Meanwhile, a deferred action — whereby DHS decides at its discretion against deporting or prosecuting an individual — must be done for free for every new applicant.

Amid all of this, a continuing hiring freeze at all levels of the federal government means that USCIS won’t be allowed to hire any new employees to deal with the influx of new immigration cases.

Add to that President Obama’s decision to sidestep Congress, which leaves the program without specifically appropriated funds.

All of this, say critics, creates a program that is unworkable and will only lead to rationing of other services provided by USCIS.

Jessica Vaughan, a policy analyst at the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, explained how she believed this would play out. “The immigrant that paid money for a visa application is the one that’s going to get hurt because their case will now be slowed down dramatically even though they followed all the rules,” Vaughan told TheDC.