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ARTICLE · 10 AUGUST 2021

August 1, 2021 Newsletter Powered By ABIL

Fakhoury Global Immigration
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No Surprise: Ombudsman's Annual Report Says USCIS Faces ‘Unprecedented Challenges' Due to Pandemic, Backlogs, Financial Issues

United StatesImmigration
Fakhoury Global Immigration
Fakhoury Global Immigration
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No Surprise: Ombudsman's Annual Report Says USCIS Faces 'Unprecedented Challenges' Due to Pandemic, Backlogs, Financial Issues

The Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) Ombudsman's Annual Report for 2021 states that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) "faces unprecedented challenges this year on virtually every front-from financial pressures to substantial backlogs across applications and petitions of all types." The Covid-19 pandemic "created unique challenges for USCIS," the report notes, including temporary office closures and a lack of the ability for "end-to-end electronic processing." Once USCIS returned to operations at a reduced capacity, the agency had substantial backlogs of in-person appointments that needed rescheduling. The pandemic also exacerbated the agency's preexisting financial issues and "decimated carryover funding needed to maintain its operations." The problems began in 2020 and persisted into 2021: "The lingering effects

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