How Would a Government Shutdown Affect Immigration Cases?--Merged With many many others

Sarah---Nichelle · October 1, 2013

This will probably affect them. Many federal workers will not be working while the government is shut down and visas will be on a temporary hold. There will likely be some still working and processing visas, but probably not the entire work force - so yeah, I would expect some delays.

http://immigrationimpact.com/2013/09/30/how-a-government-shutdown-likely-affects-immigration-agencies/

mstewart · October 1, 2013

Government Shutdown 2013:

How Your Immigration Services Will Be Affected

BY SUSAN COHEN

The impending shutdown of the U.S. federal government on October 1st will impact immigration services across a number of different government agencies. In this alert we address the impact of a shutdown on petitions, visas, and labor certifications.

Immigration-related services can be broken down into three basic categories: security, fee-paying, and non-fee paying. We expect continued service for immigration services considered vital to national security, delays infee-paying activities, and stoppage of work for non-fee paying services.

Security Services

Security and enforcement functions as well as agencies considered essential to national security, such as border security (CBP) and customs (ICE), will likely continue operations near normal capacity.

Non-Fee Paying Services

The Department of Labor has stated that it will cease processing permanent labor certifications. New applications are unlikely to be accepted during the shutdown through the online system. In addition, the filing of Labor Condition Applications will be affected.

We expect a backlog to grow with each day of the government shutdown. This will negatively impact both pending applications and those filed after the resumption in government services.

Fee-Paying Services

As a fee-based agency, USCIS will continue to accept and process applications and petitions. However, we expect there to be delays in processing, as some support staff may be furloughed and USCIS depends onnon-essential agencies for services.

E-Verify will be shut down. According to the Department of Homeland Security, “citizens and U.S. businesses will not be able to access E-Verify, the Internet based system that allows employers to voluntarily determine the eligibility of prospective employees to work in the United States.”

The Department of State confirmed that consular operations domestically and overseas will remain 100% operational as long as there are sufficient fees to support operations. However, this is only expected to last for a few days, after which consular posts will focus solely on diplomatic services and emergency services for American citizens. We expect delays in processing visas, and if there is a prolonged shut down, we expect a cessation of visa processing. During previous shutdowns, business reasons have not qualified for emergency visa processing.

http://www.mintz.com/newsletter/2013/Advisories/3435-0913-NAT-IMM/index.html

mstewart · October 1, 2013

Don't know why this posted twice. Sorry mods!

Ownerjfa · October 1, 2013

Some good news. The USCIS.gov front page has the following message in its rotating banner:

"All USCIS Offices worldwide are open:

Report to interviews and appointments as scheduled
Fee for services performed by USCIS are not affected by a lapse in annual appropriated funding.
For information, call USCIS at 1-800-375-5283"

And here's the link to the closed offices, as of this typing, it's empty:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=93bafe46e6c3d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=e39c0b89284a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD

c12h22oh · October 1, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress plunged the nation into a partial government shutdown Tuesday as a long-running dispute over President Barack Obama's health care law stalled a temporary funding bill, forcing about 800,000 federal workers off the job and suspending most non-essential federal programs and services.

OK GUYS OUR FEAR HAPPENED WE SCREWED !! DO NOT THINK THAT WE WILL NOT BE AFFECTED YES INDEED WE WILL

YOUR PLANNING HAVE TO HAVE A BACKUP AND KEEP THE SERENITY AT ALL TIMES. I AM IN BROWARD COUNTY FLORIDA

GOVERNMENT OFFICES AROUND ME CLOSE TODAY FEDERAL EMPLOYEE HAVE THE DAY OFF WITH OUT PAY.

The White House was operating with a skeletal staff, including household workers taking care of the first family's residence and presidential aides working in the West Wing. A groundskeeper working outside Tuesday morning at daybreak said he was doing the job normally handled by four workers.

The military will be paid under legislation freshly signed by Obama, but paychecks for other federal workers will be withheld until the impasse is broken. Federal workers were told to report to their jobs for a half-day but to perform only shutdown tasks like changing email greetings and closing down agencies' Internet site

It wasn't clear how long the standoff would last, but it appeared that Obama and Reid had the upper hand.

RGinWA · October 1, 2013

I think we need one official Government Shutdown thread?

rjsteodosio · October 1, 2013

I've barely scratched the surface with filing my petition, but this whole shutdown thing is already making me feel depressed...

"We expect delays in processing visas, and if there is a prolonged shut down, we expect a cessation of visa processing."

