According to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Public Engagement Division, USCIS operations are continuing despite the Federal Government shutdown. The fee-for-service activities performed by USCIS are not affected by a lapse in annual appropriated funding; thus, USCIS operations are not hindered. As such, all USCIS offices worldwide remain open for interviews and appointments as scheduled. E-Verify is the only exception and is unavailable during the shutdown. For more information about how the shutdown is affecting E-Verify, please visit www.dhs.gov/e-verify. Otherwise, there is no need to be concerned about the continuing operations of USCIS. For our clients, this means that Form I-140 and I-130 petitions and Form I-485 and ancillary applications filed with USCIS should continue to be processed and adjudicated as normal.
In addition, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) will continue as many normal operations as possible. According to the American Immigration Lawyers Association, operating status and available funding for the DOS should be monitored continuously and closely, and planning for a lapse in appropriations should be continued.