MurthyBulletin VOL. XIII, no. 19; May 2007, week 2 Posted : May 11, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "We know your immigration matters!" SM The MurthyBulletin is the eNewsletter on immigration from the Murthy Law Firm. This bulletin is not sent unsolicited. The information provided is of a general nature and may not apply to any particular set of facts or circumstances. It should not be construed as legal advice and does not constitute an engagement of the Murthy Law Firm. Full Disclaimer available. To receive MurthyBulletin via eMail, follow this link to subscribe. To Unsubscribe, please go to the end of the eMailed MurthyBulletin and click the URL provided. This an Announcement Only list. Subscribers cannot post to the list. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TOPICS in this Edition of the MurthyBulletin : NewsFlash! Advanced-Degree Cap Reached for FY2008 Posted on MurthyDotCom May 04, 2007 1. Delays at DOL PERM Processing Center in Atlanta to End Soon! 2. Annual AILF Celebration of Immigrants : June 2007 3. We Can Each Make a Difference - Contact Congress Now! 4. Consulate Operations Temporarily Curtailed in Sydney 5. USCIS Proposes Revisions for Religious Workers 6. MurthyBlog : Indian Ambassador Honors Dr. Tharoor and Meeting with Members of Congress to Raise Immigration Issues 7. MurthyDotCom : Did You Know about Our Travel Page? 8. Important Processing Times and Dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Engaging the Murthy Law Firm : Our office can conveniently and efficiently represent clients located anywhere in the United States or abroad on U.S. immigration matters. Consultations with attorneys at the Murthy Law Firm : You may contact our office to schedule a one-time paid consultation with no further obligation. A scheduled consultation with an attorney at the Murthy Law Firm provides you with details and recommendations based on the specific facts of your case. This will help you with making the right decisions based on the legal options and strategies available. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ©MurthyDotCom NewsFlash! Advanced-Degree Cap Reached for FY2008 Posted on MurthyDotCom May 04, 2007 ©MurthyDotCom On May 4, 2007 the USCIS announced that the advanced-degree cap for Fiscal Year 2008 was reached on April 30, 2007. Read the details in our May 4th NewsFlash on MurthyDotCom at (MurthyDotCom : NewsFlash! Advanced-Degree Cap Reached for FY2008 ). ©MurthyDotCom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ©MurthyDotCom 1. Delays at DOL PERM Processing Center in Atlanta to End Soon! ©MurthyDotCom A number of inquiries have come to us regarding delays in PERM labor certification case adjudication. Beginning early in 2007, there has been a noticeable slowing in case processing at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Atlanta Processing Center. This center is one of two locations where PERM labor certifications are adjudicated. The other location is in Chicago. This slow-down is a marked change from the generally fast PERM labor certification decisions that had become the norm. ©MurthyDotCom Personnel Reassigned to H2B Cases ©MurthyDotCom We at the Murthy Law Firm made inquiry about this matter, to gain some insight into why things had changed, and, of course, to determine how the situation might be improved. We were advised that personnel temporarily had been reallocated away from the PERM cases. The Atlanta Processing Center also processes temporary labor certifications needed in H2B cases. Due to demand and time constraints, personnel were diverted to work on the temporary labor certifications, which meant delays in the PERM labor certifications. ©MurthyDotCom Changes Expected in the Near Future ©MurthyDotCom Our sources indicate that the DOL adjudicators in Atlanta will be moved back to their regular responsibilities of processing PERM cases in the near future. Thus, PERM cases there should start moving again soon. ©MurthyDotCom Copyright © 2007, MURTHY LAW FIRM. All Rights Reserved ©MurthyDotCom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ©MurthyDotCom 2. Annual AILF Celebration of Immigrants : June 2007 ©MurthyDotCom The American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF) celebrates the contributions of immigrants throughout the year, but focuses its main fundraising annually during June. This year, the celebration is on June 15, 2007 in Orlando, Florida. AILF is a non-profit organization that works both to educate the public on the value of immigration to American society and to advance fundamental fairness and due process under the law for immigrants. This celebration is in coordination with the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Annual Conference. ©MurthyDotCom MLF Continues Support for AILF ©MurthyDotCom Sheela Murthy and the Murthy Law Firm have been long-time supporters of AILF. Ms. Murthy continues to serve on the AILF Board of Directors. The Murthy Law Firm will continue its support of AILF and contribute, once again, as a sponsor of this worthy organization to promote its laudable goals. Several attorneys from the Murthy Law Firm will be in attendance at the event. ©MurthyDotCom Free Tickets for AILF Event in Orlando in June ©MurthyDotCom We encourage MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers to support and attend this dinner and cultural program, which is a fundraiser for AILF and its worthwhile goals of furthering the cause of immigration. Those Murthy Law Firm clients who live in the Orlando area and would like to attend this inspiring program are welcome to eMail law@murthy.com for FREE tickets, which we will provide to the first ten people for this annual gala and fundraising event! ©MurthyDotCom Celebration of CubanAmericans in Orlando ©MurthyDotCom Each year, AILF celebrates the contributions of immigrants from a particular country at its annual event to showcase a particular group or nation. This is unlike the various regional AILF events that honor immigrants