Impending Government Shutdown May Impact Business Immigration

As of this update, a federal government shutdown appears imminent due to the federal budget battle. Hopefully a shutdown will be averted, but if not, government funding will expire at 12:01 a.m. on December 21, 2024.  If government agencies close for budgetary reasons, all but "essential" personnel are furloughed and prohibited from working.

Below is an overview of how business immigration-related agencies have historically operated during such periods:

USCIS (United States Citizenship & Immigration Service)
USCIS operations generally continue during a shutdown since the agency is primarily funded by filing fees. However, programs reliant on appropriated funds, like E-Verify, the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program, Conrad 30 J-1 doctors, and non-minister religious workers, may be suspended or otherwise impacted.

In addition, immigration filings that rely on input from other non-fee-funded agencies (such as the DOL) may face delays, which would hinder the ability to file certain cases.

DOL (Department of Labor)

The Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) is not fee-funded and will suspend all processing activities during a government shutdown. This includes:

• Staff Unavailability: OFLC staff will not respond to emails or inquiries during the shutdown.
• System Inaccessibility: The web-based FLAG system will be offline, preventing the filing of PERMs, Prevailing Wage Requests, and Labor Condition Applications (LCAs) after December 20, 2024.
• Based on prior shutdowns, filing an LCA within a week of the potential shutdown date may still provide sufficient time for processing, though this is not guaranteed.
• BALCA Dockets: The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) will place all cases on hold.
• Potential Flexibility: In previous shutdowns, OFLC has issued guidance to accommodate employers with urgent filing deadlines and may do so again.

DOS (Department of State)
Visa and passport operations are fee-funded and thus are not normally impacted by a lapse in appropriations. Consular operations can nevertheless be impacted if there are insufficient fees to support operations at a particular post. In such a case, posts will generally only handle diplomatic visas and "life or death" emergencies.

CBP (Customs and Border Protection)
Inspection and law enforcement personnel are considered "essential." Ports of entry will be open, and processing of passengers will continue; however, processing of applications filed at the border may be impacted.

ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

• Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO): These activities generally continue during a shutdown.
• OPLA (Office of Principal Legal Advisor): Counsel will prioritize detained immigration court cases.
• SEVP (Student and Exchange Visitor Program): SEVP operations remain unaffected since they are fee-funded.

Additional agencies involved with family-based or humanitarian-based immigration may also face service disruptions.

In summary, while some immigration-related agencies like USCIS can maintain operations during a government shutdown, others, such as the Department of Labor, will suspend critical processes. Programs reliant on appropriated funds or coordination between agencies may experience significant delays. Hopefully, a shutdown will be averted, but if not, preparing early and filing essential applications before the shutdown begins should help mitigate potential disruptions.