Is Immigration affected by the Partial Government Shutdown?

With the recent (partial) government shutdown, many are left wondering what will happen once the holidays are over and everyone is back to business. We know a partial government shutdown affects federal employees, but how does it affect you? To answer your questions, we’ve collected key points from a variety of sources (listed at the end).

If by “immigration” we mean whether the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) agency is affected by the partial government shutdown, then the short answer is “no”. USCIS is not funded by the government budget; it operates on its filing fees (which you pay).

The exception and long answer to the above question is when it’s a separately funded program under USCIS, such as the EB-5 investor program. To make it easier for you, here’s a list of what is affected by the partial government shutdown:

USCIS EB-5 Regional Center Visa Program: Expired and not renewed as of yet. This means USCIS and Department of State will not accept any new EB-5 applications until the program is reactivated.
USCIS Conrad 30 Waiver Program: Also expired and not renewed as of yet. This means USCIS and Department of State will not accept any new EB-5 applications until the program is reactivated.
USCIS Special Immigrant Religious Workers Program: The Eb-4 non-minister special immigrant religious worker program expired and is currently not active.
E-verify: Currently not funded. Processing of E-verify application halted. Employers are advised to use traditional I-9 forms and manually verify employment eligibility.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP): While CBP is considered an “essential” agency, any visa or immigration-related application submitted at the border could be affected. The processing of any applications is not guaranteed.
Department of State (DOS): While DOS has not received funding as of yet, it too operates on fees and will actively process visas and passports as long as it still has “reserves” left. Check with your local passport office to ensure it is not affected by a federal building shutdown.
Immigration Courts: As with previous furloughs (AILA resource), Immigration Courts handling non-detained immigrant cases will be closed, while Immigration Courts handling detained immigrant cases will continue to process. Details regarding exemptions from furlough as released by the Department of Justice are as follow:

“Executive Office for Immigration Review: Excepted employees are needed to process all immigration cases and appeals involving detained aliens, including criminal aliens; provide Headquarters oversight of excepted functions; provide administrative support for excepted functions; and preserve jurisdictional viability of discrimination cases within the Administrative Law Judge function”

Do you still have questions regarding the partial government shutdown? Or do you have questions regarding your immigration status? Contact our office to speak with an experience immigration attorney today!