The United States federal government is still in the throes of a partial shutdown, impacting workers around the country…and now maybe reality TV.
According to Page Six, the government shutdown could be impacting casting for TLC's 90 Day Fiancé. The hit reality series wrapped up its sixth season with record ratings and was renewed for a seventh season, but the shutdown could impact production on the next batch of episodes.
The TLC reality series follows Americans who propose to foreigners and attempt to bring them over to the United States via the K-1 visa process. After the foreign individual enters the US, the couples have 90 days—via the K-1 visa—to marry. E! News spoke with immigration attorney Edward Shulman who explained how things might get tied up.
Shulman said the series would be impacted by way of the Department of State. The initial visas are done by the Department of Homeland Security, he said, and are fee based. "When the people abroad try and come into the United States, they will have a bit of a difficulty coming into the United States with the visa," Shulman, of The Shulman Law Group, told us.
That's what's holding things up, apparently.
"The casting process is going on right now. In a sense, it's holding up production, because without a locked-down cast, we can't film," a source told Page Six.
TLC declined to comment on the report.
90 Day Fiancé is set to return to TLC this spring with 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After?, the follow-up series featuring couples from previous seasons. So far Pedro and Chantel are the only confirmed cast members.