Update: Congress averted a shutdown with just hours to spare
The Senate voted 88-9 to pass a clean continuing resolution (CR) that funds the government at current levels through Nov. 17 and gives the Biden administration $16 billion it requested to assist victims of natural disasters. The House had earlier passed the measure in a bipartisan 335-91 vote.
FEWA will continue to push for reasonable H-2B cap relief through the appropriations process.
A potential government shutdown approaches at the beginning of fiscal year 2024 on October 1, 2023.
If a shutdown occurs, any U.S. Government agency that is funded by general fund appropriations from the U.S. Congress will not have funding to function into the new fiscal year without a continuing resolution (CR) or passage of individual funding bills.
Agency programs that are funded by user fees are not impacted. Several U.S. Government immigration agencies are fee funded for the purposes of the H-2A and H-2B programs, however, the Department of Labor (DOL) Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) is one agency that is appropriation funded.
As the government prepares for this impending shutdown of operations, the DOL currently has 19,469 worker positions pending certification. In addition, DOL has 3,281 prevailing wage determinations (PWD) pending. The PWD is the first step required in the H-2B process and is required to be able to proceed in filing for a labor certification from DOL for the 2024 season.
CIS/DOS processing
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) and the Department of State (DOS) are fee funded and would generally continue to operate as usual. If your petition is currently pending at CIS or you have appointments scheduled with the DOS at a U.S. Consulate abroad, your request should continue.
However, depending on the length of shutdown and the number of visas impacted, they will monitor their funding to ensure their operations are continued. Meaning, if their fee funding fluctuates or falls, they may reduce available interviews to ensure they maintain funding.
E-Verify
The other general fund appropriation-based program that would be impacted by the lapse in funding is the E-Verify program. Each time the U.S. Government has shutdown, the E-Verify program has as well. The online portal goes dormant and all processing ceases. Employers are still required to collect and process Form I-9 information for submission to the E-Verify portal upon the reopening of the government. In the past, employers were given a short period of time to enter information on employees hired during the shutdown. Employees were given a short time to contest tentative non-confirmations received prior to the shutdown as well.