The partial U.S. government shut down began on December 22, 2018 will last until Congress passes a funding bill and President Trump signs it. This partial shut down, however, will not affect the employment of “essential employees” (i.e. law enforcement), the “already funded” services and “fee based” services.

Most of immigration services fall under the later two categories, therefore will see limited impacts from this partial shutdown (i.e. all Premium Processing services) However, some USCIS programs operate based on appropriated funds, including E-Verify and EB-5 Immigrant Investor and Regional Central Program. These programs may be suspended or otherwise impacted by a shutdown. We will provide further updates about the impact of a shutdown on these particular programs following announcements by USCIS.

While visa processing at U.S. Consulates abroad is fee-based, the US State Department may see a slowdown or even cessation of these services due to backlogs created within the department until funding legislation is passed. Should you have further concern, please do not hesitate to contact your corresponding attorney.