Impact of Federal Government Shutdown on Immigration-Related Agencies
Updated on: October 15, 2025
The federal government officially closed at 12:01AM ET October 1, 2025 after Congress and the President failed to reach an agreement on a funding bill. At this time, it is unknown when the government will return to full operational capacity.
Below is a summary of how the government shutdown impacts immigration-related services:
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) - ACTIVE
The USCIS is a fee-funded agency and is not impacted by the government shutdown. The USCIS continues to accept and process petitions and applications for immigration benefit requests, such as H-1B petitions, change of status applications, adjustment of status (green card) applications and citizenship applications. Furthermore, local USCIS Field Offices and Application Support Centers remain open and individuals are advised to attend interviews and appointments as scheduled. Certain USCIS programs will however experience interruptions by the government shutdown due the expiration of congressional authorization or a lapse in funding, such as the E-Verify system (see below). The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program, which requires congressional authorization, should not be impacted by a government shutdown as it was authorized through September 30, 2027.
Department of State (DOS) - ACTIVE
Similar to the USCIS, the DOS’ visa and passport operations are fee-funded, and most immigration-related programs with the DOS are not directly impacted by a government shutdown. US embassies and consulates remain operational and interviews for immigrant and nonimmigrant visas will continue. However, the DOS recently stated that visa processing services at US embassies and consulates will remain available as sufficient fee balances exist, and that posts may limit consular processing if there are insufficient fees to support these services. As such, applicants should anticipate possible delays in processing times and interview wait times.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) - ACTIVE
CBP’s operations are considered “essential” and will continue during a government shutdown. U.S. ports of entry remain open to process travelers entering the United States. However, as was the case during previous government shutdowns, it is possible that the processing of applications or petitions filed with the CBP at U.S. ports of entry/border or deferred inspection offices may be delayed, and people seeking to enter the United States may face longer wait times.
E-Verify - ACTIVE
The E-Verify system was temporarily suspended when the government shutdown began. To minimize the impact on employers, the three-day rule for creating E-Verify cases was suspended for cases affected by the unavailability of E-Verify during the shutdown. Furthermore, the USCIS confirmed that employers can use the alternate document review process during the government shutdown and view new employee documentation evidencing identity and employment authorization virtually when completing the Form I-9.
The USCIS has since announced that the E-Verify system has been restored. E-Verify employers must create cases for employees hired during the shutdown by Tuesday, October 14th. If E-Verify was unavailable and the employer missed the 3-business-day deadline, the delay must be explained as follows:
Select “Other” from the “Select a Reason for Delay” drop-down menu
Enter “E‑Verify not Available” as the specific reason in the “Reason for Delay” text box.
The days that the E‑Verify was unavailable will not count toward the three business days employers usually have to create a case in E-Verify.
Please note that a government shutdown does not affect the requirement for employers to complete the Form I-9 for all new hires, reverifications, and rehires.
Department of Labor (DOL) - SUSPENDED
The DOL‘s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) operations have been suspended due to the government shutdown. The DOL has ceased processing all applications and the OFLC's FLAG system is inaccessible to file PERM Labor Certification Applications, requests for Prevailing Wage Determinations (PWD), and Labor Condition Applications (LCAs) for H and E-3 nonimmigrant visa petitions. Furthermore, pending applications are placed in abeyance until the DOL resumes operations.
What this Means for Our Clients
Although the USCIS and DOS will continue to accept and process petition and application filings during a government shutdown, employers could experience serious disruptions in onboarding new employees, and filing extensions or amendments for existing employees, as many employment-based USCIS petitions and some DOS visa applications require LCAs from the DOL as a prerequisite to filing. We will be reaching out to our clients who are impacted by the government shutdown for contingency planning.