Mercifully, the government shutdown has ended. In many ways, that was just the first step as all government services did not start up right away.
As of this posting, the U.S. Dept. of Labor websites are now open, so we can presume that their offices are back functioning once again. The question remains how much of a delay will remain as a result of the shutdown period. I think it is safe to anticipate a delay in processing across the board for all PERM cases.
Strangely, another victim of the shutdown was the Constituent Services at all Congressional offices across the U.S. Many clients with congressional inquiries reported that constituent services had stopped, and only as of recently have they begun to assist constituents with federal agencies.
Let’s all hope this does not repeat itself and that the focus can go towards comprehensive immigration legislation.