Covid impact: Proposed furloughs at fund-hit USCIS may bite India tech companies

Pune: US visa applicants could be in for a long wait as the agency that administers the visa process is fast running out of funds. The pandemic and consequent lockdowns in many parts of the US has halved receipts from visa applications and petitions, impacting the US Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) ability to function effectively. USCIS relies primarily on income from visa processing to run operations.

More than half of the agency’s 18,700 employees may be furloughed beginning July, the USCIS is believed to have informally told staff, according to a letter sent by Everett Kelley, the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, to the US Senate and Congress.