Various federal agencies charged with different aspects of the immigrant and nonimmigrant visa process have begun to report what they will do in the event of a shutdown of the federal government. As a result of the impending federal government shutdown, only "essential" operations are likely to continue after Friday, April 8, 2011. The latest updates indicate that USCIS will remain open and operating as their operations are funded by collected fees. CBP’s operations are considered "essential", and so our land, sea, and air ports will remain open, though they may operate with limited staff. Immigrant and nonimmigrant visa processing at U.S. consulates and embassies abroad will likely shut down. This would impact all travelers who have upcoming visa appointments, as it is expected that consulates would only issue visas in "life and death" situations. The Department of Labor's Office of Foreign Labor Certification would also shut down, so that LCA (Labor Condition Application) and PERM (Labor Certification) processing will come to a temporary but indefinite halt. A certified LCA is required prior to filing any H-1B, H-1B1, or E-3 petition, and a DOL shutdown would greatly impact the ability to file petitions under these categories.

As we receive further news, we will provide additional updates.

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