How the government shutdown affects immigration processing

As of this time, the US government is still in partial shutdown and there appears no end to the showdown between the administration and the Democratic leaders in Congress. In so many ways, this shutdown has affected the lives of immigrants, documented or not, most especially those who are seeking for any relief at the immigration courts.

It is noteworthy to point out that the USCIS is a “fee for service” government agency. What this means is that the filing fees paid by applicants and petitioners support the operations of the office so they are unaffected by any lapse of annual funding from the federal government. USCIS offices remain open and are still able to process biometrics, conduct interviews, receive filings, process petitions, and entertain inquiries.

Visa services at US consulates around the world still remain open as these are also fee-based. Thus, if you have an upcoming visa appointment, you must still show up at that designated date. US Customs and Border Protection agents are still stationed at various US ports of entry. Travelers to and from the US are still able to be processed as usual.

Those who are beneficiaries of an employment-based petition which requires labor certifications from the US Department of Labor are unaffected as well.

Apprehensions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement still continue and its detention and enforcement activities still function. However, and this is where it gets more complicated, if you are detained by ICE or have an immigration court proceeding, you may have your court hearing postponed because most immigration courts are closed. So for those immigrants whose last resort is a relief from the immigration court, they would have their cases delayed some more and their paths to obtain a greencard, asylum or any form of relief would have to take a longer wait. As a result, all the more that immigration courts become so backlogged as hearings of cases would have to pushed further, in some estimates, would be close to two to three years down the road.

Illustrating it in a more practical manner, if one has to have an immigration court hearing and he has a very high chance of obtaining a greencard or granted an asylum from the judge, he would have realistically obtained a social security number which would have allowed him to obtain gainful employment, or get a driver's license, or traveled back to his home country. As courts are closed at this time and predictably, his case would be heard under a new schedule in two to three years' time once the government reopens, that means he already would have wasted these number of years in opportunities as well.

This column is not a substitute for professional legal advice obtained from a US-licensed immigration attorney. The information contained herein does not constitute a warranty or guarantee or legal advice regarding a reader’s specific immigration case. No attorney-client relationship is and shall be established with any reader.

For any questions, comments and observations, please contact Atty. Marco Tomakin at mtomakin@gmail.com