If you have applied for OPT (Optional Practical Training) or STEM OPT program, you might be longing for the moment to receive the EAD (Employment Authorization Document) so that you can be legally authorized to work. Sadly, this might take longer than ever and yes, it is due to COVID-19.
According to The Trump Administration Just Furloughed 13,400 Immigration Workers written by Paul Blest and Ani Ucar, “approximately 13,400 employees of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services work to find out they will be furloughed beginning in August.”
For those who are not familiar with the definition of furlough, it can simply be switched to the word ‘unpaid vacation.’ If you are furloughed, you are not fired, yet you won’t receive any money until you are called to go back to work. Going back to the topic, as you might know already, USCIS offices across the country were closed for around 2~3 months since March to stop the spread.
On top of the works, they need to catch up on the shortage in staffing caused by this furlough plan may delay general USCIS Gov Processing time as well as EAD processing time. This blog post covers why USCIS had the hardest hit by COVID-19 and how this will impact international students and scholars.
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USCIS’s COVID-19 furlough plan
USCIS employees received emails telling them the furloughs would begin on August 3 and last for at least 30 days, with the potential to last three months or longer, according to sources within USCIS. Employees were told last week that around 73% of the agency’s entire staff would be put out of work temporarily.
The Trump Administration Just Furloughed 13,400 Immigration Workers
In the last blog post titled, OPT application fee increase? Threats of OPT to the US, it is mentioned that the proposal to increase EAD processing fee is in review. It is because USCIS (US Customs and Immigration Services) is a fee-funded agency that heavily depends on immigration fees and USCIS claims that current fees are insufficient for them to operate effectively.
Given this budget shortage issue that they have already had, a 50% drop in receipts and incoming fees due to the office closure starting in March made the situation even worse for USCIS. The interview with current USCIS employees supports this: “The reasoning given for the furlough was declining revenues as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic crisis.”
What is more, the Trump administration recently published Proclamation Suspending Entry of Immigrants Who Present Risk to the U.S. Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the COVID-19 Outbreak and Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak which prohibit the entry and issuance of certain green card applications and works visas that include H-1B, H-2B, J and L visas.
Apparently, this wasn’t good news for foreign work visa applicants but USCIS staff also said this executive order wasn’t good news for them either from the financial perspective. Usually, H-1B processing fees, as well as green card processing fees, cost thousands, and 2 aforementioned proclamations blocked income sources to pay USCIS staff in related departments. For example, “nearly 1,500 staff members out of around 2,200 were furloughed in the agency’s Refugee, Asylum and International Operations division, with more than 600 of those workers in non-supervisory roles.”
Would furloughing staff members be the only option that USCIS has to overcome a dire financial situation? Actually, according to the article, USCIS has requested a $1.2 billion cash infusion from Congress back in May. However, even if it is approved, it takes some time to process the request which will be the end of July at the earliest.
Related blog post: Trump H1B Visa suspension 6/24~12/31 2020
How this will impact international students and scholars
“Stephen Miller is getting exactly what he wanted” one [USCIS] officer told VICE news
The Trump Administration Just Furloughed 13,400 Immigration Workers
Interestingly, USCIS employees who are on furloughs seemed not that surprised by this news. Part of it is because they have seen how Stephen Miller, Senior Advisor to the President, has planned out to limit some of the immigration benefits. Known as an immigration hawk, Stephen Miller is one of the key members who proposed a limiting work authorization program (OPT) for international students since 2015.
The absence of some individuals, who has regulatory authority to make decisions on preliminary permanent resident application review, will limit immigration courts to some degree as they don’t have the capacity to proceed with some procedures without a USCIS decision. In this light, USCIS officers expressed how they feel “saddened by the impact it would have on the immigration system.”
Related blog post: Trump immigration ban to suspend opt
“The impact on the courts will be significant” said Judge Dana Leigh Marks, president emerita of the National Association of Immigration Judges
The Trump Administration Just Furloughed 13,400 Immigration Workers
From the standpoint that USCIS needs to function with 30% of survived staff members from August, the following limitations are anticipated:
- EAD processing time may be delayed
- OPT and STEM OPT application review may take more time
- Permanent resident status review may be limited in some degree
To sum, 13,400 furloughed USCIS employees would have a significant impact on the U.S. immigration system. Combined with previous insufficient budget issue, it can be assumed that there will be delays in USCIS gov processing time such as adjudicating and processing various applications. Therefore, it is advisable for International students to apply OPT/ STEM OPT as early as possible and choose the latest start date.
All the most recent OPT processing time updates can be found on the OPT page. For STEM OPT-related information, click the STEM OPT page.
