H-1B: USCIS may excuse late filings because of ongoing shutdown only if...

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced a possible waiver for as the federal government shutdown continues and is now into the third week. The USCIS is a fee-funded agency and has not stopped its work even during the government shutdown, but it took note of the difficulty people are facing to get some required documents because of the closure of other departments.

"USCIS will process H-1B, H-2A, and H-2B related Form I-129 petitions and CW-1 related Form I-129CW petitions during the government shutdown. We recognize, however, that the shutdown may affect a petitioner’s ability to get required documentation (such as a labor condition application or a temporary labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor), which may delay their ability to file Form I-129 or Form I-129CW," the agency said.




"If an H-1B, H-2A, H-2B, or CW-1 petitioner meets all other applicable requirements and submits evidence establishing that the primary reason they did not timely file an extension of stay or change of status request was due to the government shutdown, we will consider the government shutdown an extraordinary circumstance beyond the petitioner’s control when we determine whether to excuse their failure to timely file the extension of stay or change of status request," the agency said.

H-1B waiver because of shutdown: All you need to know

1. New H-1B filings, amendments, changes of employers and status changes can not be submitted because the Department of Labor is not fully functional. DOL issued the Labor Condition Application (LCA) required for these filings.
2. An existing LCA, however, can be used.
3. But USCIS made it clear that the applicant has to prove that they could not file their applications because of the government shutdown. So, affected applicants have to document how they were unable because of the shutdown.
4. According to immigration experts, if someone's I-94 is expiring, the ideal thing to do is to file for interim status (B-2, H-4, L-2, F-2) instead of waiting for USCIS' consideration.
5. Once the government reopens and the H-1B is filed, the applicants can withdraw their interim status safely.