Hours before the government was due to shut down, the President signed into law a stopgap measure which will fund the federal government through December 11, 2015.   The possibility of a government shutdown would have affected, among other programs, the E-Verify program administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).     Similar to the 2013 federal government shutdown, which forced USCIS to pull the plug on employers’ use of the E-Verify system due to a lack of government funding, there would have been a repeat situation. 

Passage of H.R. 719 removes the immediate threat of a government shutdown.  For purposes of the E-Verify program, passage of H.R. 719 is noteworthy as not only is the program funded through December 11, 2015, its authorization to exist as a program was also extended until December 11, 2015.  For those keeping close tabs on E-Verify, you will know that congressional authorization for E-Verify expired September 30, 2015.  Negotiations are on-going in Congress to reauthorize the program for a period of 3 to 5 years.