Federal Government Partially Shuts Down on October 1, 2013.

01 October 2013

The federal government will be partially closed starting today (October 1, 2013) until the Congress can pass the budget for the 2013-2014 fiscal year (federal government fiscal year starts on October 1). This means that all “non-essential” government employees will be furloughed until the Congress can agree on the new budget.

Below are some details on how the government shutdown affects the immigration services that it provides:

USCIS:

  • All offices are open.
  • Individuals should report to interviews and appointments as scheduled.
  • E-verify will be unavailable.
  • Adjudications of applications and petitions will continue, but some processing may be delayed.

Department of Labor

  • It will not accept or process any Labor Condition Applications or Applications for Prevailing Wage Determinations. This will severely cripple the processing of new H1B or PERM cases.

Department of State:

  • Visas to the United States and passport processing will be delayed.

Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR):

  • Immigration court will support the detained caseload, but all other functions will be suspended.
  • Board of Immigration Appeals will process emergency stay requests and detention cases.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP):

  • International travel and border security function will remain operational

In sum, we expect the shutdown to affect the immigration service provided by the federal government. New H1B and PERM cases will be affected most significantly as LCA and Prevailing Wage Determinations will be unavailable during the shutdown. Other services may be delayed even further than the current backlog.

We will provide additional details as it becomes available.

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