United States: Preparing for a Possible March 15 Federal Government Shutdown

Should a shutdown occur, the following would be the expected impact on immigration operations based on prior shutdowns in previous years. Fragomen will provide updates on ongoing developments.

Department of Labor (DOL): DOL immigration functions would likely be suspended as non-essential functions. No PERM or temporary labor certification applications, labor condition applications (LCAs), or prevailing wage requests would be processed. Online application systems would be taken offline and would not accept PERM applications or audit responses, LCAs, or prevailing wage requests. The agency would also be unable to accept submissions by mail.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS): As a fee-funded agency, USCIS is generally expected to continue processing applications and petitions for immigration benefits, but processing delays could occur if adjudication of a case is dependent on support from government functions that are suspended – for example, a clearance from an agency that is affected by the shutdown. Appointments at USCIS local offices and Application Support Centers should not be affected by a shutdown. Because DOL LCA operations would be suspended, employers planning H-1B, E-3, or H-1B1 extensions or changes of employer – for which a DOL-certified LCA is required – may be unable to file if they do not already have an LCA in hand.

Possible impact on USCIS H-1B cap registration system: The March 14 expiration of current federal government funding falls during this year’s annual H-1B cap registration period, which runs from March 7 to March 24, 2025. As previously noted, it is not yet known what effect, if any, a possible government shutdown might have on the USCIS H-1B cap registration system. Although USCIS, as a fee-funded agency, is typically unaffected by government shutdowns, if federal systems that support the USCIS cap registration platform are suspended, there could be an impact on cap registration.

Possible impact on H-1B cap petition filings: A government shutdown might also impact the H-1B cap petition filing period and process. If a shutdown were to last more than a few days beyond the scheduled March 24 close of the cap registration period, USCIS may need to delay the start of the H-1B cap filing period, which normally begins on April 1. By regulation, the H-1B cap filing period must be at least 90 days, so the filing period would not be truncated, but later start and end dates could be disruptive to some employers and foreign nationals. Further, because the U.S. Department of Labor suspends operations during a shutdown, LCAs required for H-1B petitions could not be drafted, accessed, or processed during that time.

Department of State: The State Department’s visa processing and U.S. citizenship document functions would not be suspended as long as filing fees remain available to fund consular operations. However, some passport offices may be affected if they are located in federal buildings that are closed due to the shutdown. If a shutdown is lengthy and fee funding is depleted, the agency could suspend visa processing or limit it to emergency cases only.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP): Inspection functions at U.S. borders and ports of entry would remain in operation. CBP would likely continue to process immigration applications at the border, such as applications for initial TN or blanket L status submitted by Canadian nationals.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): ICE enforcement activities and operations of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) would continue.

E-Verify: Congressional authorization for E-Verify will expire if no legislation is passed. Employers would not be able to initiate E-Verify queries or resolve tentative non-confirmations, and would not be expected to meet the usual E-Verify deadlines until the program is reauthorized. However, employers must not take any adverse action against an employee whose employment eligibility verification cannot be confirmed in E-Verify due to a shutdown. All employers remain subject to Form I-9 obligations and deadlines as usual. USCIS has previously indicated that qualifying employers will be permitted to use the alternative document review process for remote I-9 document verification in the event that E-Verify is temporarily unavailable.

Conrad 30 Program: Congressional authorization for the Conrad 30 program will also expire without legislation by March 14.

SAVE System: SAVE is the USCIS database used by government agencies – including state motor vehicle departments – to verify an applicant’s immigration status when processing applications for benefits. SAVE is expected to remain in operation during a shutdown.

EB-4 non-minister religious worker program: The employment-based fourth preference immigrant visa category for non-minister religious workers will become unavailable if legislation fails to extend the category beyond March 14. If the program expires, the government will not be permitted to approve applications under the category until the program is revived.

Over the next two weeks, Congress will be working to reach agreement on an appropriations bill or another stopgap spending measure to avoid a partial government shutdown. Fragomen is following the budget debate closely and will issue further client alerts as developments occur.