Congress Passes Short-Term Measure to Lift Partial Shutdown Through February 15

At a glance

• Border security and budget negotiations will continue through February 15, but another partial shutdown could occur if Congress and the White House do not reach agreement.
• Affected government agencies, including some immigration functions, are expected to resume shortly after the President signs the bill.

The situation

The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have passed a temporary spending measure that fully reopens the federal government through February 15, 2019 while budget and border security negotiations continue.  President Trump has said he will sign the measure.  If no agreement is reached by February 15, a further shutdown could occur.

Affected immigration functions are expected to resume shortly after the bill becomes law.  This is expected to include the lapsed E-Verify system and the EB-5 Regional Center Program.  Some CBP services that were suspended or slowed by the shutdown – including correction of errors on I-94 arrival records – should resume but may be delayed as local CBP offices work through backlogs.

USCIS, U.S. consular services and Department of Labor immigration operations were not affected by the shutdown and continue to operate.

Fragomen is closely monitoring immigration services affected by the shutdown and will provide updates as new information becomes available.

This alert is for information purpose only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with who you work.