U.S. Government Shutdown Will Disrupt Many Immigration Processes

Programs at the Departments of State and Labor are likely to be affected more than others if partial government shutdown occurs on October 1.

The potential U.S. government shutdown on October 1 could have immigration-related consequences, especially for those immigration functions performed by the U.S. Department of State (State) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). These possible implications are set out below.

State Department

Although no official announcements have been made concerning which services would be affected by a shutdown, it is likely that State, which issues visas to foreign nationals at U.S. consular posts abroad, would operate on a severely limited basis. State's current policy is for consular operations in the United States and abroad to remain 100% operational as long as there are sufficient fees to support operations. Many visa application processes are fee based, so it is possible that some visa issuance could continue based on this