from different countries. The country selected generally is based upon the location of the event and the primary immigrant group in that area. This year's annual benefit will salute the contributions of CubanAmericans and honor several prominent members of the CubanAmerican community. More information on this year's AILF event is available on the AILF WebSite. ©MurthyDotCom Copyright © 2007, MURTHY LAW FIRM. All Rights Reserved ©MurthyDotCom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ©MurthyDotCom 3. We Can Each Make a Difference - Contact Congress Now! ©MurthyDotCom We would like to take this opportunity to remind MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers of the importance of making legislators aware of your point of view. Even those who are not yet U.S. citizens, and therefore cannot vote, still can express their points of view. Many of our readers are caught in the retrogression and/or H1B cap crisis. Congress will not act to address these problems without knowing that you, whether as an employer or employee, care strongly about these issues. Those who seek to restrict immigration are organized and vocal in making their views known. It would be foolish for us as individuals and as businesses not to share our viewpoints in support of immigration at least as forcefully. ©MurthyDotCom The immigration reform debate is a hot legislative issue. It is easy to let your voice be heard on this, as the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has a Contact Congress system that has suggested formats for this purpose. They have prepared letters that can be used as they are or may be modified for personalization, which has more impact. They also have a search function to identify your senators and representatives. It takes very little time and minimal effort. People are spending time discussing the H1B cap crisis and retrogression problems with their friends, in online chat rooms and forums. Contacting congress is one big and very simple way to progress from simply complaining about the problem to working for positive change. Your senators and representatives do take into account how many eMails or messages they receive on a particular issue, such as the numbers who write in for or against a particular bill. ©MurthyDotCom AILA's congressional action suggestions are available their website at (http://capwiz.com/aila2/home/). At the time of this writing, suggested topics of concern are the H1B cap, as well as the STRIVE Act and comprehensive immigration reform. As legislation changes, these are likely to change, also. There are other helpful tools and links, as well, for those who are interested in working for positive change. ©MurthyDotCom What is done by each individual really does make a difference! Thank you in advance for participating in the democratic process. ©MurthyDotCom Copyright © 2007, MURTHY LAW FIRM. All Rights Reserved ©MurthyDotCom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ©MurthyDotCom 4. Consulate Operations Temporarily Curtailed in Sydney  ©MurthyDotCom The U.S. Consulate General in Sydney, Australia, announced that it will temporarily curtail operations from mid July to mid September 2007. The consular section will close for all routine services during the end of August and first week of September 2007. Additional visa appointment slots have been made available until mid July 2007. ©MurthyDotCom Affected Visa Services ©MurthyDotCom The visa services affected by the temporary closure are for routine visa, immigration, passport, and notary services. The regular consular operations must be modified during this period due to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, scheduled for July-September 2007. ©MurthyDotCom Consulate Increases Visa Slots until mid July 2007 ©MurthyDotCom All non-U.S. nationals planning to apply for U.S. visas in Sydney, Australia, for travel to the United States, should schedule their visa appointments as soon as possible. As stated, the consulate has increased the number of visa appointments available until the middle of July 2007. ©MurthyDotCom More information on consular services in Sydney is available online at (http://canberra.usembassy.gov/sydney/index.html). ©MurthyDotCom Copyright © 2007, MURTHY LAW FIRM. All Rights Reserved ©MurthyDotCom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ©MurthyDotCom 5. USCIS Proposes Revisions for Religious Workers ©MurthyDotCom The USCIS has detected extremely high levels of fraud in the religious worker immigration categories. In its effort to eliminate fraud and misrepresentation within these categories, the USCIS has proposed significant revisions to special immigrant and nonimmigrant religious worker classifications. An April 19, 2007 press release contains some of the details. In addition to eliminating opportunities for fraud, the proposed changes purport to streamline the process for legitimate petitioners. The USCIS will accept public comments until June 25, 2007, after which they will make a decision and publish the final regulation. The proposal contains provisions impacting both the R-1, temporary, nonimmigrant religious worker category as well as the Special Immigrant green card category for religious workers. ©MurthyDotCom Petitions Required for Religious Workers ©MurthyDotCom The USCIS proposing to require the filing of a Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker (Form I-129) before an R-1 nonimmigrant visa or status may be approved. Currently, it is possible to request an R-1, temporary, religious worker visa at a consular post or, in certain situations, at the port of entry, without any prior review of the petition by the USCIS. This change would put a required level of review for eligibility and legitimacy within the hands of the USCIS. ©MurthyDotCom Shorter Initial Period of Admission ©MurthyDotCom The proposed rule also reduces the initial period of admission for a nonimmigrant R-1 worker from three years to one. This will provide an opportunity for the USCIS to