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What Happens to Immigration When the Government Shuts Down
Every time Congress and the White House approach a budget deadline without a deal, the same question lands in our inboxes: if the government shuts down, what happens to my immigration case? It is one of the few immigration questions with a genuinely reassuring answer for most people, and one of the few where the details reward a little patience to understand. A government shutdown does not close the entire immigration system. It affects different agencies in very different ways, and whether your case slows down depends almost entirely on which agency is handling it.
The single most useful thing to understand is this: some immigration agencies are funded by the fees you pay, and some are funded by the annual budget Congress passes. When the budget lapses, the fee-funded agencies largely keep working, and the budget-funded ones are the ones that feel it. Once you know which is which, the whole picture becomes far less frightening.
USCIS: mostly open, because you pay for it
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that adjudicates most benefit applications, green cards, naturalization, work permits, family petitions, and the like, is largely fee-funded. The filing fees applicants pay cover the bulk of its operations. That is why, during past shutdowns, USCIS has generally continued to accept and process applications and to conduct interviews and naturalization ceremonies.
So if your case is a marriage green card, a naturalization application, an employment petition, or a work authorization renewal sitting at USCIS, a shutdown usually does not stop it. Your biometrics appointment, your interview, and your oath ceremony generally proceed on schedule.
There are exceptions worth knowing. A handful of USCIS programs depend on congressional authorization or appropriated funds rather than fees, and those can pause. The E-Verify system, which employers use to confirm work eligibility, has gone offline during past shutdowns, and certain programs that require periodic reauthorization can lapse if Congress does not act.
Immigration court (EOIR): this is where it hurts
The immigration courts are run by the Executive Office for Immigration Review, or EOIR, which is part of the Department of Justice. Unlike USCIS, EOIR is funded by the annual budget, so a shutdown hits it directly.
During a shutdown, immigration courts typically continue hearings for people who are detained, because those cases are treated as essential. But hearings for people who are not detained are frequently postponed. For someone who has waited two or three years for a merits hearing in a badly backlogged court, a shutdown can push that date back by months, because the case does not simply resume, it goes to the back of a very long line when the court reopens.
This is the part of the system where a shutdown causes the most real harm, and it is worth planning around if you have a non-detained court date near a budget deadline.
Department of Labor: PERM and LCAs pause
Employment-based immigration runs partly through the Department of Labor, which handles the prevailing wage determinations, PERM labor certifications, and Labor Condition Applications that underpin many work visas and employment green cards. The DOL's Office of Foreign Labor Certification is budget-funded, so during a shutdown it generally stops accepting and processing these filings.
For employers and workers in the middle of a PERM case or an H-1B that needs a certified Labor Condition Application, a shutdown can stall the process at a critical moment. Filing windows and deadlines do not always pause just because the office does, which is why timing an employment case around a possible shutdown deserves careful thought.
Department of State: consulates run on fees too, for a while
Visa processing at U.S. embassies and consulates abroad is handled by the Department of State and is substantially funded by the fees applicants pay. During past shutdowns, consular visa and passport operations have generally continued as long as fee funding holds. A prolonged shutdown can eventually strain those operations, and individual posts can be affected by local conditions, but visa interviews abroad are usually among the more resilient functions.
Enforcement continues
One part of the system that does not pause is immigration enforcement. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection perform functions treated as essential, so detention, removals, and border operations continue during a shutdown. For anyone in removal proceedings or at risk of enforcement, a shutdown offers no reprieve on that side, even as it may delay their day in court.
What this means for your case
Put together, the pattern is clear. If your case lives at USCIS, a shutdown probably will not stop it. If it depends on the immigration court, the Department of Labor, or a specific program that needs congressional authorization, it may pause, and you should plan for that. And enforcement never sleeps.
The practical move, when a budget deadline looms and your case is time-sensitive, is to know in advance which agency controls your matter and what a lapse would do to your particular filing or hearing. That is exactly the kind of question worth asking before a deadline, not after. We help clients read their own situation and get ahead of a possible shutdown rather than react to one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Usually not. USCIS is largely funded by application fees, so it generally keeps accepting and processing cases and holding interviews and naturalization ceremonies during a shutdown. A few USCIS-adjacent programs that depend on congressional authorization can pause, but most routine benefit cases continue.
If you are detained, your hearing generally proceeds because those cases are treated as essential. If you are not detained, your hearing is frequently postponed and rescheduled after the shutdown ends, which in a backlogged court can mean a delay of many months. Check the status of your specific court date if a shutdown is near.
It can. The Department of Labor handles prevailing wage determinations, PERM labor certifications, and Labor Condition Applications, and it generally stops processing these during a shutdown. That can stall an H-1B or employment green card at a key stage, so employers and workers should plan timing around a possible lapse.
Usually, at least for a while. Consular visa processing is largely fee-funded and has generally continued during past shutdowns as long as that funding holds. A very long shutdown or local conditions at a specific post can eventually affect operations, so confirm the status of your particular consulate.
No. Immigration enforcement, detention, and removal operations are treated as essential and continue during a shutdown. A shutdown may delay a non-detained person's court hearing, but it does not pause enforcement activity.
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Ready to plan around uncertainty?
A government shutdown affects immigration cases unevenly, and knowing whether yours sits with a fee-funded agency or a budget-funded one changes how you should prepare. Our attorneys help clients understand exactly which agency controls their case and how to protect it when Washington heads toward a deadline. Read more in our frequently asked questions and on our deportation defense page, then schedule a consultation to review your specific situation.