by Brandon Gillin, Immigration Lawyer at Genesis Law Firm
October 8, 2012
Eight days since the Congress failed to pass a budget, which resulted in a partial shut-down of the Federal government, some immigration agencies remain open while others remain closed.
Those agencies that remain open include United States Citizen and Immigration Services (“USCIS”), including the USCIS Field Office in Seattle, where Genesis Law Firm conducts a large amount of its immigration law matters. Genesis Law Firm clients with matters pending before the field office are advised to attend scheduled meetings at the field office.
Those agencies with some furloughed government employees include Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), which is running at less than 100% capacity since the partial government shutdown. Essential ICE employees are still at work, and the “detained cases” at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma are still scheduled. Those non-detained cases are affected by the government shutdown, as hearings on non-detained cases are currently suspended nationwide.
The Seattle immigration lawyers at Genesis Law Firm will continue to file documents in non-detained cases during the shutdown, but clients should remember that the Immigration Courts will not process these filings until the shutdown ends.
The administrator of the Seattle Immigration Court stated on October 1, 2013 that, “if the Seattle Immigration Court does close, it is impossible to predict how long the court will be closed for.”
Genesis Law Firm will continually provide updates to events related to the government shutdown.