review the petitioner's compliance with the terms of the status after the first year. After the initial year, the petitioner will be able to apply for extension of status on behalf of the religious worker beneficiary. ©MurthyDotCom On-Site Inspections ©MurthyDotCom The USCIS will notify petitioners that they reserve the right to conduct on-site inspections of the organization seeking to employ either a nonimmigrant or a special immigrant religious worker. The inspections will serve to detect and deter fraud and allow the USCIS to monitor issues of status compliance for the nonimmigrant religious workers. ©MurthyDotCom Expansion of Certain Terms to Benefit R Workers ©MurthyDotCom Some of the proposed changes will make it much easier for petitioners to meet their burden of showing eligibility. There are proposed changes in definitions, including an expansion of the definition of religious occupation, as well as religious vocation, and an expansion of the prior work condition in the special immigrant requirements, in order to allow experience that is not identical to the offered job. The proposed regulation makes a distinction between the two types of possible employer petitioners: non-profit religious organizations and bona fide organizations affiliated with the religious denomination. ©MurthyDotCom Conclusion ©MurthyDotCom The changes outlined here for MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers will not be put into place unless and until the regulation is approved and made final. If the levels of fraud detected in the religious worker programs are accurate, however, there is certainly a need for change. ©MurthyDotCom Copyright © 2007, MURTHY LAW FIRM. All Rights Reserved ©MurthyDotCom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ©MurthyDotCom 6. MurthyBlog : Indian Ambassador Honors Dr. Tharoor and Meeting with Members of Congress to Raise Immigration Issues ©MurthyDotCom As was recently announced to MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers, Attorney Sheela Murthy has begun a personal blog. An entry from her blog will be selected on a regular basis and included here. To keep up with the MurthyBlog in its entirety, find it at (http://www.murthyblog.com). ©MurthyDotCom Indian Ambassador Honors Dr. Tharoor & Meeting with Members of Congress to Raise Immigration Issues ©MurthyDotCom On Tuesday, May 8, 2007, I had the pleasure of attending a dinner to honor Dr. Shashi Tharoor at the residence of Dr. and Mrs. Ronendra Sen, the Indian Ambassador to the U.S. in Washington, D.C. As many of you may know, Dr. Tharoor was most recently the Under Secretary General of the United Nations in New York, NY, who worked closely with Kofi Anan, the then UN Secretary General for several years. I have known Dr. Tharoor and his family as personal friends since I had attended Dr. Tharoor's sister's wedding in Kerala about 25 years ago! It was wonderful to meet with with Shashi after such a long time and catch up! Dr. Tharoor received the "Pravasi Bharatiya Samman," which is the highest honor that the Indian government can bestow on an overseas non-resident. ©MurthyDotCom It was a wonderful evening and many U.S. and Indian-American leaders were present. I also had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with various leaders, including the Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on India: Joe Wilson, the Republican Co-Chair, and Jim McDermott, the Democratic Co-Chair. Mr. Wilson proudly shared the fact with me that both his scheduler and his Chief of Staff are IndianAmericans. Needless to say, I discussed my views on U.S. immigration laws and that we need their support towards eliminating or increasing the H1B quota to bring in skilled workers that U.S. businesses need and that we also need their help to introduce laws to increase immigrant quotas to reduce waiting times for the "green card." They both agreed to help and gave me their contact information for me to follow up with them, which I certainly intend to do to help our immigrant community! After all, the greatness of America lies in our ability to bring in the best from around the world. ©MurthyDotCom Copyright © 2007, MURTHY LAW FIRM. All Rights Reserved ©MurthyDotCom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ©MurthyDotCom 7. MurthyDotCom : Did You Know about Our Travel Page? ©MurthyDotCom Immigrants, nonimmigrants, tourists, and students always have questions about when it is safe to travel and what documentation they should carry. At MurthyDotCom we provide a Travel Page with links to articles as well as to U.S. consulate and embassy websites. Our articles on this topic range from transit to changes in security measures that may impact our readers as they move about the U.S. or reenter from a trip abroad. Whatever your question regarding travel, find your answers on MurthyDotCom! ©MurthyDotCom The next session MurthyChat will be Monday, May 14, 2007, 9:00pm Eastern Time (U.S.). Please check the chat page for any necessary changes to the schedule. Meanwhile, search the chat transcripts for answers to your questions.  ©MurthyDotCom MurthyForum : Consider joining those who have discovered the value of this service. Our message / discussion board is visited daily by one of our attorneys. ©MurthyDotCom MurthyDotCom - MurthyBulletin - MurthyChat - and MurthyForum - Your ultimate U.S. immigration resources on the Internet all start with MURTHY! ©MurthyDotCom Copyright © 2007, MURTHY LAW FIRM. All Rights Reserved ©MurthyDotCom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ©MurthyDotCom 8. Important Processing Times and Dates ©MurthyDotCom Processing Times : For links to processing times for the USCIS Service Centers, district (or local) processing times, the Administrative Appeals Office, Department of State visa bulletin, and Department of Labor dates for the processing of labor certification applications. ©MurthyDotCom Copyright © 2007, MURTHY LAW FIRM. All Rights Reserved
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