Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 20) — The United States’ immigration agency allayed concerns of interruptions in services to affected applicants and petitioners, as it plans to close down some of its offices overseas.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in a statement sent to CNN Philippines Saturday said it is in preliminary talks to shift international workload to its domestic offices, as well as U.S. embassies and consulates abroad.
“USCIS is working closely with the Department of Homeland Security and with the Department of State to coordinate necessary interagency agreements to mitigate any interruption in the provision of immigration services to affected applicants and petitioners,” USCIS Spokesperson Jessica Collins said in the statement.
The USCIS has over 22 field offices worldwide, including one in Manila. Originally it had 23, but the Moscow office had closed as of February 28 due to “a significant decrease in workload” — and the U.S. Embassy in the Russian capital took over some of the USCIS duties.
Collins said the shift is to maximise resources and free up funds for addressing backlogs.
“This would be an administrative change to where the work is done and who the work is done by,” she added.
The USCIS oversees lawful immigration to the United States. According to its website, it has over 19,000 employees in 200 countries all over the world.
Its services include processing applications for U.S. citizenship, the immigration of family members, as well as working in the United States.
Applications for visas made by foreign nationals in foreign countries are issued not by the USCIS but by the Department of State.
