What Are The Effects Of US Shutdown On H1B And Student Visa Processes?
Just three days remain until a potential government shutdown in the US, likely to spark political unrest and impair government operations.?
There are several services that the shutdown may impair even though fees paid by stakeholders support US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and are not dependent on congressional appropriations to fund its operations.?
Government shutdowns in the past have resulted in significant delays.?
USCIS has acknowledged those by citing "government shutdown-related delays as excusable," which may affect services like H-1B extensions without mandating that employees leave the country.
Only "essential" federal employees will work during a partial shutdown. Others have been placed on leave. Here are the ways in which immigration-related services are impacted, as determined by law, policy, and our experience.?
Which Immigration Services Have Been Affected By The Shutdown?
A visa is a legal requirement for citizens of one country who wish to enter another. A passport, a travel document issued by the traveller's country of citizenship, is required to enter the nation for which a visa is required. One must first acquire a US visa to travel to the country.?
How Will This Affect Visas, H-1Bs And E-3s?
Applications for H-1B, E-3, and H-1B1 work conditions are processed by the US Department of Work. These services will suffer since the department will close.?
The DOL Office of Foreign Labour Certification (OFLC) will stop processing prevailing wage, PERM labor certification, and other activities.?
Additionally, employees of this department won't be available to answer questions, and online systems for document filing, status checking, and uploading, among other features.
What About Other Services?
There is no concern about a shortage of funding because these operations are not fee-funded.??However, consular availability and processing may be impacted if the office is closed.?
According to Morgan Lewis, "If a consulate is affected by the shutdown, then it is likely that services will be restricted to diplomatic?visas?and serious emergencies."?
Enforcement and removal actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will continue, and ICE attorneys will normally concentrate on the detained docket during a shutdown.?Therefore, since fees fund SEVP, ICE Student and Exchange Visitor Programme (SEVP) offices (F-1, J-1, and M-1 visas) will remain open.??
What About New Cases?
Immigration court cases on the detained docket will continue as planned during a funding lapse in Congress.?In contrast, those on the non-detained docket will be rescheduled when money is reinstated.?
Courts with dockets for detained cases will continue to take in and handle files about detained matters.?According to Morgan Lewis, courts that only deal with non-detained cases will remain closed and not accept files.??
The DHS Office of the CIS Ombudsman would shut down and stop taking new case submissions online.? ?
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