On June 25, 2020, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced its plans to furlough over 13,000 of its staff, which will impact its current operations and mission. The USCIS Deputy Director for Policy Statement explained that if Congress does not provide the much needed funding, the furlough will being on August 3, 2020 and will last through the end of Fiscal Year 2020. The agency explained that this is due to the “ effects of the coronavirus pandemic”, that it has “a crippling budget shortfall that requires assistance from Congress.”

If the Congress does not provide additional funding to the agency over the course of the next month and USCIS furloughs its staff, the processing of pending cases will be significantly delayed. Moreover, USCIS may stop accepting new applications or may put them on hold until October 1, 2020. If your work permit or status document expires soon, you should work with you immigration counsel to see if your application/ petition can be submitted in the next month, before the expected furlough on August 3, 2020. The timely filing of an application for immigration benefit within the U.S, will allow you, in certain circumstances to remain in the U.S, legally and continue working, while the case is being adjudicated. Employers should work with their counsel to prioritize the cases for their employees who might be most adversely affected by these additional challenges. In these unprecedented times, it is critical to not only get information from credible sources, but also seek advice from immigration attorneys who can help you assess your specific immigration situation.