"As we have internally shared, U.S.C.I.S. is in preliminary discussions to consider reallocation of its international U.S.C.I.S. office workloads to U.S.C.I.S. domestic offices in the United States and, where practicable, to U.S. embassies and consulates abroad," she said in response to emailed questions.
There is one other advantage to applying earlier in the cycle: admission office workloads are lighter.
Take the tax agency's Fresno, Calif., office, whose workload is typical of many I.R.S. offices.
The two Republicans on the three-member authority voted to close two of its seven regional offices, citing "workload, costs, and operating efficiencies" in its agency budget justification for fiscal 2019.
Jessica Collins, a spokeswoman for the agency, said the proposed reorganization would shift the agency's workload to other offices but not necessarily cut back on its operations.
She also sided with the unions in their fight to continue letting experienced employees transfer out of offices where workloads are the highest and most complex, despite the county's desire to keep them where they are needed most.
Rick Rossein, a professor at the City University of New York School of Law, said the commission's handling of workplace discrimination cases could be uneven, depending on each district office's funding, workload and the skills of its lawyers and investigators.
Lhamon said that her office's increased workload is partly of its own making.
John Inserra, noise abatement officer for the airport, said the change was intended to help the office better manage its workload and was not intended to muzzle critics.
The GFC, he said, led to a vast increase in complaints to the ombudsman, creating a backlog that led to the office "drowning in the workload".
