Practice Alert: What Happens When the Government Shuts Down?
The federal government is officially shut down as of October 1, 2025. Use this page to stay on top of government shutdown news.
Note: This practice alert provides information about the current or most recent government shutdown. Information from past shutdowns contained in AILA Doc. Nos. 25030702 and 21092710 and other previous resources can be found on the Government Shutdown Archive page.
ALERT:
On October 31, 2025, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced that the FLAG system is now accessible, and users may prepare and submit new applications. DOL has begun processing prevailing wage requests and labor certification determinations. Similarly, SeasonalJobs.dol.gov has been fully restored.
General Shutdown Information
When government agencies close for budgetary reasons, all but "essential" personnel are furloughed and are not allowed to work. The following is an overview of how the immigration-related agencies have operated during prior shutdown periods. We will be updating this information to reflect any changes during this shutdown.
EOIR
Members should first review EOIR’s Immigration Court Operational Status for the latest updates. Please note: currently, cases on the non-detained docket are proceeding as usual. This is a departure from previous shutdowns, when generally immigration court cases on the detained docket would proceed while non-detained docket cases would be reset for a later date when funding resumes. Courts should issue an updated notice of hearing to respondents or representatives of record for reset hearings.
USCIS
USCIS is a fee-funded agency so if the government shuts down, it is generally business as usual. The exception to this is programs that receive appropriated funds – E-Verify, the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program, Conrad 30 J-1 doctors, and non-minister religious workers, which are suspended or otherwise impacted.
- The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program should not be impacted by a shutdown as it was authorized through September 30, 2027.
- The Special Immigrant Religious Worker Program will sunset on September 30, 2025, unless a Continuing Resolution or appropriations package is signed into law before that date.
- USCIS previously confirmed that employers may continue to use the new alternate review process for remote I-9 document verification if E-Verify is temporarily unavailable due to a government shutdown. It is expected that this will continue to be the case, as the agency has not said otherwise.
- As of October 8th, the E-Verify web portal appears to be back online and fully operational. It is unclear whether this is temporary or whether E-Verify has been deemed essential for the remainder of the government shutdown.
- In the past, when the government reopened, USCIS accepted late I-129 filings provided the petition was submitted with evidence that the primary reason for failing to timely file an extension of stay or change of status request was the government shutdown.
- USCIS Director Joe Edlow shared an update regarding the use of agency resources during the shutdown on X. According to the update, USCIS is reprioritizing its resources to focus on “reviewing cases with national security concerns, vetting immigration backlogs to ID threats, & referring all threats to @ICE.gov.” Edlow also shared that this “may impact processing times” and that “Public facing interactions such as interviews, naturalization ceremonies, and contact center responses may also be delayed.”
DOS
Visa and passport operations are fee-funded and thus are not normally impacted by a lapse in appropriations. Consular operations can nevertheless be impacted if there are insufficient fees to support operations at a particular post. In such a case, posts will generally only handle diplomatic visas and "life or death" emergencies.
View the DOS Liaison Committee's practice alert on the shutdown for more information.
CBP
Inspection and law enforcement personnel are considered "essential." Ports of entry will be open, and processing of passengers will continue; however, processing of applications filed at the border may be impacted.
ICE
For local practice questions, members may want to check with their local chapters. Generally, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) can continue, and the Office of Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) assistant chief counsels will focus on representing the government in the detained immigration court docket during a shutdown (see information below about EOIR). The ICE Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) offices are unaffected since SEVP is funded by fees. Members should also continue to be able to access their client in custody through regular means such as scheduling phone calls and visitation.
DOL
As of October 31, 2025, DOL resumed its adjudications of prevailing wage requests and permanent and temporary labor certification determinations. Its electronic systems, FLAG and SeasonalJobs.dol.gov, have also been restored, enabling employers to prepare and submit applications, as well as potential employees to find jobs.
Previously, from October 1 to October 30, the OFLC ceased processing all applications during the government shutdown and stated that personnel would not be available to respond to e-mail or other inquiries. Additionally, OFLC indicated that DOL’s websites (including the FLAG system) would be deactivated. However, OFLC confirmed that USCIS should still be able to access data which was uploaded from FLAG into VIBE before the shutdown in order to continue adjudicating certain I-129 H-2 and I-140 PERM-based petitions.
Although OFLC resumed operations on October 31st, BALCA and DOL ALJ dockets continue to be on hold.
Congressional Constituent Services
Some congressional offices may be closed during a government shutdown. Please contact your individual office for more information. To locate the constituent’s correct senators, please visit U.S. Senate: Contacting U.S. Senators; to locate congressional representatives, please visit https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative.
** Please note that AILA is no longer able to provide individual case liaison assistance. If USCIS has not issued a response via the regular inquiry channels (Emma or e-request), members may submit well-documented inquiries to USCISFeedback@uscis.dhs.gov.