Passports will not be processed, E-Verify to stop.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: With each minute that ticks by, the US gets closer and closer to a government shutdown. House Republicans have refused to pass budget legislation unless it comes with provisions to delay the implementation of the Affordable Health Care Act – colloquially referred to as Obamacare – by at least a year.
Although it has been termed a “government shutdown,” the entire federal government will not cease to operate when the clock strikes midnight tonight. Several bureaus and departments will still be fully functional, while others will simply decrease the size of their operations and others will completely shut down. But what does the “government shutdown” mean for immigration? Quite a bit, as it turns out.
Sign up to receive H-1B and PERM-related news
The shutdown will affect the US Departments of Labor and State, as well as other government divisions, in significant ways. Specifically, the State Department (DoS) will cease the processing of passport applications unless they involve a “life or death” situation (which, the DoS is quick to point out, does not include “a really, really important business meeting”). They will also discontinue the processing of visa applications during the shutdown.
The E-Verify online service, which the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) use to screen foreign workers that business try to bring in for employment, will not be operational if a government shutdown goes into effect.
The Department of Labor (DoL) will stop processing all H-1B, LCA (Labor Condition Application), and PERM (Program Electronic Review Management) applications. Furthermore, DoL employees and personnel will not be allowed to respond to any sort of inquiries, even email.
The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency will experience a significant cutback in the processing of immigrants through border posts; some posts will remain operational in a much more limited capacity than usual, while others will shut down altogether. Only “essential personnel” will be at border posts, hence the decreased workflow.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com