Government Shutdown?

[mawilson 2,133]

Vote here.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Wow! All this Upper Fora animosity is infiltrating the P&R Forum. Oh the irony!

They make us seem like a bunch of well-mannered Victorian ladies in comparison.

[kabro91 0]

Does this mean if one is filling packet 3 out, it would be useless to send it in until after the budget issue has been resolved/shutdown is over??

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Does this mean if one is filling packet 3 out, it would be useless to send it in until after the budget issue has been resolved/shutdown is over??

No. It just means the queue just might not move as fast. This crisis will never be over.

[ryna 132]

Nice thought.

USCIS has many functions as part of the DHS. Government shutdowns are political ploys to get ones way, it doesn't work if people are not inconvenienced. Th eIRS plans to let go the people that process tax refunds but not the ones that process payments received.

Our friends that work at VSC tell us they will be off if the government shuts down

Yeah, that part sucks. They owe me money but it's my own fault for not filing earlier. AOS>IRS this year (priority-wise)

Anyway, if the government shuts down, it WILL affect petition and/or visa filings. USCIS may be supplemented by fees, but other processes like background checks, DoS (NVC, consulates, etc.) functions are not. Even if they happen to keep some "essential" services running, run-of-the-mill visa applications won't be one of them.

Hopefully, it'll be a short shutdown, if it happens at all. (We're waiting on AOS/EAD/AP.)

[_Simpson_ 250]

Nostradamus predicted this...have we all gone thru this at one point in our life? I know I did back in high school during the gulf war.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Nostradamus predicted this...have we all gone thru this at one point in our life? I know I did back in high school during the gulf war.

California goes through this every year.

[_Simpson_ 250]

California goes through this every year.

Ah yes the red headed step child.

[Otto 83]

** Multiple Topics (several) have been merged and some posts will appear out of sync because of this.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

** Multiple Topics (several) have been merged and some posts will appear out of sync because of this.

Cool. I love confusion.

[Operator 1,927]

** Multiple Topics (several) have been merged and some posts will appear out of sync because of this.

I never even saw the sign to merge, I was trying to yield.

I read that the 95 shutdown cost $750 mil.

[felo391971 4]

This on looks like caos.

We may all be getting into some extra waitting game

[amtank 1]

Its a simple as this, USCIS, we pay a fee, that fee is both statutory and regulatory in nature and is supposed to support the full processing cost of the filling petition. At the Consulate/NVC, we pay an additional application fee for the visa that serves the same process.

There is no reason why these services would need to be shut down because they are self supported by user fees. If they do get shut down I guess that is just one more thing that needs to be added to yours and mine immigration reform issues.

[Hilbill 0]

I just got off the phone with my congressman (house of reps) and they have been phoning state department and such to get some information. The information I just received is that USCIS will not be affected by the shutdown however the US embassies will be affected (shutdown). She also said that the NVC may be affected but hard to say at this point. They should know of a shutdown by tomorrow and it will most likely go into affect friday or saturday for a few days. Hopefully, the few days do not put too much of a back log. Fingers crossed.

[MJ-B 0]

The following article addresses and answers the questions on how the Visa processing might be affected due to a government shutdown:

"In recent weeks, the issue of a United States government shutdown has been hotly debated. The substance of the issue has been repeatedly discussed as well as the time frame of when such a shutdown could possibly occur. At the time of this writing, the various political operators in the United States Congress have agreed to temporary extensions of the American government's funding, but such extensions may not continue forever. For many prospective immigrants and American Citizens who have loved ones awaiting a visa overseas the prospect of a government shutdown raises the specter of delays in the visa process.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (commonly referred to by the acronym USCIS) is the agency that usually begins the visa process as this agency is responsible for adjudicating immigration petitions. Fortunately, for those wishing to receive immigration benefits it would appear that a government shutdown is unlikely to adversely impact USCIS processing as USCIS is primarily funded through the application and petition fees received in connection with requests for immigration benefits. However, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is not the exclusive American agency with jurisdiction over the whole of the United States visa process.

The American Department of State is primarily responsible for the "back end" of the U.S. Immigration process as most immigrant visa and K-1 visa applications for loved ones abroad must be adjudicated by a United States Embassy or United States Consulate with appropriate Consular jurisdiction. Before a visa application can be adjudicated at a US Mission abroad it must first process through the United States National Visa Center. The reason that the NVC and the US Missions abroad are being brought up in this article is due to the fact that should a government shutdown occur processing of visa applications at NVC and US Missions abroad could effectively cease until such time as the controversy is resolved and the US government "reopens". Therefore, those with pending visa matters before the United States immigration apparatus should be prepared for possible delays in the visa process should the United States government shutdown. Notwithstanding the fact that USCIS may still be operating during a shutdown, those expecting to consular process their visa application abroad should be aware of the fact that a government shutdown could cause significant delays. "