The Office of Personnel Management’s blanket offer for federal employees to accept its “deferred resignation” offer is starting to narrow.

Some agencies are notifying employees in certain critical positions that they are exempt from OPM’s offer. In other cases, agency leaders have told employees who already accepted the offer that they must keep working, regardless of what they have already been told by OPM.

The acting head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services told employees in an email Thursday that USCIS, like staff at other Department of Homeland Security components, are exempt from the deferred resignation officer.

“Today, we are informed at DHS headquarters that USCIS is exempt from this program, consistent with guidance from the OPM,” Acting USCIS Director Jennifer B. Higgins wrote in an email, obtained by Federal News Network. “As such, USCIS employees, like several other DHS components, are not eligible to participate in the program.”

Higgins said USCIS is also “fully complying with President Trump’s return to work memorandum,” and that agency leaders have provided updates on changes to employees’ work arrangements.

“If you have already replied opting for a deferred resignation, you do not need to take any action at this time, and USCIS will not accept your resignation through this program,” she added.

The situation is murkier at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

A departmentwide memo from acting VA Secretary Todd Hunter sent Wednesday said “VA may determine that certain positions are excluded from the program based on the needs of the department.”

A memo later sent to employees at one VA medical facility states that, “in order to ensure continued health care operations, VA will issue further guidance on executing the deferred resignation program.”

“If you select resignation, you are to continue to work until your supervisor confirms to you that you are in a leave status, even if you have received a message from OPM,” the VA memo states.

The memo from facility leadership tells VA health care workers that additional guidance from the VHA chief operating officer is expected in the “coming days,” and that “no operational changes stemming from presidential directives or orders are implemented outside of official VHA Operations guidance.”

“As we continue implementing all presidential directives and orders, I recognize that transitions can bring uncertainty. However, this is not unique to the current administration,” the memo states. “As federal employees, our duty remains clear: to follow official directives and ensure accurate, consistent communication reaches every level of our organization. Just as important, we must remain steadfast in our mission — caring for veterans and supporting each other as we adapt to these changes.”

Meanwhile, the acting head of the General Services Administration has told employees that the “OPM email is real and should be taken seriously,” and added that there are “NO excluded positions.”

“Per President Trump’s directives concerning the federal workforce, there will be a multi-step approach to reducing the size of the federal workforce and consolidating redundant operations,” GSA Acting Administrator Stephen Ehikian wrote in an email sent Thursday.

However, Ehikian warned that workforce cuts are in store, beyond the Feb. 6 acceptance deadline for OPM’s offer.

“If you do not accept, you should expect more changes to come. We will be implementing a performance culture that will evaluate everyone based on key performance metrics,” he said.  “There will be further consolidation of office and centralization of functions. This plan is actively being worked on, but will not be finalized before Feb. 6.”

GSA’s return to office mandate, he added, will go into effect on March 3, with the requirement of working five days per week at a federal facility.

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