At midnight on Saturday January 20, 2018, the federal government went into a limited shutdown because Congress failed to pass an appropriations bill. As of the time of this email the Senate has voted to reopen the government through February 8, 2018. Although most agencies remain shut down today, we anticipate that they will reopen starting tomorrow.
The bill passed today will fund the government through February 8, 2018. Between now and then it is expected that Congress will take up some contested issues around immigration. Because these high-profile issues are at the forefront, we could see a series of short-term funding bills to keep pressure on both sides to negotiate a final resolution of these immigration issues. This could lead us to other shutdowns in the coming weeks.
We are monitoring this situation very closely. When there are shutdowns, it can harm those seeking immigration benefits. We are taking precautions to be sure the impact to our clients is minimal. For more frequent updates, please follow us on twitter (@GrahamAdairLaw).