Affect of U.S. Government shut-down on the H-1B program

The U.S. Government shutdown is affecting U.S. DOL processes, including the administration of the iCert system. Since the beginning of the shut-down, iCert users have not been able to access the government’s system for the preparation and filing of ETA-9035 labor Condition Applications (LCA). USCIS has issued a guidance memo that suggests the agency will accept H-1B case filings without a DOL-certified LCA. While the memo appears to address H-1B concerns, it does not address allied NIV cases like E-3 where an LCA is included with a normal filing.