{"id":24865,"date":"2021-08-06T09:59:42","date_gmt":"2021-08-06T13:59:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/?p=24865"},"modified":"2021-08-06T09:59:44","modified_gmt":"2021-08-06T13:59:44","slug":"uscis-bleeding-financially-immigrationreform-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2021\/08\/06\/uscis-bleeding-financially-immigrationreform-com\/","title":{"rendered":"America Gets Worst of Both Worlds at USCIS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services<\/a> (USCIS) \u2013 which administers America\u2019s naturalization and immigration system — is losing more than $3 million a day, and cutting corners on security. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike most federal agencies, USCIS is almost entirely funded through user fees. And like many businesses, it was hit hard by a drop in paying customers during COVID-19. But a new report by the USCIS ombudsman<\/a> confirms that long before coronavirus arrived, the agency\u2019s fiscal condition was deteriorating due to a chronic failure to update fees and recoup of the costs of adjudication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By law, USCIS is supposed to recalibrate its fee schedule every two years to recover administrative expenses. \u201cThe agency has never met that congressional mandate and \u2026 essentially offers immigration benefits today at yesterday\u2019s lower cost,\u201d notes the Center for Immigration Studies<\/a> (CIS). \u201cCombined with the Obama administration\u2019s generous use of fee waivers and exemptions, the agency was forgoing $1.5 billion a year in potential revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Trump administration tried\nto stop the bleeding with updated user fees, but a federal judge blocked that\nmove on questionable procedural grounds. Ur Jaddou, Joe Biden\u2019s director of\nUSCIS, supports continued granting of expansive fee waivers, inviting more\ndepartmental deficits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The agency\u2019s ombudsman\nforeshadowed how Biden\u2019s team is now bankrupting USCIS. Looking back, USCIS expected fees to\ngenerate $3.41 billion in average annual revenue in FY 2019 and FY 2020. \u201cFor\nthe same period, the average annual cost of processing those immigration\nbenefit requests and providing biometric services is $4.67 billion,\u201d the\nombudsman reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As\nantiquated fee schedules fail to keep pace with actual costs, the agency is\ndigging itself a deeper hole. \u201cLetting\npolicy preferences instead of fiscal considerations influence the fees charged\nleads to tricky math and an increased likelihood that USCIS will continue to\noperate at a loss for the foreseeable future,\u201d says Rob Law, director of\nregulatory affairs and policy at CIS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meantime, in a further unwinding of national security<\/a> under Biden\u2019s team, USCIS plans to drop FBI name vetting of citizenship applications. Exposing the country to more immigration fraud and exploitation, the agency has already killed a biometrics rule<\/a> that was set to replace old screening protocols.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between its new security shortcuts and its ongoing fiscal irresponsibility, USCIS epitomizes this administration\u2019s immigration agenda, bringing the worst of both worlds to America. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) \u2013 which administers America\u2019s naturalization and immigration system — is losing more than $3 million a day, and cutting corners on security. Unlike most federal agencies, USCIS is almost entirely funded through user fees. And like many businesses, it was hit hard by a drop in paying customers during<\/p>\n

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