President Trump Signs Government Funding Bill Through January 30

A continuing resolution passed by Congress and signed by President Trump last night will fund the federal government through January 30, while negotiations on the FY 2026 budget continue. The stopgap bill ends the federal shutdown that had been in place since October 1, and funds the federal government through January 30 at levels in place prior to the shutdown.

There is minimal immediate impact to employment-based immigration activities since most immigration functions either continued during the government shutdown or had been restored in recent weeks. Department of Labor operations and the E-Verify program were suspended for several weeks during the shutdown, but appear to have been restored to full, operational status.

When the government is fully reopened, the Department of Labor (DOL) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may issue further guidance on potential remedies for employment-based immigration filings that were unable to be submitted during the lapse in DOL operations. While the DOL has already provided some general guidance, there are some gaps in the announced policies, specifically with respect to PERM labor certification recruitment that expired in the early part of the shutdown.

The passage of a temporary spending measure means that there will be no interruption of federal operations through January 30, but a shutdown after that date remains a possibility if there is no agreement on FY 2026 appropriations legislation or an additional stopgap by January 30. Employers should work with counsel to carefully plan the timing of any upcoming immigration filings and related activities, especially for applications submitted to the DOL or that require a DOL-certification (such as a certified PERM or Labor Condition Application (LCA)) in order to move forward with USCIS and/or State Department filings. The suspension of DOL operations is generally the most disruptive to sponsoring employers during a shutdown; advance planning may be able to minimize some of the disruption in the event of a possible February 2026 shutdown.