Government Shutdown Impact on the U.S. Immigration System

On October 1, 2025, the U.S. federal government entered a shutdown due to Congress’s failure to pass legislation funding federal agencies and operations before the start of the new fiscal year. The impact of the shutdown varies across federal agencies, depending on whether they are deemed “essential” and/or whether they receive funding from sources other than congressional appropriations.

This article outlines how the shutdown affects the key federal agencies responsible for administering U.S. immigration laws.

• Department of Homeland Security (DHS): most functions are considered essential, so operations will continue.
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) remains open and largely operational, as most immigration benefit applications are funded through user fees. However, some services are affected:
• The E-Verify program is unavailable during the shutdown, as its authorization is directly tied to congressional appropriations.
• Petitions that require prior certification from another federal agency affected by the shutdown may face delays if those prerequisite certifications were not obtained before the government shutdown. This includes H-1B, H-2A, H-2B, and PERM-based EB-2/EB-3 petitions, among others.
• Customs and Border Protection (CBP) ports of entry stay open, but immigration applications submitted at the border might face delays.
• Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations for enforcement and removal continue.  The ICE Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) also remains operational.
• Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), through its Immigration Courts, continues to hear both detained and non-detained cases.
• Department of State (DOS): Visa and passport services at U.S. consulates abroad will continue but may be limited to diplomatic and emergency cases if the shutdown persists.
• Department of Labor (DOL): the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has suspended all operations. The FLAG system is currently offline, and its website is deactivated, which prevents new case filings and access to data. This pauses applications for prevailing wage determinations, foreign labor certifications, and labor condition applications for H-1B, H-2A, H-2B, and PERM-based EB-2/EB-3 cases, as applicable. Affected forms include, but are not limited to: ETA-9089, ETA-9141, ETA-9142, and ETA-3035.
• CIS Ombudsman: All operations are suspended.

How long does the government shutdown last?

It is impossible to predict how long the shutdown will last, as it depends on whether Congress and the U.S. President can agree on funding the government for the rest of the fiscal year. For historical context, the last two government shutdowns that affected E-Verify occurred in the 2018 and 2019 fiscal years, respectively; the first lasted three days, and the second lasted over a month.

If you have any upcoming immigration deadlines affected by the current government shutdown, or if you have any questions about immigration in general, please contact Raluca (Luca) Vais-Ottosen at (608) 252-9291 or rvo@dewittllp.com.