U.S. Government Shutdown Looms: Key Immigration Services May Be Paused

Government Shutdowns and Immigration: What Employers Need to Know

As the U.S. approaches another fiscal deadline, the specter of a government shutdown looms once again. In the fall of 2024, a partisan standoff nearly halted federal operations. Now, in 2025, similar tensions threaten to disrupt critical government functions—including those that underpin America’s immigration system.  

A government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to reach an agreement on funding legislation for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins each year on October 1. The government narrowly avoided shutdowns in September and December of 2024, but uncertainty surrounds its ability to prevent another as the October 1 deadline draws near. 

As of September 12, 2025, multiple media outlets have identified four main drivers in the shutdown threat: 

• The inability of Congress to pass either a full-year budget or a continuing resolution (CR),  
• Partisan gridlock on government funding.  
• A proposed claw-back in foreign aid by the Trump administration and the Office of Management and Budget. 
• Senate dynamics, where Senate Republicans require votes from Senate Democrats to pass any funding bill due to the 60-vote threshold. This requirement has led Democratic lawmakers to push for policy concessions in exchange for their support. 

Why does this matter? Even a partial shutdown can ripple across agencies, delay visa processing and jeopardize the lawful status of foreign workers. Understanding these operational vulnerabilities—especially within the Department of Labor—is essential for employers, HR teams and immigration counsel to avoid costly disruptions. 

Past shutdowns reveal how immigration processes respond to government disruptions. This article draws on those lessons and guides stakeholders in preparing for potential delays in immigration processing if a shutdown occurs. 

 Join us as Judy Wong, Senior U.S. Immigration Attorney, and Julieta Grinffiel, Managing U.S. Immigration Attorney, break down the potential impacts and share practical guidance for navigating this uncertain landscape. 

The contents of this article are opinions provided for informative purposes only and are not meant as either legal advice or to establish an apparent or actual attorney-client relationship.  

Government Shutdown Effects on Immigration 

The most recent government shutdown occurred from December 22, 2018, to January 25, 2019, and resulted in minimal impact on the operations of agencies such as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the U.S. Department of State, both fee-funded. The government continues to designate U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as essential agencies. As a result, both agencies have continued operating during past government shutdowns and will likely maintain full functionality without significant disruption if another shutdown happens.

However, the 2013 shutdown, during which the Department of Labor suspended operations, caused significant disruptions to employment-based immigration. The distinction between the two government shutdowns is that the 2018-2019 shutdown was partial, and the DOL during this time had access to multi-year funding streams. In 2013, the shutdown impacted all 12 regular appropriations bills and the DOL had limited access to non-annual appropriations bills, requiring a halt to all discretionary funding.

If the DOL continues operating, it remains unclear whether the Employment and Training Administration (ETA), the branch most directly involved in immigration matters, will experience any impact.

Does a Government Shutdown Affect Immigration Agencies? 

A government shutdown can indirectly impact immigration—especially employment-based immigration—by disrupting the Department of Labor’s operations. The DOL processes applications required for specific filings with USCIS and the Department of State, including:

• Prevailing Wage Determinations (ETA Form 9141); impacts include PERM green card and H-2B work visa filings 
• Labor Certifications (ETA Form 9089); impacts include PERM green card and H-2A/H-2B work visa filings 
• Labor Condition Applications (LCA – ETA Form 9035); impacts H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 work visa filings 

FLAG System Vulnerability: Digital Bottlenecks During and After a Shutdown

The Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) is the online portal through which practitioners can file several DOL forms required for immigration processes. In the event of a shutdown, this online portal could be taken offline, causing significant delays for applications that are pending at the time of the shutdown and an inability to file the necessary paperwork for any new cases. The FLAG system could be doubly impacted following the restoration of government services, as practitioners eager to file cases can flood the system, causing further delay. 

LCA and PERM

If the DOL is unable to process LCAs, required for visas that allow foreign nationals to remain and continue to work in the U.S., individuals’ lawful statuses could lapse. Any new hires would also have to be delayed until services are back online. For certain companies, even the smallest gap in work authorization can cause significant business interruption, which could result in financial loss. As a result, it’s imperative that clients always track the work authorization of their foreign workers on a consistent basis and initiate extensions in a timely manner. 

