Visa Restrictions In The US Could Cause Substantial Job Cuts IN USCIS

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Shivani Singh
Shivani Singh
Shivani has been an avid reader of newspapers since her childhood and likes to know what is happening around the world. Her love for news and bringing forth the absolute is what drove her writing for the people. She has worked in the industry for over 4 years and believes that people’s basic rights should always be honoured. Apart from reading, she is a foodie and loves to try her hands-on cooking different cuisines.

Highlights:

  • US President moves to put visa restriction in the country
  • The restrictions could cause massive job cuts in USCIS
  • Donald Trump has made a re-election 2020 campaign out of cutting both illegal and legal immigration

The US agency which is in-charge of processing the immigration applications, on Wednesday said, it is preparing to layoff almost 70% of its workforce unless fresh funding is fused in. Employees say that if this happens, it could bring an already backlogged system to a virtual halt.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is majorly dependent on the fees it collects from the new immigration applications to keep itself running and currently is facing an unprecedented budget shortfall.

Also Read: Sikh Owned Indian Restaurant In The US Vandalised With Hate Speech On Wall

Republican President, Donald Trump has made the 2020 re-election campaign around the cutting down of both illegal and legal immigration. The new regulations and a series of executive orders along with the travel restrictions placed to combat the novel Coronavirus the number of immigrants coming to the US has dropped considerably.

A spokesperson of ISCIS, in a statement, said that the agency has already witnessed a drop of 50% in fees since March when most of the travel and immigration were stopped as countries all around the globe tackled the Coronavirus pandemic.  The USCIS is asking for a $ 1.2 million bailout from Congress to avoid the staff reduction which it has projected.

The USCIS spokesperson in the statement said, On or before July 2, approximately 13,400 USCIS employees will receive notice that if USCIS must proceed with an administrative furlough, they would be furloughed beginning August 3,”.

The layoffs, if implements, “will for sure cause noticeable delays immediately,” said one employee of USCIS who requested anonymity as they are not authorised to speak on record right now. He added, “There are already so many backlogs to work through. It’s insane to even contemplate how bad this is going to get.”

The email, citied in a leading news agency said, ‘The staff of the Refugee, Asylum and International Operations division of USCIS was informed in an email seen by Reuters that notices were being sent on July 24 and 25 to approximately 1,500 employees of the 2,200 on staff in that unit. Those kept on would be a “skeleton crew” to “keep the lights on,”’.

Donald Trump signed a presidential proclamation on Monday which now bans the entry of various categories of temporary visa holders and even extended the ban on some green card applications. The administration claims this will open up job opportunities for the Americans.

However, many critics are saying this decision will hurt the economy.

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