Information for ourselves for the Shutdown

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Klick this Link to see how the Shutdown would affect nyou

I find this Article really helpful. This is concering the possible Shutdown happening from Friday on.

Thursday, April 7, 2011, 11:00 am

Government Shutdown and Immigration: (How) Will It Affect Me?

April 07th, 2011 | Category: Articles,Government Shutdown,H-1B,News,Travel,Visa Processing

As it appears as of the time of this article, the U.S. federal government is likely to shut down, we would like to provide some information as to how the shutdown would affect the immigration cases pending or to be filed shortly. Our office has been receiving an increasing number of inquiries from alarmed clients as to what would happen should the federal government close on Monday if a deal is not reached on the federal government’s budget. (See latest Google News)

How Would a Government Shutdown Affect Immigration Cases?

There is no simple answer to this question, as some federal government agencies would continue to operate, some would close partially and some would close almost completely. Since the last time this kind of shutdown happened was 15 years ago, there are no clear rules and guidance as to what would remain open and what would close. With respect to immigration, it appears that there would be some disruptions to pending cases and upcoming filings. Generally, the government is likely to stop all non-essential, all non-self-funded and all non-contractually funded services.

USCIS Cases

Since USCIS is funded primarily through application fees, it is expected that most of its services and centers would operate normally, perhaps with slightly diminished staff. Because USCIS is a government agency which relies on other government agencies to perform its services, there may be certain disruptions; however, overall, case processing at USCIS is expected to resume. Border processing of immigrants and border enforcement activities would continue as they are deemed “essential.”

Department of State – No (or Slow) Visa Applications; Visa Bulletin Uncertain; NVC Processing Could Continue

The Department of State (DOS) is expected to to cease non-emergency visa services and non-US citizen services at U.S. Consular Posts abroad. As a result, no new visas are expected to be issued and visa application interviews are likely to be cancelled (or postponed). U.S. passport applications will not be accepted and processing of submitted applications is likely to be put on hold.

As a comparison, according to data from the Congressional Research Service Report, during the last shutdown in 1995, approximately 20,000 – 30,000 visas went unprocessed each day and 200,000 applications for U.S. passports went unprocessed.

It is unknown at this point, however, whether the May 2011 Visa Bulletin, which is expected to be issued over the next few days and which is issued by the Department of State, will be affected. We hope that it would be released before Monday when a possible shutdown would take effect. Many of our readers are eagerly expecting the May 2011 Visa Bulletin because it is expected to bring some substantial forward movement to the EB-2 India category.

With respect to immigrant visa (family, employment, etc.) cases pending at the National Visa Center (NVC), it is possible that they would continue to be processed as NVC’s staffing funding was under contract.