Congress Passes Spending Measure to Fund Federal Operations Through December 7

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At a glance

• Immigration functions will be funded through December 7, 2018 while Congress continues to work on the FY 2019 federal budget.
• E-Verify and the EB-5 Regional Center program, among other expiring programs, will be reauthorized without change through December 7.
• President Trump is expected to sign the bill into law, averting a government shutdown on October 1.

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The situation

Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6157, a FY 2019 appropriations bill funding several federal agencies and containing a continuing resolution to fund the rest of government (including the Department of Homeland Security ), through December 7, 2018. The Senate passed the measure on September 18.

President Trump has said that he intends to sign the bill, which would avert a federal shutdown after September 30. Congress will continue to work on FY 2019 appropriations bills for DHS and other agencies.

What it means

The bill, once signed into law, would ensure no disruption in federal immigration functions and agencies through December 7, and would extend the following expiring immigration programs through the same date without changes:

• The E-Verify electronic employment eligibility verification system;
• The EB-5 Regional Center permanent residence program;
• The Conrad 30 waiver program for foreign medical graduates who will work in areas of the United States that are underserved by physicians; and
• The Special Immigrant Non-Minister Religious Worker permanent residence program.

Though the continuing resolution extends the EB-5 Regional Center program without changes through December 7, the Administration is expected to propose regulations in the coming months that alter key aspects of the program, including higher investment thresholds and greater federal oversight of Regional Centers.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.