The impact of the government shutdown will depend on where your case is pending. USCIS is funded by user filing fees. Therefore, the impact of the government shutdown should be fairly minimal for cases pending with USCIS. At this point all of our previously scheduled interviews have proceeded without issues.
The immigration court, under the U.S. Department of Justice, is closed for non-custody matters. The court’s detained calendar is still operating. The immigration court in San Francisco has advised us that the window at 120 Montgomery St. will not accept filings for non-custody matters. Late filings will not be penalized.
The US Department of State, which has exclusive jurisdiction over issuing visas from abroad, has advised that it has sufficient funding to continue issuing visas for a matter of days. If the shutdown is prolonged, it is anticipated that visa services from abroad will cease.
This information is current as of today, October 3, 2013, and is subject to change.
