Attorney Sheela Murthy's EDITORIAL COMMENTS for June 1999
Posted Jun 20, 1999

Any immigration law developments this month have been overshadowed by the INS announcement in mid June 1999 that the H1B cap was reached, almost 6 months before the new fiscal year starts.

Accordingly, the Law Office of Sheela Murthy suggests that we band together again to pursue contacting our elected representatives to either increase the H1B cap or better still to eliminate it completely. It is, after all, an arbitrary number that had no basis in the first place when it was introduced under the Immigration Act of 1990. Although an increase in the H1B cap for next year is unlikely, our efforts now can pave the way for an increase in future years.

Fortunately, the tragedy of the H1B cap has been counterbalanced for some with the speed of the movement of the priority dates in both the EB2 and EB3 categories for nationals of India. Many of you will now be eligible to file for adjustment of status or consular process, and many others are hopeful that your dates could become current soon.

The U.S. Department of State has announced the dates for this coming fiscal year's new visa lottery program. As in the last 3 or 4 years, the applicant will need to include a photograph and sign the form. The Law Office of Sheela Murthy will provide additional information when it is released. Nationals of certain countries such as India, China, the U.K., and Canada are not allowed to participate in the visa lottery program.

In continuation of our theme to provide useful guidance of a more generic nature, we thought we should include a topic on the importance of keeping those old INS receipts and other proof of having maintained lawful status. The importance of such documents cannot be emphasized enough, especially with the recent statutory bars and the adjustment of status or change of status requirements with the burden always on the applicant to establish eligibility for an immigration benefit.

We are also pleased to share good news with you that the Law Office has expanded its space with dedicated professionals committed to serving your immigration needs. As always, let me take this opportunity to wish each of you a wonderful summer and hope you are able to spend some quality time with your families. Thank you to many of you for your kind compliments on our Bulletin, for reading our Bulletin for so many years, your loyalty and last but not least, for providing us the opportunity to assist you in any way possible.