In the context of permanent residency, the DOL processes labor certifications (PERM) required for certain immigrant visa petitions. Current processing timelines are already backlogged; according to the DOL itself, a non-audited PERM takes upwards of 16 months for adjudication.

Any further delay in adjudication will have an even more significant impact on foreign workers’ ability to remain in the U.S. and extend their work authorizations. Because certain visas can only be awarded for a maximum of five of six years (L visas and H-1B visas, respectively), a delay in Labor Certification adjudication can mean that the foreign worker must depart from the U.S. or can result in companies spending more money in filing fees to keep their foreign talent in the U.S. where they are needed for business to continue operations. Because of the intricacies of PERM, any delay from the DOL can cause a restart of an already lengthy process. 

Other Immigration Agency Impacts 

Other immigration agencies could be impacted during a government shutdown. Below is a list of those agencies and a brief synopsis of potential impact:  

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) 

Most petition- and application-based operations should continue, given that a majority of USCIS’s funding comes from filing fees. This is especially relevant in light of the increase in fees from 2024 to 2025. 

Similar to FLAG discussed above, the E-Verify system (an online portal through which employers can verify their workers’ work authorization) will likely be unavailable during a shutdown and employers will not be able to create E-Verify cases for I-9 purposes. To remain compliant, employers must continue to complete I-9s manually and must create cases once E-Verify becomes available.  

Once E-Verify becomes operational again, we expect there to be a grace period for employers to create E-Verify cases for new hires who started work during the time when it was unavailable. Further, due to increased demand, there will likely be delays in application processing.  

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 

Although the government may withhold funding, CBP operates as an essential agency. Its employees must continue working without knowing when they will receive pay. Despite the funding lapse, the agency plans to maintain full operational capacity.

Department of State  

Like with USCIS, visa processing with the DOL should remain unimpacted because the Department of State is mostly funded by application fees. However, if funding deficits impact overall operations, this may cause delays in visa application processing.  If that does occur, the government may be able to provide mediation like it did back in 2013. During that government shutdown, USCIS announced that it would forgive certain late filings once the government resumed operations.  

Immigration and How to Prepare for a Government Shutdown 

To mitigate the impact of a government shutdown, employers may want to consider coordinating with their immigration counsel to prepare for scenarios that may impact their organization.  Employers can prepare for a shutdown by considering the following best practices: 

• Communicate with your organization’s stakeholders about expected processing delays for impacted case types. 
• Delayed LCA certifications will push out start dates for newly hired H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 employees.
• Identify foreign national employees with upcoming expiration dates who may face gaps in status and work authorization. In general, our practice encourages clients to initiate extensions well in advance of any expiration date (between six and eight months in advance) to avoid unforeseen scenarios, such as a government shutdown. 
• Review budgets for your immigration programs and prepare for the possibility of incurring additional expenses to restart processes if filing windows are missed (primarily ETA 9089). 
• Contact Congressional representatives to convey the shutdown’s negative impact on your organization. 

It is possible that Congress will be able to come to an agreement in time or pass a stopgap spending measure or appropriations bill before midnight September 30, 2025, to avoid a shutdown. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide updates as available. 

About Us 

At Envoy Global, we combine smart, friendly legal teams with smart, friendly technology to facilitate immigration for companies and the global talent they depend on. Our holistic, proactive immigration services are built for accuracy and efficiency, always putting people first. 

Reach out today to learn how we can support your company’s immigration needs.

About the Authors

Judy Wong is a Senior Attorney at Corporate Immigration Partners, where she specializes in U.S. immigration law. She advises corporate clients on employment-based immigration and supports individuals with family-based petitions and naturalization. Judy earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Davis, and her Juris Doctor from Golden Gate University School of Law. Prior to her current role, she managed diverse immigration cases for both large and boutique firms, serving startups and Fortune 500 companies. She also serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for AILA’s Northern California Chapter (2025–2026).

Julieta Grinffiel earned both her Bachelor’s degree and Juris Doctor from Southern Methodist University. She is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and has dedicated her career to immigration law. Julieta has represented startups and large organizations in employment-based matters, including labor certifications, nonimmigrant visas, and permanent residency applications. She also has extensive experience in family-based immigration, humanitarian cases, and deportation defense before EOIR. Julieta is currently a Managing Attorney at Corporate Immigration Partners.