Small Businesses Struggle with Immigration Department: Delays and Fees

Small businesses across the United States 🇺🇸 said on Wednesday that visa processing delays, tougher immigration enforcement, and shifting rules on temporary protected status are straining their hiring plans and day-to-day operations, deepening labor shortages in sectors that rely on both skilled and low-wage foreign workers. Owners in food service, construction, home health care, and tech startups described a cycle of stalled work permits, rising costs, and workforce anxiety that has left jobs unfilled and growth plans on hold as of October 30, 2025.

Slower processing and ripple effects

Employers point first to slower timelines for renewals and new petitions. Enhanced screening and longer background checks have stretched routine cases well past expected dates, business groups said, with knock-on effects for payrolls and client contracts.

When a renewal drags, a worker may fall out of status or step away out of fear. That forces companies to cut hours or scramble for temporary coverage. The delays ripple beyond the immediate worker and employer: suppliers and customers feel them too, especially in small towns where one shop’s reduced hours can change foot traffic for an entire block.

Enforcement-related fear and workforce participation

The fear factor tied to immigration enforcement has also grown. Owners report stepped-up audits, raids, and detention efforts that push some workers to avoid public places or skip shifts — even when they have work authorization.

• Managers described losing team members overnight after a family member was detained, leaving crews short for weeks.
• Mixed-status households experience a chill that dampens workforce participation.
• Some firms cut back operations to avoid sudden staffing gaps.

While officials say enforcement targets those in violation of federal law, business owners say the practical effect is broad and destabilizing.

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) changes and planning uncertainty

Policy shifts around legal status add more uncertainty. Temporary Protected Status (TPS) — a humanitarian program allowing people from crisis-hit countries to live and work in the U.S. for a set period — can be changed with little warning.

• When a country’s TPS designation changes, small firms with long-serving employees from that country face new paperwork and deadline pressure.
• Employers may lose trained staff or face sudden eligibility changes for key workers.
• A foreman on payroll for years can move from “steady” to “at risk” overnight if eligibility is trimmed or re-registration windows shorten.

Employers say this cycle makes planning nearly impossible and forces unwanted hiring freezes.

Rising costs and the H‑1B fee increase

Costs are rising at the same time. Owners cite higher government fees for work visas as a barrier that hits small firms hardest. They point to a new presidential proclamation that raised the annual fee for H‑1B applications to $100,000, up from $215.

• The jump places skilled hiring out of reach for many main-street companies and startups.
• The H‑1B program — used for roles in engineering, health care, and other fields — is already complex and capped; the price spike makes it largely a big-company tool.
• Founders who once planned to hire a single specialist now say they will scrap the role or move parts of their operations abroad.

Rigid visa rules vs. real-world hiring needs

Beyond price, employers describe the visa system as too rigid for real-world hiring. They say the H‑1B process forces them into a narrow set of rules that can clash with urgent business needs, such as:

• Adding a data analyst mid-project
• Retaining a nurse with language skills needed by the local community

When “wait and see” becomes the only answer, owners delay product launches, turn down contracts, or shorten service hours. Analysis by VisaVerge.com indicates a growing gap between what the law allows on paper and what it supports in practice, especially when timelines stretch and requests for extra evidence pile up.

Impact on entrepreneurship and immigrant-owned businesses

Entrepreneurship is feeling the strain. Immigrant-owned businesses — a steady source of new jobs in many neighborhoods — report more fear and fewer new filings.

• Stricter policies and stepped-up checks make new shop leases feel risky.
• Family immigration backlogs can stall loans and close off financing.
• Some entrepreneurs close rather than risk operating a public-facing business during heightened scrutiny, reducing local services and thinning the pipeline of future employers.

Fragmented compliance and state differences

Compliance remains a patchwork. E‑Verify, the online system that checks a new hire’s work authorization, is not mandated nationwide, but some states require it for certain employers or contracts.

• Small firms must manage different rules across locations, often with only one person handling payroll, hiring, and legal updates.
• Owners want clear, consistent standards and faster answers from federal help lines.
• Delays in federal guidance compound the harm of visa processing delays; when a case falters, businesses often cannot get quick guidance on next steps.

Calls for predictability and the opposing view

Advocates for a smoother system argue that predictability is the missing piece. Suggested improvements include:

1. Clearer filing windows
2. Faster processing for renewals
3. Stable rules for temporary protected status

Opponents of loosening rules argue enforcement is necessary to protect U.S. workers and ensure employers follow the law. The debate often comes down to immediate needs:

• The owner who needs a line cook tomorrow
• The clinic that needs a bilingual nurse this month
• The software firm that must keep a specialist through the end of a contract

Predictability, advocates say, would give small businesses a fair chance to plan. Opponents emphasize enforcement and legal compliance.

Personal impacts on workers

Workers feel the squeeze in personal ways:

• Some avoid travel to see relatives for fear of being stuck abroad due to consular backlogs or surprise interview notices.
• Others turn down promotions that would change job duties, worried that a title change could complicate their next filing.
• Employers now coach staff on travel risks and case timing even when they are not lawyers, because a missed flight or lost document can sideline a key team member for weeks.

Near-term outlook and adjustments by businesses

As of this week, there is no clear sign that pressure will ease soon. Owners continue to monitor fee schedules and policy memos, fearing new costs or rules before year’s end.

• Many still want to hire and train foreign workers but cannot balance legal risks with cash flow.
• Some are turning to consultants to manage cases.
• Others are pausing all sponsorships until processing times improve.

Those choices reshape local labor markets quietly, from shorter daycare hours to fewer weekend restaurant shifts.

Federal officials maintain public guidance on petition types, deadlines, and programs on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website, which employers and workers consult for updates. Business groups say that clear advance notice of policy changes, more realistic processing targets, and better coordination with state E‑Verify rules would help keep shops open and people on payrolls.

For now, small companies continue to adjust — one delayed approval, one policy shift, and one difficult decision at a time — as the country debates how to balance border rules with the workforce needs of its smallest employers.