The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, February 3, passed a five-bill spending package that President Trump signed hours later, ending a partial government shutdown that had idled roughly 420,000 federal employees since January 31. While most agencies—including the Departments of Labor and State—are now funded through September 30, lawmakers agreed to finance the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for just two additional weeks, until February 13.
The stop-gap sets the stage for high-stakes negotiations over immigration-enforcement language. Senate Democrats demand body-camera mandates, a universal code of conduct for federal agents, and a warrant requirement for home entries, while some Republicans want nationwide limits on “sanctuary cities.” Failure to reach agreement could trigger another lapse that would directly affect U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services fee-funded operations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement field activity and border staffing overtime.
![Congress Ends Four-Day Federal Shutdown but Funds DHS for Only Two Weeks, Setting Up Immigration Showdown]()
Amid this uncertainty, VisaHQ can help companies and individual travelers stay ahead of fast-changing requirements by providing real-time updates, document checklists, and expedited visa services for the United States. Their online portal—https://www.visahq.com/united-states/—tracks consular alerts and processing disruptions, offering practical guidance to minimize delays if another shutdown occurs.
During the shutdown, USCIS continued processing petitions, but Department of Labor systems—including FLAG, PERM and LCA portals—were offline, freezing thousands of filings. DOL confirmed full resumption of operations on the morning of February 4, and practitioners expect multi-week backlogs. The State Department’s consular posts remained open but warned that prolonged funding gaps could eventually affect passport and visa production.
Business-immigration stakeholders now have a narrow window to clear Labour Condition Applications and prevailing-wage requests critical for the fast-approaching H-1B season. Mobility managers should also prepare contingency plans in case DHS funding lapses again after February 13, potentially affecting Global Entry enrollment, premium-process adjudications and immigration-court dockets.
The stop-gap sets the stage for high-stakes negotiations over immigration-enforcement language. Senate Democrats demand body-camera mandates, a universal code of conduct for federal agents, and a warrant requirement for home entries, while some Republicans want nationwide limits on “sanctuary cities.” Failure to reach agreement could trigger another lapse that would directly affect U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services fee-funded operations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement field activity and border staffing overtime.
Amid this uncertainty, VisaHQ can help companies and individual travelers stay ahead of fast-changing requirements by providing real-time updates, document checklists, and expedited visa services for the United States. Their online portal—https://www.visahq.com/united-states/—tracks consular alerts and processing disruptions, offering practical guidance to minimize delays if another shutdown occurs.
During the shutdown, USCIS continued processing petitions, but Department of Labor systems—including FLAG, PERM and LCA portals—were offline, freezing thousands of filings. DOL confirmed full resumption of operations on the morning of February 4, and practitioners expect multi-week backlogs. The State Department’s consular posts remained open but warned that prolonged funding gaps could eventually affect passport and visa production.
Business-immigration stakeholders now have a narrow window to clear Labour Condition Applications and prevailing-wage requests critical for the fast-approaching H-1B season. Mobility managers should also prepare contingency plans in case DHS funding lapses again after February 13, potentially affecting Global Entry enrollment, premium-process adjudications and immigration-court dockets.
