WASHINGTON (AP) — A measure to provide relief for Iraqis who risked their lives to help the United States may be advancing in Congress despite the government shutdown.

The special visa has allowed more than 12,000 Iraqi contractors, interpreters and others who aided U.S. efforts, and family members, to move to the United States since 2007. It expired at midnight, with an estimated 2,000 applications still in the bureaucratic process, but the Senate extended it by unanimous consent a half-hour ahead of Monday night’s deadline.