MVP “Immigration Q & A Forum” – 10/3/25

1.   I have a Hearing at Immigration Court scheduled for next Monday, October 6, 2025. Are the Courts open or will my hearing be rescheduled due to the shutdown?

The Immigration Courts are fully operational during this government shutdown. You should plan on attending your hearing. If you fail to appear without proper and prior notice, an in-absentia order will be issued for your failure to appear at your hearing, ordering your removal from the country.

Normally when the federal government shuts down only the detained docket (‘detained’ meaning people who are being held against their will by the government awaiting their hearing) moves forward, and all other non-detained cases are rescheduled. However, with this federal government shutdown, the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) the agency responsible for running the Immigration Courts is fully operational and hearings will continue as scheduled.

2.    My Labor for my Green Card process was to be approved this month based on the processing times. How will the shutdown affect my case? My priority date is current based on the October visa bulletin.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is the entity that is responsible for certifying your Permanent Labor Application. As a result of the government shutdown, the DOL is not operational. This means that your Labor is not currently being reviewed/worked on and will not continue to be processed until the DOL reopens once the federal government reopens. It is likely that the government shutdown will affect the timing of the certification of your Labor Application. In other words, it may take a little longer to obtain the Certified Permanent Labor Application.

3.    My husband and I have an I-130/I-485 interview scheduled for next Thursday, October 9 at the USCIS Fairfax office. Will our interview be rescheduled?

NO, your interview will NOT be rescheduled. You should be prepared to appear for your I-130/I-485 interview next Thursday. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is fully operational because they are funded by filing fees and not by Congress. To reiterate, the USCIS remains open during the government shutdown. If you have an interview scheduled with USCIS, you should appear for your scheduled interview.

4.    We have two (2) candidates that we have just offered to sponsor for the H-1B visa. These individuals already hold H-1B status, will we be able to transfer their case to our company during the shutdown?

If you have not already obtained a certified Labor Condition Application (LCA) from the Department of Labor (DOL) for the H-1B transfer filings, then NO you will not be able to transfer their cases to your company during the shutdown. The DOL is responsible for certifying LCA’s and they are not operational during a government shutdown. A certified LCA must accompany the H-1B transfer petition at the time of filing with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). You can certainly initiate the case and prepare the necessary paperwork (notice of posting, forms, letters of support, etc.), but you will not be able to file the cases with USCIS until the DOL reopens and you are able to obtain a certified LCA.

5.    My wife and I filed her I-751 Petition last week with USCIS. We haven’t received the receipt notice yet. Her conditional green card expires on the 18^th of October. Is USCIS closed because of the shutdown? Do we need to make plans for her to leave the country?

USCIS remains fully operational during a government shutdown. It can take 2-4 weeks to receive a receipt notice from USCIS after mailing a petition. You should track the package to see if it made it to USCIS. If it did, you can also check your bank account to see when the check for the filing fees is deposited. It would not be advisable for her to leave the country at this time.

6.    My employer offered to sponsor my green card. I know the first stage is the Labor process and I don’t know much else about it. I’m concerned though that my case may be delayed because of the government shutdown. Do you know if it will be?

The first step in the employment based green card sponsorship process is to request a prevailing wage determination from the Department of Labor (DOL). The DOL is not operational during a government shutdown. If your employer has just initiated the process and requested the prevailing wage, your case will be delayed because the DOL is not processing any cases while the government is shut down.

7.    My priority date is current for October. We are getting ready to submit our applications to USCIS. Did the USCIS filing fees increase for the I-485 Application?

Yes, the USCIS filing fee increased from $1225.00 to $1440.00 for the I-485 petition back in April of 2024. The $1440.00 filing fee only covers the I-485 petition, it no longer covers the cost for the EAD and AP. If you are looking to file for employment authorization/EAD (Form I-765) with your I-485, it now carries a separate filing fee of $260.00. If you are looking to file for travel authorization/advance parole (AP) (Form I-131) with your I-485, it now carries its own separate filing fee of $630.00.

8.    Is there a way to expedite a case with USCIS?

Yes, it is possible to expedite a case with USCIS if you are able to satisfy their expedite criteria. The USCIS expedite criteria can be found on their website: https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-guidance/expedite-requests.

9.    How many questions do you have to answer correctly with the new Citizenship test?

The new Citizenship test will become effective as of October 20, 2025. The new citizenship test requires that you answer 12 questions out of 20 correctly, as compared to answering 6 correctly out of 10 with the prior civics test. The questions to study from have increased from 100 to 128.

10.   Am I able to premium process my STEM OPT EAD application?

Yes, premium processing is available for STEM OPT EAD applications. For more information visit the USCIS website: https://www.uscis.gov/forms/all-forms/how-do-i-request-premium-processing