More troubling news comes from USCIS as it announced that it planned to manage production of Employment Authorization Documents and Permanent Resident Cards in-house. This abrupt change came about after USCIS announced in mid-June that it’s contract with a third-party printing company had ended and it would take on the task of printing these documents. However, in a statement USCIS announced it would be scaling down printing due to the agency’s financial situation and a hiring freeze. Some estimates show that as many as 50,000 green cards and 75,000 work permits have not been printed. This delay affects everyone who is either an initial applicant for a green card or work permit and those who are applying for renewals.
This is troubling news for immigrants in the United States because these documents have far reaching implications in their daily lives. Individuals cannot work, obtain loans, or prove that they are in the country lawfully without their green cards or EADs. Understandably, immigrants are concerned about these processing delays because the law requires every adult legal permanent resident to carry their green card with them at all times. Failing to do so is considered a misdemeanor. These applications have already been approved and now, due to delays in printing, immigrants are left scrambling and with no indication of when they will receive their documents. In an announcement, USCIS would not speculate on the future projections or processing times leaving many immigrants wondering about just how long the wait for their documents will be.
Unfortunately, this may not be a temporary delay in processing times because USCIS has announced it plans to furlough over 13,000 employees as of August 3. USCIS has requested $1.2 billion from congress to keep the agency afloat. Without the funds, employees will remain furloughed until October 1, 2020. This would cause delays across the board because USCIS would essentially shut down. USCIS is funded almost entirely by fees, so it is no wonder that it is experiencing budgetary concerns in a time when the administration has taken steps to reduce immigration to the United States. Nonetheless, USCIS still plans to increase fees for applications starting November 14, 2020.
If Congress does not approve the request, we can expect to see much longer processing times for all types of applications. In particular, USCIS many not timely process an influx of applications filed after the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on DACA. Delays can also affect how many people are able to become U.S. citizens before the November elections.
Likewise, when the economy fully reopens, businesses may not be able to hire people back because they will not be able to prove that they can work legally. Despite the current delays, immigrants who are able to should continue to submit their applications to USCIS as soon as they can before the costs for filing fees increase and before additional delays come into play.
