The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an organization that deals with the lawful organization to the United States. The organization itself is a part of the Department of Homeland Security. They offer various services meant for U.S. citizens and foreigners who wish to apply for a U.S. membership. These include services such as Citizenship, Immigration of Family Members and U.S. work visas. All of these are catered to by USCIS. It is an important branch of the U.S. federal constituency in general.
Table of Contents
Services Offered By UCSIS:
USCIS offers many services, mainly for those who wish to immigrate or have trouble migrating to the United States. Here are some of the services they offer:
- Citizenship: Those who wish to become legal U.S. citizens can submit a form through USCIS. If deemed legible, they are then allowed to take the Oath of Allegiance, which turns them into a permanent U.S. citizen.
- Immigration: U.S. citizens can bring their families and relatives to live and work in the United States.
- Work in the U.S.: People from other countries and students can start working in the U.S. if they are legible to do so and can also apply for a Green Card.
The UCSIS Furlough:
Dated on the 1st of October 2020, Congress will be funding USCIS through the 11th of December. USCIS is currently operating on a budget deficit, which means that there is a chance that a lot of employees of USCIS will be furloughed. Immediate access to funds is given to Congress’s department to cover the cost of operations, many budget cuts have been taken to reduce the department’s overhead cost. The processing fees of all dues have been increased, and a premium has also been added. There is no premium currently being added to dues; however, this is subject to change after a while.
Keep in mind that this budget cut was done as about 13,500 employees were about to be furloughed. The company itself hopes to maintain its operations properly. Moreover, additional cost-saving measures will also be provided to determine federal contracts to help UCSIS adjudicators process the millions of cases alongside other support activities.
Members of Congress previously did not accept huger budget cuts for UCSIS in hopes of its revival. However, now that the furlough has been avoided, Congress will have to join heads and think of a long-term solution so that the USCIS does not require any more assistance as the program expands further.
However, most presume that some congressional intervention will still be needed to operate the department on a normal working capacity until the fiscal year 2021. However, one must note that while the UCSIS furlough has been averted, it does come at a high cost since Congress will now have to fund UCSIS to ensure that it operates normally with no issues whatsoever.
The State of Immigration:
Immigrants make up most of the United States. Surprisingly, about 40 million who currently reside in the U.S. were born in some other country. This also indicates that the U.S. has the largest immigrant population in the entire world. Therefore, immigration has always been a key part of the United State’s growth and economic structure.
Currently, Immigration laws are quite stringent in the United States due to the high amount of illegal immigrants currently residing in the country. So, while the laws are getting harder every day, you will probably be needing a green card immigration lawyer in most probability.
How to Apply for A Green Card?
The U.S. judicial and immigration system is usually considered quite flakey. Most of the time, it takes lawyers to even understand laws that are present for you to be able to safely get a green card in the United States. However, after a lawyer has gotten accustomed to the rules and regulations, a green card immigration lawyer can easily help you get one quite quickly.
Surprisingly, it is very hard for you to get a very straightforward case in most situations. Most of the time, it takes just an insurance issue, criminal conviction, health problem or job issue to qualify the person as inadmissible, thus rendering them unable to get a green card. In these cases, a lawyer might need to put in extra work to convince the relevant immigration authorities.
Plus, especially in the Trump administration, there’s a high chance that you might spend hours talking to an immigration officer on the phone or might not be able to contact them at all. Generally speaking, there are many difficulties put in your way to stop you from taking the final step.
Should I Get A Green Card Immigration Lawyer?
If it is not obvious to you already, the short answer is Yes! You should be getting a green card immigration lawyer. While it does cost you a bit, you do end up saving a lot of time and hassle while also ensuring that your application is dealt with swiftly and your case is fought most sensibly and logically possible. Remember that rejection can pose very poorly for the next time you wish to apply for a green card. So, having it done the first time makes the most sense.
Most immigration lawyers have weekly meetings to talk about new policies and what the best way is to contact a particularly pesky immigration department. Moreover, forms and applications are filled for you, and you will need to spend your precious time running around confused about what you should be doing next, unlike most other legal areas where it is very easy for you to defend yourself.
In this case, we recommend that you go for a professional who knows what they are doing. It just simply saves you a lot of time and headaches in the long run.