.”

On August 22, 2020, the bipartisan Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act (H.R. 8089) was introduced. The bill, which passed by unanimous consent in the House on August 22, 2020, seeks to immediately increase USCIS premium processing revenues. It is unclear when and if the bill will be introduced or considered in the Senate.

Read H.R. 8089   View Section-By-Section Summary of H.R. 8089

In May 2020, USCIS notified Congress of a massive projected budget shortfall that is threatening the agency’s operations and the financial wellbeing of thousands of USCIS employees. USCIS has requested a $1.2 billion bailout from Congress to keep the agency afloat. Without this funding, USCIS claimed that it would not have sufficient funds to maintain its operations through the end of the fiscal year or to fund its operations during the first quarter of FY2021.

USCIS started issuing furlough notices to its employees, anticipating that the agency would need to furlough approximately 13,400 employees starting August 30, 2020, if the agency did not receive funding from Congress. (Furloughs were initially set to begin on August 3, 2020, but were postponed.) Employees were to remain furloughed until October 1, 2020.

• USCIS Deputy Director Releases Statement on USCIS’s Fiscal Outlook – June 25, 2020
• USCIS Provides FY2019 Statement of Financial Condition – June 23, 2020
  • In this report, USCIS projects that its net spending for FY2020 will exceed total projected revenue by eight percent.

Potential Impact of Furloughs on the U.S. Legal Immigration System

• The anticipated agency furloughs will halt U.S. immigration, negatively impacting families, U.S. businesses, educational institutions, medical facilities, and churches.
• If USCIS is essentially shut down, immigrants who are in the process of becoming naturalized U.S. citizens will not be able to complete the process in time to register to vote, DACA recipients will not be able to renew their benefits, asylum applicants will face increased delays, and businesses will be unable to hire or retain employees.
• According to the Migration Policy Institute, “For each month the USCIS furlough lasts, 75,000 applications for various immigration benefits will not be processed.”
  
  • Migration Information Source (Migration Policy Institute): Impending USCIS Furloughs Will Contribute to a Historic Drop in U.S. Immigration Levels – July 28, 2020

Potential Impact of Furloughs on the USCIS Ombudsman’s Office

• The USCIS Ombudsman’s Office announced that potential USCIS furloughs will have an adverse impact on its work. The office will continue to intake and submit requests for case assistance to USCIS, but anticipates delayed responses from USCIS as a result of the furloughs. The furlough will also have an impact on the Ombudsman’s ability to work with USCIS on reviewing and recommending solutions to system problems in the administration of immigration benefits.
  • USCIS Ombudsman’s Office to Be Adversely Impacted by Potential USCIS Furloughs – July 13, 2020

AILA Resources

USCIS’s $1.2 Billion Emergency Funding Request

• AILA and Partners Send Follow-Up Letter to USCIS Regarding Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act – December 16, 2021
• AILA and Coalition Partners Send Letter to USCIS Urging Implementation of the Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act – March 1, 2021
• AILA Press Statement: Rescission of Furlough Threats Is an Important First Step in Holding USCIS Accountable - August 25, 2020
• USCIS Budget Crisis: What You Should Know – August 25, 2020
• Client Template Letter to Congress Regarding USCIS Furloughs – August 21, 2020
• How to Manage the Effects of the Looming USCIS Furloughs on Your Practice - August 18, 2020
• AILA’s Statement for House Hearing on “Oversight of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services” - July 29, 2020
• AILA and the American Immigration Council Send Letter to Congressional Appropriators Regarding USCIS Emergency Funding Request – May 29, 2020
• AILA Press Release: AILA Urges Strict Congressional Oversight Over Any Emergency Appropriations for USCIS – May 20, 2020

Congressional Efforts

• Missouri and Kansas Members of Congress Send Letter to USCIS Regarding Contractor Furloughs in Kansas City - August 31, 2020
• H.R. 8089: The Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act
  • Section-By-Section Summary of H.R. 8089
• House Homeland and Border Security Chairpersons Send Letter Calling for Delay of USCIS Furloughs – August 21, 2020
• House and Senate Committee Leaders Send Bicameral, Bipartisan Letter Calling for Delay of USCIS Furloughs – August 21, 2020
• Senator Leahy Urges USCIS to Further Delay Unnecessary Staff Furloughs – August 18, 2020

• On July 29, 2020, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship conducted a USCIS oversight hearing. The hearing consisted of a government panel with Joseph Edlow, Deputy Director of USCIS, as well as a non-government panel. AILA’s Director of Government Relations Shev Dalal-Dheini testified in the non-government panel, along with Doug Rand of Boundless, Michael Knowles, President of AFGE Local 1924, the local USCIS labor union, and Jessica Vaughan of the Center for Immigration Studies.
• Senators Calls on DHS and USCIS to Save USCIS Employees from Unnecessary Furloughs - July 21, 2020
• Senators Call for Emergency Funding of USCIS with Appropriate Guardrails to Ensure Responsibility and Accountability - July 16, 2020
• H.R.7508: Supplemental Appropriations to USCIS – July 9, 2020

Media Resources

• Forbes: Congress Greatly Expands Premium Processing for Immigration Benefits – October 1, 2020
• Kansas Reflector: Immigration Agency Cuts of 800 Kansas City Jobs Expected to Trigger Backlogs, Delays Nationwide- September 10, 2020
• Forbes: USCIS Staff Furloughs Will Grind Legal Immigration to a Halt – August 17, 2020
• USA Today: US Immigration Services Set to Furlough Two-Thirds of Its Workers After Coronavirus Stimulus Talks Fail – August 11, 2020
• Government Executive: USCIS Pleads for Money to Avoid Furloughs, Democrats Float Making the Funds Contingent on Policy Changes – July 29, 2020
• Federal News Network: With Deadline Looming, USCIS Employees Brace for Furloughs – July 15, 2020
• CNN: $1 Billion Shortfall, Furloughs Could Bring US Immigration System to a Halt – July 2, 2020
• Federal News Network: Furlough Notices Arrive for Some 13,400 USCIS Employees – June 29, 2020
• World Magazine: Immigration Budget Crisis Reflects Change in Policy – June 25, 2020
• Think Immigration: USCIS Hypocrisy Reaches New Levels – June 30, 2020
• Washington Post (Opinion): Trump Wasted So Much Money Harassing Immigrants That His Immigration Agency Needs a Bailout – June 11, 2020
• Think Immigration: Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $1 Billion Dollars Without Changes at USCIS – June 9, 2020
• Immigration Impact: USCIS Claims It’s Strapped for Cash, Requests Emergency Funding from Congress – May 21, 2020

Related Resources

• Featured Issue: USCIS Accountability and Oversight