The federal government enters its second month of partial shutdown today, November 1, 2025, with acute consequences for global-mobility programs. The lapse in appropriations has frozen the Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify system—used by more than one million U.S. employers to confirm work authorization—and has forced U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to redeploy staff, adding to already record case backlogs.
During the outage, employers are unable to create new E-Verify cases or resolve Tentative Non-Confirmations, yet federal rules still require completion of Form I-9 within three business days of hire. Corporate mobility teams must therefore maintain manual I-9 files and later upload them once E-Verify reopens, documenting the shutdown as the reason for delay. Immigration attorneys caution that failure to annotate could trigger future fines.
![Government Shutdown Halts E-Verify and Slows Visa Processing as New Fiscal Year Begins]()
The shutdown has also closed most non-fee-funded State Department consular units, suspending routine visa appointments at U.S. embassies worldwide. Emergency services continue, but travelers face large-scale flight cancellations as airlines deny boarding to passengers lacking current visas. International assignees already in the United States are advised to postpone non-essential travel to avoid being stranded abroad.
USCIS, funded largely by user fees, remains open but has paused premium-processing upgrades for H-1B, L-1 and O-1 petitions because the required inter-agency security checks rely on furloughed FBI and CBP staff. Employers may see adjudications stretch well beyond posted timelines, complicating start dates for critical hires.
If the shutdown drags on, experts predict cascading effects: expiration of medical exam forms, quota-year visa numbers going unused, and a spike in Requests for Evidence as officers revisit stale background data. Mobility leaders are urged to build contingencies into relocation budgets and communicate travel-freeze guidance company-wide.
During the outage, employers are unable to create new E-Verify cases or resolve Tentative Non-Confirmations, yet federal rules still require completion of Form I-9 within three business days of hire. Corporate mobility teams must therefore maintain manual I-9 files and later upload them once E-Verify reopens, documenting the shutdown as the reason for delay. Immigration attorneys caution that failure to annotate could trigger future fines.
The shutdown has also closed most non-fee-funded State Department consular units, suspending routine visa appointments at U.S. embassies worldwide. Emergency services continue, but travelers face large-scale flight cancellations as airlines deny boarding to passengers lacking current visas. International assignees already in the United States are advised to postpone non-essential travel to avoid being stranded abroad.
USCIS, funded largely by user fees, remains open but has paused premium-processing upgrades for H-1B, L-1 and O-1 petitions because the required inter-agency security checks rely on furloughed FBI and CBP staff. Employers may see adjudications stretch well beyond posted timelines, complicating start dates for critical hires.
If the shutdown drags on, experts predict cascading effects: expiration of medical exam forms, quota-year visa numbers going unused, and a spike in Requests for Evidence as officers revisit stale background data. Mobility leaders are urged to build contingencies into relocation budgets and communicate travel-freeze guidance company-wide.
