If Congress does not agree to a budget by 11:59 PM EDT September 30, 2025, the U.S. government will shut down on October 1, and all but essential government employees will be furloughed. As a result, government agencies performing immigration-related functions may be impacted.

Below is information regarding the anticipated impact of a government shutdown based on prior experience and statements made by officials, shared by the American Immigration Lawyers Association. As always, in order to understand how a shutdown might affect your case, please seek advice from your counsel at Van Der Hout LLP who can provide advice more specific to your circumstances.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

USCIS is a fee-funded agency so if the government shuts down, most operations continue as usual. However, petitions requiring a predicate Labor Condition Application (LCA) from the Department of Labor (e.g., E-3, H-1B, H-1B1 petitions and applications) may be impacted. The DOL is funded by appropriations, and its operations cease during a shutdown (see DOL discussion below). In the past, when the government reopened, USCIS accepted late I-129 filings, provided that the petition was submitted with evidence that the primary reason for failing to file an extension of stay or change of status request timely was the government shutdown. However, we do not know if USCIS will honor this practice going forward.

In addition, USCIS programs that receive appropriated funds may be impacted, including E-Verify. USCIS previously confirmed that employers may continue to use the alternate review process for remote I-9 document verification if E-Verify is temporarily unavailable due to a government shutdown. It is expected that this will continue to be the case, as the agency has not said otherwise.

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program should not be impacted by a shutdown as it was authorized through September 30, 2027. However, the Special Immigrant Religious Worker Program will sunset on September 30, 2025, unless a Continuing Resolution or appropriations package is signed into law before that date.

Department of Labor (DOL)

In the event of a shutdown, DOL’s websites, including the FLAG system, will be deactivated. Accordingly, employers will be unable to file Labor Condition Applications to support H-1B/E-3/H-1B1 petition and application filings. Processing of pending LCAs will be suspended until the government reopens.

The Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) will cease processing all applications in the event of a government shutdown, and personnel will not be available to respond to e-mail or other inquiries. Accordingly, employers will be unable to file PERM labor certification applications. If there is a shutdown, OFLC may issue guidance giving flexibility for late filings by employers with filing deadlines. For instance, in the past, DOL permitted employers to file PERM applications with expired recruitment if the employer was unable to file the PERM application with valid recruitment, due to the shutdown.

Although DOL systems will be deactivated, OFLC confirmed that USCIS should still be able to access data which was uploaded from FLAG into VIBE before the shutdown in order to continue adjudicating I-140 PERM-based petitions.

Department of State

Visa and passport operations are fee-funded and thus are not normally impacted by a shutdown. Consular operations can be impacted if there are insufficient fees to support operations at a particular post, particularly if a shutdown is protracted. In such a case, posts will generally only handle diplomatic visas and “life or death” emergencies.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

Inspection and law enforcement personnel are considered “essential.” Ports of entry will be open, and processing of passengers will continue; however, processing of applications filed at the border could be impacted.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Generally, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) can continue, and the Office of Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) assistant chief counsels will focus on representing the government in the detained immigration court docket during a shutdown (see information below about EOIR).

The ICE Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) offices should be unaffected since SEVP is funded by user fees. Accordingly, I-20s and DS-2019s should continue to be processed on behalf of F-1 student and J-1 exchange visitors.

Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR)

Generally, immigration court cases on the detained docket proceed during a lapse in congressional appropriations while non-detained docket cases are reset for a later date when funding resumes. Courts should issue an updated notice of hearing to respondents or representatives of record for reset hearings.

While in the past EOIR has not issued any guidance about credible fear reviews or cases in the Family Expedited Removal Management (FERM) program, these cases may be categorized as essential and may continue during a shutdown.

The shutdown is a fluid situation. Please check with your Van Der Hout representative about the ongoing impact.