- USCIS will keep processing most immigration benefits through December eleven, 2026 under the FY2027 continuing resolution.
- H-1B petitions remain subject to a $100,000 payment rule for covered filings on or after September twenty-one, 2025.
- USCIS says current evidence rules still apply, including denials without RFE or NOID when required initial evidence is missing.
USCIS will keep processing most immigration benefits under the FY2027 continuing resolution, which funds the federal government through December 11, 2026 at FY2026 levels. The agency relies primarily on fees, so its core adjudications and customer service functions continue while annual appropriations remain temporary.
Most filings and cases already accepted for processing keep moving. That includes petitions, applications, biometrics, naturalization work, online submissions, intake operations, case inquiries and other customer service functions tied to USCIS’s benefits mission.
The funding measure does not create a general pause at USCIS. Operational limits can still affect individual offices or programs, but the agency’s principal casework continues under its existing system.
H-1B petitions remain subject to current filing rules. On the USCIS H-1B page, the agency says certain petitions filed on or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern on Sept. 21, 2025 require a $100,000 payment if they fall within the applicable proclamation’s scope.
That requirement remains separate from the temporary funding measure. Covered petitioners must provide payment proof or an approved exception.
Applicants and sponsors should continue using regular filing schedules unless USCIS posts a specific suspension or emergency notice. Separate fee rules, form updates and policy effective dates continue to control their own filings.
The House passed its stopgap measure on Sept. 1, 2026. The Senate had advanced its version on Aug. 7, 2026, by 90-6, with both measures extending funding through Dec. 11, 2026.
Lawmakers call the measure temporary as the agency keeps working
Representative Derek Tran (D-CA-45) described his Sept. 1 vote as a way to keep the government open, while stressing that the measure would not settle the full-year budget.
“Today, I voted in favor of a continuing resolution to keep the government open through December 11.”
Tran said the legislation also included “important safeguards, blocking the Administration from diverting funds to Border Patrol and halting a rule that would let political appointees interfere with grant decisions using taxpayer money.” He called the measure “only a temporary fix.”
Representative Rosa DeLauro, Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, made a similar distinction during floor remarks that day.
“the continuing resolution we are considering today is in no way a substitute for the full-year funding process.”
The House Democrats’ description of the measure likewise characterized it as temporary rather than a replacement for full-year appropriations.
Fee collections shield core benefits work from annual funding gaps
USCIS receives most of its support through the Immigration Examinations Fee Account. That structure leaves the agency less exposed to the annual appropriations process than agencies financed directly through yearly congressional funding.
The Congressional Research Service explains that activities funded through fee collections or other nonexpiring appropriations qualify as exempt from lapse-related furloughs. Those activities can continue during funding gaps.
The distinction extends beyond USCIS. Agencies such as TSA, FEMA and DHS headquarters depend more directly on appropriated funds and can face tighter constraints when Congress uses temporary funding measures.
A separate funding problem could still affect a particular USCIS office or program. The agency’s broad fee-supported structure, however, keeps the main immigration benefits system operating.
Current evidence rules still apply while cases move forward
USCIS is also applying current policy guidance during the temporary funding period. A USCIS alert dated Aug. 5, 2026, clarified that officers may deny requests without issuing a request for evidence, or RFE, or a notice of intent to deny, or NOID, when required initial evidence is missing.
The clarification took effect immediately for requests pending or filed on or after Aug. 5, 2026. The funding measure does not replace that guidance or suspend the filing requirements attached to individual benefit requests.
The temporary funding period runs through December 11, 2026. Until then, petitions, applications, biometrics appointments, naturalization work and related customer service functions remain part of the agency’s ongoing operations.
