The Impact of a Government Shutdown on Immigration Processing

It appears increasingly likely that Congress will fail to agree on a budget ahead of the start of the new fiscal year on October 1, 2023. Should this occur, federal government operations will shut down to varying degrees based on the essential nature of the impacted government agency and whether/how much they rely on government appropriations as part of their operating budget. As such, a government shutdown will not bring processing of immigration benefits to a total halt, but will have an impact based on the specific agencies handling certain immigration benefits. Should a shutdown occur, Federal agencies that rely on government funding must halt all but “essential” functions, and only “essential” personnel are allowed to work. Fee-funded agencies will remain operational but their services may still be impacted. Should the government shutdown, processing delays should be expected, even for agencies that remain operational.

The government has shut down before, and while we cannot guarantee particular outcomes, the immigration consequences of previous shutdowns provide us with a guide as to what we can expect if the government shuts down on October 1, 2023. Below we outline how a government shutdown is expected to impact the various agencies involved in U.S. immigration enforcement and benefits.

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Impact of Potential Government Shutdown on U.S. Immigration Services

Following the passage of several continuing resolutions, Congress now has until midnight tonight (January 19, 2018) to pass a spending bill or another continuing resolution to keep the Federal government funded.  If Congress is not able to come to an agreement this would result in a government shutdown that would impact several government agencies responsible for administering parts of various immigration and visa programs.  While the situation continues to develop, we outline below the impact of a government shutdown on the various Federal immigration functions should Congress fail to take action prior to the deadline:

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Senate Approves Five-Day Funding Measure to Prevent Government Shutdown at Midnight

On December 10, 2015, the Senate unanimously approved a five-day funding measure to prevent a government shutdown at midnight tonight.  This extension is in addition to the Temporary Spending Measures passed by Congress on September 30, 2015 to prevent a government shutdown starting October 1, 2015.  If passed, the extension would give Congress until December 16, 2015 to pass a comprehensive $1.1 trillion spending package.

According to numerous reports, today the House is expected to vote on and pass the measure and President Obama is expected to sign the short-term continuing resolution into law, thus avoiding the shutdown at midnight. Once passed, the short-term continuing resolution will also extend EB-5, Conrad 30, Special Religious Workers, and E-Verify for five additional days. Several experts have indicated that Congress is close to passing the omnibus federal spending bill.

D&S will continue to monitor this developing situation and provide timely updates.