Thats depressing.

raflen · October 1, 2013

passport and visas will be handled as usual, both at home and abroad. These activities of the Bureau of Consular Affairs are fully supported by user fees instead of appropriated money, so are not affected. As well, the government will keep handling green card applications.

c12h22oh · October 1, 2013

Here's a look at other services that could be affected.

AIR TRAVEL
Federal air traffic controllers would remain on the job and airport screeners would keep funneling passengers through security checkpoints. Federal inspectors would continue enforcing safety rules.

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL
The State Department would continue processing foreign applications for visas and U.S. applications for passports, since fees are collected to finance those services. Embassies and consulates overseas would continue to provide services to American citizens.

BENEFIT PAYMENTS
Social Security and Medicare benefits would keep coming, but there could be delays in processing new disability applications. Unemployment benefits would still go out.

FEDERAL COURTS
Federal courts would continue operating normally for about 10 business days after the start of a shutdown, roughly until the middle of October. If the shutdown continues, the judiciary would have to begin furloughs of employees whose work is not considered essential. But cases would continue to be heard.

MAIL
Deliveries would continue as usual because the U.S. Postal Service receives no tax dollars for day-to-day operations. It relies on income from stamps and other postal fees to keep running.

RECREATION
All national parks would be closed, as would the Smithsonian museums, including the National Zoo in Washington. Visitors using overnight campgrounds or other park facilities would be given 48 hours to make alternate arrangements and leave the park. Among the visitor centers that would be closed: the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island in New York, Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Alcatraz Island near San Francisco and the Washington Monument.

HEALTH
New patients would not be accepted into clinical research at the National Institutes of Health, but current patients would continue to receive care. Medical research at the NIH would be disrupted and some studies would be delayed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would be severely limited in spotting or investigating disease outbreaks, from flu to that mysterious MERS virus from the Middle East.

FOOD SAFETY
The Food and Drug Administration would handle high-risk recalls suspend most routine safety inspections. Federal meat inspections would be expected to proceed as usual.

HEAD START
A small number of Head Start programs, about 20 out of 1,600 nationally, would feel the impact right away. The federal Administration for Children and Families says grants expiring about Oct. 1 would not be renewed. Over time more programs would be affected. Several of the Head Start programs that would immediately feel the pinch are in Florida. It's unclear if they would continue serving children.

FOOD ASSISTANCE
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC, could shut down. The program provides supplemental food, health care referrals and nutrition education for pregnant women, mothers and their children.

School lunches and breakfasts would continue to be served, and food stamps, known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, would continue to be distributed. But several smaller feeding programs would not have the money to operate.

TAXES
Americans would still have to pay their taxes and file federal tax returns, but the Internal Revenue Service says it would suspend all audits. Got questions? Sorry, the IRS says taxpayer services, including toll-free help lines, would be shut as well.

LOANS
Many low-to-moderate incomes borrowers and first-time home buyers seeking government-backed mortgages could face delays during the shutdown. The Federal Housing Administration, which guarantees about 30 percent of home mortgages, wouldn't underwrite or approve any new loans during the shutdown. Action on government-backed loans to small businesses would be suspended.

SCIENCE
NASA will continue to keep workers at Mission Control in Houston and elsewhere to support the International Space station, where two Americans and four others are deployed. The National Weather Service would keep forecasting weather and issuing warnings and the National Hurricane Center would continue to track storms. The scientific work of the U.S. Geological Survey would be halted.

HOMELAND SECURITY
The majority of the Department of Homeland Security's employees are expected to stay on the job, including uniformed agents and officers at the country's borders and ports of entry, members of the Coast Guard, Transportation Security Administration officers, Secret Service personnel and other law enforcement agents and officers. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services employees would continue to process green card applications.

MILITARY
The military's 1.4 million active duty personnel would stay on duty, but their paychecks would be delayed. About half of the Defense Department's civilian employees would be furloughed.

PRISONS
All 116 federal prisons would remain open, and criminal litigation would proceed.

VETERANS SERVICES
Most services offered through the Department of Veterans Affairs will continue because lawmakers approve money one year in advance for the VA's health programs. Veterans would still be able to visit hospitals for inpatient care, get mental health counseling at vet centers or get prescriptions filled at VA health clinics. Operators would still staff the crisis hotline and claims workers would still process payments to cover disability and pension benefits. But those veterans appealing the denial of disability benefits to the Board of Veterans Appeals will have to wait longer for a decision because the board would not issue any decisions during a shutdown.

WORK SAFETY
Federal occupational safety and health inspectors would stop workplace inspections except in cases of imminent danger.

Source: www.politico.com

Nkemzo · October 1, 2013

i have interview next week will it affect my appointment?

c12h22oh · October 1, 2013