With a potential federal government shutdown on the horizon,
here is an outline of the impact this would have on U.S.
immigration cases, particularly immigration processes handled by
the Department of Labor (DOL).
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is
primarily funded by application fees, so its operations will
generally continue with minimal disruption. However, certain USCIS
functions that rely on congressional appropriations, such as the
E-Verify system, will likely be suspended.
DOL Immigration-Related Operations Will Largely Cease
Based on prior experience during shutdowns, the DOL's Office
of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) will not be operational
during a shutdown. The OFLC will cease processing all applications
in the event of a government shutdown, and personnel would not be
available to respond to email or other inquiries. DOL's
websites, including the Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG)
system, would be deactivated.
