Fruit and vegetables growers in the U.S. see their harvests failing as a result of the 16-day government shutdown earlier this month. Delays in processing visa applications during the public sector’s halt has left short of immigrant workers and should the process not be expedited they stand to lost their entire crops.

A spokesman of the Labor Department said that 10,600 workers’ applications from 230 employers have been delayed due to the shutdown. The DHS announced on 23rd October that in efforts to speed the process it would temporarily accept copies of visa applications from the Labor Department instead of applications with original signatures.

The measures taken so far by the government agencies, however, are only expected to shave one day off the process of seasonal H2-A visas, which typically takes about two months.