The Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFCL) announced an extension to any labor certification deadline impacted by the government shutdown. Documents and applications with deadlines between October 1 and November 2 now have a thirty-three-day grace period for submission. The grace period lasts until December 5, 2025.

The labor certification deadline extension applies to any documents or applications related to the following:

• The H-2A visa.
• The H-2B visa.
• The CW-1 visa.
• The Permanent Labor Certification (PERM).

The extension only applies to H-2A, H-2B, and CW-1 visas with submission deadlines ranging from October 1 to October 31. If any of these visas had deadlines on November 1 or 2 it’s not included in the grace period.

If employers receive a warning from the Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) system when submitting a PERM application, they’ll still be able to finish filing. These messages are an automatic response to any filing attempt outside of the regulatory one-hundred-and-eighty day filing window and don’t apply to individuals included in the grace period. Conversely, the extension doesn’t apply to any labor certificate deadlines originally set after November 2, 2025.

Additionally, the grace period only applies to deadlines imposed by OFCL. Submission deadlines for the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) are not affected. Stakeholders should reach out directly to BALCA for more information.

As always, Immigration USA actively monitors ongoing U.S. immigration news. If you have questions about any U.S. immigration related issue, please contact us. Working with an experienced attorney ensures you get the right advice based on the most recent laws and policy updates. In an ever-evolving immigration landscape, we’re with you every step of the way.