Biden Signs Temporary Stopgap Spending Bill; Narrowly Averting a Government Shutdown

On Thursday, November 16, 2023, President Biden signed the stopgap spending bill into law which will temporarily keep the government open through at least early next year. The previous 45-day stopgap spending bill signed on September 29, 2023 was scheduled to end at midnight on November 18, 2023. As provided in our previous alert, a government shutdown would significantly impact most employment-based immigration matters as certain agencies such as the Department of Labor would cease immigration-related services.  

The recently signed stopgap spending bill is a continuing resolution that sets up two deadlines with funding for some government agencies expiring on January 19, 2024, and the remaining agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor, on February 2, 2024. While Congress was able to narrowly avert a government shutdown again, this time with bipartisan support, a long-term agreement on government spending for fiscal year 2024 has still not yet been reached, and the risk of a shutdown happening at the conclusion of this temporary period continues to remain.