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US Government Shutdown: International Student Guidance from Emory University

#government#shutdown#applications

The US government enters its second full week of shutdowns, and critical functions continue to pause or cease altogether as workers are furloughed and funding stops.

I was curious how this was affecting visa applications for example, and found this great guidance from Emory University. I'm copying the relevant bulletpoints below:

  • Department of State – Embassies and Consulates
    • Visa operations are funded by application fees (which are different from SEVIS fees) and should not be impacted by the government shutdown. Nevertheless, since the situation is fluid, we recommend that people refrain from international travel if their visa stamp has expired, as visa application processing times may be delayed. If the shutdown continues for an extended period, some consular services could be temporarily suspended.

        

  • Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
    • CBP officers will continue to carry out inspections at US borders and ports of entry during the government shutdown.
    • CBP should also continue to process TN applications at the border.

         

  • Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
    • ICE oversees the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) program, which is funded by SEVIS fees and is not affected by the government shutdown.
    • Emory University can continue to issue F-1 I-20s and J-1 DS-2019s.

       

  • US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
    • USCIS is a fee-based government agency, and therefore, the government shutdown should not impact their normal operations. Applications (such as F-1 OPT applications) should continue to be adjudicated.
    • The notable impact may be for USCIS petitions that require pre-filing actions by the Department of Labor (DOL), such as H-1B Labor Condition Applications (LCAs). DOL is not a fee-funded government agency, so their immigration-related functions will be suspended during the shutdown. When the last government shutdown happened in 2018, USCIS allowed temporary exceptions and/or extensions for affected petitions, but it has not been announced whether it will do so for this current shutdown since it just began.