Possible Government shutdown

[Veronik 19]

This is just my opinion, and I'm no expert, but just imagine how BAD this would be for the economy if the millions of government employees had a temporary job shut down... I think this is just talk, political talk, and that the economic big brothers out there are going to make sure that doesn't happen... My mother in law works for the government (IRS), and the only thing she's heard so far is that they might have a pay cut, still have to go to work, and in a few months, they will be paid for their time.... Knock on wood! I have my AOS interview on March 10th, and I hope this doesn't happen! But my gut is telling me we'll all be ok...

[jrmejia 31]

I followed the link and read below:

"In addition, 200,000 passport applications went unprocessed, and toxic waste cleanup work at 609 sites stopped, according to the same report. The National Institutes of Health stopped accepting new clinical research patients, and services for veterans, including health care, were curtailed"

hmmmmmmm

[JoyDee 21]

That's very true...while we made our own decision to fall in love and marry another person from another country and bring them here the burden for monies is on us to do so...however...the ppl who didnt have a choice due to refugees etc...maybe that portion comes from US tax dollars because they obviously can't fund their own journey to the USA...wonder if there are several pots of pays tht goes on with uscis..one totally supported by Us ..the visa applicants and those funded by tax dollars for humanitarian needs...

Refugees are funded by NGOs and outside agencies like the Red Cross, etc. Nobody gets a free ride.

[tru_loves_journey 117]

LOL Don't count on it.

And how are those background checks going to get done?

mmm, Good Point.. Makes ya think for sure

[Matt n Shannon 3]

Would this affect Foreign Embassies you think?

[Veronik 19]

Would this affect Foreign Embassies you think?

I would think...

And to add to my note above, a shut down in the time of year where the governement collects the most money from tax payers (tax returns) seems ludicrous...

[extremerecluse 32]

Hmm, I wonder if visa and immigration applicants have a viable position here to state that immigration and visa paperwork should not be shut down - visa application processing is not supposed to have any federal funding from the US tax payer - it is self-funded by the fees paid by the immigrants and their sponsors. By that reasoning, they should still keep processing your paperwork.

If worse comes to worse and the government does shut down visa processing as well because they don't have tax paid funding to continue, then I suspect there may be some legal eagles willing to take on USCIS' claim that the fees are what they are to ensure no tax dollars are used to process immigrant and visa paperwork That is the argument USCIS used to justify imposing massive funding increases several years ago - that the fees had to cover the costs of processing the visa and immigrant paperwork as it could not be charged to the US taxpayer.

This is the precise reason we need automation to process petitions right through to the Embassy Interview. Using legal eagles? What? Filing lawsuits? What? Now who is speaking bad things about the immigration system? Law enforcement never shuts down. That is who would flag the bad guys during the initial automated review. The embassy CO would catch the others who want to abuse the system. Everybody who slammed me for bringing up automation, good service and filing class action lawsuits are now flip flopping on the issue. The system is totally DYSFUNCTIONAL. I would love to have a company that gets paid upfront for services that will not be rendered for 6 months or more.

[extremerecluse 32]

Hmm, I wonder if visa and immigration applicants have a viable position here to state that immigration and visa paperwork should not be shut down - visa application processing is not supposed to have any federal funding from the US tax payer - it is self-funded by the fees paid by the immigrants and their sponsors. By that reasoning, they should still keep processing your paperwork.

If worse comes to worse and the government does shut down visa processing as well because they don't have tax paid funding to continue, then I suspect there may be some legal eagles willing to take on USCIS' claim that the fees are what they are to ensure no tax dollars are used to process immigrant and visa paperwork That is the argument USCIS used to justify imposing massive funding increases several years ago - that the fees had to cover the costs of processing the visa and immigrant paperwork as it could not be charged to the US taxpayer.

Hi Kathryn 41,

Extremerecluse here!! So, you are contemplating legal action against your beloved USCIS. What? Flip Flopping are we? I think you see the same thing I see, but are afraid to admit it in an OPEN FORUM such as this. What are we to do? A private entity (even though they call they are called a government service). Remember that they have a large poorly trained team of attorneys to take on your Harvard trained law firm. I agree the employees of the USCIS should not be involved. They are honest, hard working people working for a DYSFUNCTIONAL system. If you ask them in a confidential survey, I think they would agree. I am sure you have heard this before: just because things have been done for so long does not make those things right. You are right, they are a private entity and should not be allowed to shut down. Sort of put your foot in your mouth, didn't you? Sorry, I just calls em likes I sees em!!! I would love to run a company that collects it's fees upfront knowing I am not required to provide any services for 6 months or longer!!! Sounds like a PONZI SCHEME, don't you think?

[Matt n Shannon 3]

Wow this gov't shut down in on the date of my interview. I hope it doesn't happen!

[Shenzhen 34]

Sorry if this may be in the wrong forum. We have our AOS interview on March 10th and according to the news there is a possibility of government offices shutting down after march 4th if congress cant come to a compromise on funding. I know there have been shutdowns in the past,what effect did this have on interview appointments ?

What ABOUT THE NATIONAL VISA CENTER? Will they get shut down too?

Edited February 22, 2011 by Shenzhen

[JohnC811 4]

yes but what about the agencies that do the background checks wonder if the FBI shuts down because of this, just a thought.

[Tahoma 2,291]

Not to worry. It's all political theater. The Republicans haven't forgotten the spanking they got in the press and in the polls over the 1995-1996 shutdown.

[Tahoma 2,291]

I would love to run a company that collects it's fees upfront knowing I am not required to provide any services for 6 months or longer!!! Sounds like a PONZI SCHEME, don't you think?

No, actually it sounds nothing like a Ponzi scheme.

[DarlingNikki 7]

This is news to me. Please keep us abreast of the situation.

[florinaRO 5]

• approximately 20,000-30,000 visa applications by foreigners unprocessed each day

If this will happen again, then what ? Should I "Cancel" my life for the next whole year ?