Citizenship and Immigration Services canceled more than 13,000 employee furloughs Tuesday, averting a catastrophe for the cash-strapped agency that oversees the nation's legal immigration system.
A return to normal operating procedures requires congressional intervention to sustain the agency through fiscal year 2021.The agency had warned that without $1.2 billion in emergency funding from Congress, it would have been forced to furlough roughly 70% of its workforce starting Sunday, drastically curbing operations.
Starting Oct. 2, the agency will increase its fees by roughly 20% on average and scrap fee waivers, including for asylum-seekers.
Danielle Spooner, head of the union representing agency employees, said she was grateful to hear the decision, but there were no guarantees.
The citizenship agency employs about 1,700 employees in the state, most of whom had received furlough notices.