U.S. citizens have some options when considering overseas adoption. Following
The US Federal government officially shut down on October 1, 2013 and as of the writing of this article, Congress has not passed legislation to continue funding. Not every agency will shut down. Some functions are deemed “essential” and employees will continue working. And others are fee supported so can continue regardless of Congress appropriating money. The last time the country had to deal with this was nearly 20 years ago when there was no ICE, USCIS or CBP – just the old INS. Here’s how we at Siskind’s Immigration Bulletin described the shutdown at that time:
It is our hope that this story will be out of date by the time you read this newsletter. But as of December 29th, the last working day of 1995, the federal government remains shutdown. This is the longest such closure in United States history. While certain government functions continue, there have been substantial disruptions in overall visa processing. Most INS operations are continuing uninterupted since processing is paid for with user fees and not government appropriations. So there have been no serious delays in applications filed with regional service centers and local INS offices. Some INS offices have cutback on informational services, however, and others are, reportedly not accepting new applications. Your best bet is to not assume the local office is functioning and to check first.
H-1B and labor certification activities have been disrupted since the US Department of Labor is not operating. There are remedies available if you are caught in a situation where you need to file an H-1B application right away due to falling out of status. You should consult with an immigration attorney to learn more about potential solutions.
Persons seeking visas at US Consulates are out of luck until the government reopens. If you had an appointment for a visa interview and the interview has been canceled due to the shutdown, your interview must be rescheduled by the Consulate.
Proceedings in front of Immigration Judges have also come to a halt and will have to be rescheduled. You or your attorney will be notified of rescheduling by the Immigration Judge’s clerk after the shutdown ends.
So what can we expect? Well, here’s a roundup of how different agencies are expected to handle the crisis.
DOL. The Department of Labor has posted this on its web site:
The Administration is working very hard to avoid a government shutdown and believes there is sufficient time to avoid such an occurrence; however, prudent management requires the Department to plan for the possibility that it may need to suspend operations should Congress be unable to pass a funding bill by midnight on Monday, September 30, 2013.
OFLC functions are not “excepted” from a shutdown and its employees would be placed in furlough status should a lapse in appropriated funds occur. Consequently, in the event of a government shutdown, OFLC will neither accept nor process any applications or related materials (such as audit responses) it receives, including Labor Condition Applications, Applications for Prevailing Wage Determination, Applications for Temporary Employment Certification, or Applications for Permanent Employment Certification. OFLC’s web site, including the iCERT Visa Portal System, would become static and unable to process any requests or allow authorized users to access their online accounts.
The Department has posted to its website information on the potential shutdown that can be accessed here.
USCIS. USCIS should largely operate as normal because it’s activities are supported by filing fees and not congressional appropriations. The exception is E-Verify which will shut down. Also, expect some other USCIS functions, like information services and Freedom of Information Act requests to be disrupted. And USCIS processing might be delayed to the extent processing depends on receiving information from other agencies. So, for example, an H-1B application may not be able to be submitted if the Department of Labor paperwork can’t be completed. USCIS could allow for filings without the paperwork, but don’t count on it.
Regarding E-Verify, USCIS has provided the following instructions:
While E-Verify is unavailable, you will not be able to access your E-Verify account. As a result, you will be unable to:
- Enroll any company in E-Verify
- Verify employment eligibility
- View or take action on any case
- Add, delete or edit any User ID
- Reset passwords
- Edit your company information
- Terminate an account
- Run reports
- View ‘Essential Resources.’ Please note that all essential resources may be found by visiting www.dhs.gov/e-verify.
In addition, E-Verify Customer Support and related services are closed. As a result:
- Employees will be unable to resolve Tentative Nonconfirmations (TNCs).
- Telephone and e-mail support will be unavailable. You may send e-mails, however, we cannot respond until we reopen.
- E-Verify webinars and training sessions are cancelled
- E-Verify Self Check will not be available
We understand that E-Verify’s unavailability may have a significant impact on your company’s operations. To minimize the burden on both employers and employees, the following policies have been implemented:
- The ‘three-day rule’ for E-Verify cases is suspended for cases affected by the shutdown. We’ll provide additional guidance once we reopen. This does NOT affect the Form I-9 requirement—employers must still complete the Form I-9 no later than the third business day after an employee starts work for pay.
- The time period during which employees may resolve TNCs will be extended. Days the federal government is closed will not count towards the eight federal government workdays the employee has to go to SSA or contact DHS. We will provide additional time once we reopen.
- For federal contractors complying with the federal contractor rule, please contact your contracting officer to inquire about extending deadlines.
- Employers may not take any adverse action against an employee because of an E-Verify interim case status, including while the employee’s case is in an extended interim case status due to a federal government shutdown (consult the E-Verify User Manual for more information on interim case statuses).
Immigration Courts. EOIR hasn’t posted anything, but immigration lawyers are reporting that the courts are telling folks that processing will continue for detained immigrants. Others will end up seeing their cases rescheduled. The Washington Post reports that EOIR has enough money to operate for about 10 business days and only about 400 of the roughly 1300 EOIR employees will be working.
Consulates and DOS processing. In past shutdowns, visa processing ground to a virtual halt. Not this time. According to the State Department:
Consular operations domestically and overseas will remain 100% operational as long as there are sufficient fees to support operations. However, if a passport agency is located in a government buildingaffected by a lapse in appropriations, the facility may become unsupported. The continuance of consular operations in such instances will be treated on a case-by-case basis by the Under Secretary for Management.
The J-1 Waiver Review Division has reported that as far as they know, they are unaffected by the shutdown.
Border Operations. CBP’s Border Patrol and port of entry inspection operations as well as Customs inspecting should continue, but expect delays.
ICE. Immigration enforcement will continue as before. But ICE trial attorneys will only be working on the detained immigrants docket.
CIS Ombudsman. The Ombudsman has reported that they have ceased operating until their funding is restored.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk.