Implications of a Government Shutdown 2025

As of today, October 1, 2025, many aspects of the United States government have shut down because Congress cannot agree on a budget for continued spending, largely because of a stalemate on many important issues, including issues on healthcare and tax credit provisions (especially related to the Affordable Care Act subsidies).   

Effective immediately, many government offices have closed, or remain open but only to perform limited essential functions. It is unknown how long a government shutdown will last.  The longest U.S. government shutdown in history lasted 35 days, from December 22, 2018 to January 25, 2019, under the first Trump administration.   

This federal shutdown impacts our country’s immigration system in the following ways: 

Department of Labor (“DOL”):  The DOL is not accepting or processing any applications during the shutdown, including Labor Condition Applications (“LCA”), applications for prevailing wage determinations, applications for PERM applications and PERM audit responses.  This means that employers may experience delays in filing new and extension petitions for H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 employees, PERM recruitment may be delayed if the employer is waiting for a prevailing wage, and that PERM applications cannot be filed online. Employers who must file a PERM during the shutdown, or risk the recruitment going stale, should file the application by mail. 

Customs & Border Protection (“CBP”): The CBP will remain completely operational, meaning that airports, seaports, and other ports of entry to the U.S. will continue to be fully staffed. However, some services may be affected, such as documentation issuance and inspections, which could lead to delays.   

U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (“USCIS):  All USCIS offices are open and individuals should appear for their interviews and appointments as scheduled (ex. biometrics appointments, adjustment of status interviews, naturalization interviews, Infopass appointments, etc.) The USCIS offices remain open because their services are funded by the fees paid by applicants for immigration benefits. E-Verify, however, is currently unavailable due to the government shutdown and cannot be utilized at this time in the employment verification process.  

Department of State (“DOS”):   The DOS, which operates the U.S. Embassies and Consulates abroad, will attempt to remain as functional as necessary, but there will be delays in the processing of visa applications and in scheduling visa appointments. 

Executive Office for Immigration Review (“EOIR”): The EOIR, which operates the immigration courts in the U.S., typically furloughs all non-essential personnel during a government shutdown, meaning most scheduled court hearings (ex. Master Calendar, Individual Hearing, etc.) do not take place during the shutdown and are usually rescheduled. However, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), has confirmed that non-detained dockets are operating business as usual, at least for the time-being.  Therefore, we advise respondents to attend their scheduled hearings until receiving confirmation from their court that the hearing will be rescheduled.   

Immigration courts that handle detained cases remain open because these are considered “essential,” so hearings will proceed as scheduled.  Additionally, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) will only process emergency stay requests and well as cases involving a detained individual, but all other processing will be delayed. 

Immigration & Customs Enforcement (“ICE”): ICE’s detention and enforcement operations will continue during the shutdown. 

We will communicate further updates regarding the impact of the shutdown on immigration as they become available.