What Happens to Immigration Services During a Government Shutdown?

Immigration services that will stay open during the shutdown:

  • Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
  • Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) – detention and enforcement operations will continue.
  • Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) – court functions that support the detained caseload will continue, but other functions are suspended.
  • Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) – processing emergency stay requests as well as cases where the alien is detained, including case appeals, motions, federal court remands, and bonds.
  • Immigration courts– reduction in staff, resulting in delays. If they are detained, deportations and border enforcement will proceed as usual.
  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) – all USCIS offices worldwide are open and individuals should report to interview and appointments as scheduled. Processing times will slow down due to dependence on other government agencies. E-Verify will not be available.
  • U.S. embassies and consulates overseas – only to serve American citizens with travel issues. Travel visas to the U.S. will not be processed.

 

Immigration services that will close during the shutdown:

  • CIS Ombudsman – will not be accepting any inquiries through their online case intake system.
  • Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Administrative Law Judges – will not be performing any case-related activities, including hearings.
  • Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) – will neither accept nor process any applications or related materials, including audit responses, Labor Condition Applications, Applications for Prevailing Wage Determination, Applications for  Temporary Employment Certification or Applications for Permanent Employment Certification. iCert Visa Portal System would become static and unable to process any requests.
  • Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – website will not be actively managed.

 

 Cite as “AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 11040730 posted Oct 1, 2013”

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