GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

As of September 29, 2023, Congress has not passed, nor has President Biden signed, any of the 12 spending bills needed to keep the government open beyond the end of FY2023 on September 30, 2023. Unless these appropriations bills are passed, or Congress agrees on a temporary continuing resolution (CR), funding for agencies will lapse by midnight eastern time on October 1, 2023, which could result in a shutdown of some government agencies.

General Shutdown Information

If the government agencies close for budgetary reasons, all but “essential” personnel are furloughed and are not allowed to work. The following is an overview of how the immigration-related agencies have operated during prior shutdown periods.

USCIS

USCIS is a fee-funded agency so if the government shuts down, it is generally business as usual. The exception to this is programs that receive appropriated funds – E-Verify, the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program, Conrad 30 J-1 doctors, and non-minister religious workers, which are suspended or otherwise impacted.

DEPT 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.

CUSTOMS & 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

ICE enforcement and removal operations will continue, and ICE attorneys will typically focus on the detained docket during a shutdown. The ICE Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) offices are unaffected since SEVP is funded by fees.

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF IMMIGRATION REVIEW

Immigration court cases on the detained docket will proceed during a lapse in congressional appropriations while non-detained docket cases will be reset for a later date when funding resumes. Courts with detained dockets will receive all filings but will only process those involving detained dockets. Courts with only non-detained dockets will not be open and will not accept filings.

DEPT OF LABOR

The OFLC would cease processing all applications in the event of a government shutdown, and personnel would not be available to respond to e-mail or other inquiries. OFLC’s web-based systems, FLAG and PERM, would be inaccessible, and BALCA dockets will be placed on hold.

DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Nearly three in four DHS employees – more than 185,000 people – would be required to continue working through a shutdown, without receiving a paycheck. Those working without pay include law enforcement officers, analysts, investigators, and disaster response officials conducting work such as:

Safeguarding and securing our borders;
Processing, detaining, and removing individuals that have unlawfully entered the United States
Seizing illegal narcotics like fentanyl;
Identifying, disrupting, and dismantling criminal operations that smuggle weapons, drugs, and migrants;
Combating child exploitation and child predators;
Identifying and arresting human traffickers;
Conducting search and rescue operations;
Responding to natural disasters;
Preventing and coordinating responses to cyberattacks and threats to the federal government and other critical infrastructure; and
Protecting U.S. government leaders and foreign dignitaries.

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GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN