The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which depends on revenue from visa fees, was to furlough over 13,000 employees at the end of August as it was running out of funds, it had said earlier.
USCIS had requested the government for $1.2 billion in emergency funding, which the Bill, approved on Saturday, does not provide.
The Bill proposes to increase premium processing fees for visa applications to $2,500 from $1,440 and extend this service to newer visa categories as well.
The Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act was introduced by Emanuel Cleaver II, Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), House Committee on the Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee Ranking Member Ken Buck (R-CO), Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Jamie Raskin.