United States – Federal Government Shutdown Temporarily Averted

Congress Acts on Government Funding

The new continuing resolution passed by Congress will fund the following four areas of the U.S. federal government until January 19, 2024:

• Agriculture, Rural Development and the Food and Drug Administration; 
• Energy and Water Development;
• Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; and
• Transportation, Housing and Urban Development.

The short-term spending bill, which does not include foreign aid to Israel or Ukraine, will fund the other remaining eight areas of the federal government until February 2, 2024:

• Defense;
• Commerce, Justice and Science;
• Financial Services and General Government;
• Homeland Security;
• Interior, Environment, and related agencies;
• Labor, Health and Human Services and Education; and
• The Legislative Branch.³

As noted above, all U.S. immigration-related programs will be funded until February 2, 2024.

The bifurcated approach to short-term funding is not typical, as prior continuing resolutions have funded the entire U.S. federal government.

What Immigration Professionals Are Watching For: Consequences of a Potential Government Shutdown

The effects of a potential shutdown include:

• DOL Operations: All DOL immigration-related processes would be suspended if the government were to shut down. All Labor Condition Applications (LCAs), Prevailing Wage Requests (PWRs), and Applications for Permanent Labor Certification (PERMs) would be put on hold. Notably, the FLAG system used to electronically file LCAs, PWRs, and PERMs would be offline during a shutdown.
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Adjudications: It is expected that USCIS will continue regular operations in the event of a government shutdown because the applications and petitions that the agency adjudicates are fee-based. However, any USCIS filings that require a DOL labor condition application or certification would be impacted, as these could not be filed until DOL operations resume.
• Visa Processing: Department of State visa application processing is expected to be impacted if visa application fees used to fund consular processes dwindle to the point that they cannot cover operational costs. Depending on the length of a potential shutdown, visa processing could be impacted due to reduced consular staffing and/or limited hours of operation at certain consulates and embassies.
• Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Operations: CBP employees are considered “essential” government personnel. As such, enforcement of exit/entry border processes would continue during a shutdown, but it is expected that there would be limited availability of certain additional CBP services (e.g., I-94 corrections).
• E-Verify: The E-Verify system would not be available during a U.S. government shutdown, but employers would not be relieved of their obligations to complete Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.

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