On October 1, 2025, at 12:01 am EDT, the United States federal government entered a partial shutdown due to the lapse of appropriations. Non-essential federal functions and personnel must be furloughed or suspended until funding is restored. More importantly, the effect of a shutdown is uneven across agencies: functions funded by user fees or that are deemed “essential” may continue, while others reliant on direct appropriations may halt or curtail operations.
Agency-by-Agency Impact & Risk
Below is our current understanding of how key immigration-related agencies and processes are likely to be affected, and recommended steps for clients.
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
USCIS is primarily funded through application fees therefore, many core operations continue. However, certain USCIS programs or initiatives with appropriated funding may be curtailed such as E-Verify, or specific visa programs relying on Congressional funding. Most USCIS filings, adjudications, biometrics, interviews, and naturalization ceremonies should continue, though processing delays are possible.
Department of Labor (DOL) / Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC)
The DOL immigration functions are not fee-funded and rely on appropriations and will be suspended in the shutdown. The DOL’s Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) website is currently offline and no longer accepting new applications. Prevailing wage determinations, Labor Condition Applications (LCA), PERM labor certification, and related audit tracking will not be processed. Visa petitions requiring certified LCAs (e.g. H-1B, H-1B1, E-3) may be unable to move forward until DOL operations resume.
E-Verify / I-9
E-Verify is not funded via user fees and will be offline during the shutdown. DHS may provide flexibility, as in past shutdowns, for delays in E-Verify case initiation or resolution of Tentative Nonconfirmations (TNCs). However, DHS has not yet provided guidance on how E-verify will be handled during the shutdown.
I-9 obligations for employers remain in effect even while E-Verify is inoperational. Employers enrolling in E-Verify cannot submit new verifications or respond to TNCs until the system is restored, however, they should continue to timely comply with I-9 obligations. Employers should document hires and any inability to submit E-Verify during the outage and maintain internal logs of E-Verify cases to be submitted later.
Customs & Border Protection (CBP), Ports of Entry, and INS Functions
CBP “inspection and law enforcement” functions are considered essential and should continue throughout the shutdown. Port-of-entry visa processing is likely to continue, though staffing constraints may slow operations. Some passport, entry, or border interview processing may be delayed if staff are furloughed.
Department of State / U.S. Consulates & Visa Issuance
Many consular functions are supported by visa application fees, so visa interviews may continue in the short term. However, consular staffing and administrative overhead functions are funded by appropriations, so longer shutdowns could reduce capacity or force suspension of certain consular services. Visa appointment schedules might be rescheduled, interview capacity may be reduced, or administrative processing (e.g. security clearances) could slow down. It is advisable to delay non-urgent visa stamping travel if possible.
ICE / Enforcement, SEVIS, DHS
Enforcement, removal operations, and key DHS immigration enforcement functions are considered essential and are expected to continue. SEVIS (for F-1, J-1) is funded by SEVIS fees and is expected to remain operational. Noncompliance or status-maintenance errors may be scrutinized, and enforcement scrutiny is unlikely to ease solely by virtue of the shutdown. Please ensure employees are continuing to comply with immigration status requirements.
Strategic & Tactical Recommendations
Given the uncertainties surrounding the duration of the shutdown, here are proactive steps and strategies clients should consider:
Vialto will continue to monitor the government shutdown and provide additional information as they become available.
For a deeper discussion on the above, please reach out to your Vialto Partners point of contact, or alternatively:
Manish Daftari
Partner
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Vialto Partners (“Vialto”) refers to wholly owned subsidiaries of CD&R Galaxy UK OpCo Limited as well as the other members of the Vialto Partners global network. The information contained in this document is for general guidance on matters of interest only. Vialto is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. All information is provided “as is”, with no guarantee of completeness, accuracy, timeliness or of the results obtained from the use of this information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including, but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event will Vialto, its related entities, or the agents or employees thereof be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken in reliance on the information in this document or for any consequential, special or similar damages, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.
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