By now, the story is all too depressingly familiar: comprehensive immigration reform has been stuck in legislative limbo for months, and virtually nothing has happened on the House side since the Senate passed its CIR bill at the end of June 2013. It's like the...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) hosted a teleconference on April 24, 2014, to discuss the coming expansion of the Administrative Site Visit and Verification Program (ASVVP) to include certain L1A petitions. The ASVVP program, which began in July 2009, is designed to verify...
... This year, because there were more petitions filed than H1B visas available, USCIS announced that some of the properly filed petitions would be returned if they are not picked in a lottery. Unfortunately, USCIS has not issued a receipt for my employer's petition and...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the June 2014 Visa Bulletin. As predicted, the family-based, second preference "A" (FB2A) category retrogresses for all countries of chargeability, as has the employment-based, third preference (EB3) category for all countries, save India. EB3 China was hit especially...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has issued the June 2014 Visa Bulletin. As expected, the family-based, second preference "A" (FB2A) category for spouses and (unmarried, minor) children of lawful permanent residents retrogresses by more than a year for all countries of chargeability. Also, the...
In light of the rising popularity of massive open online courses, or MOOCs, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently issued a press release to remind F-1 and M-1 students of some important rules pertaining to foreign students enrolling in online classes. Although F-1 and...
At the Murthy Law Firm, we believe in the power of diversity, and in the strength that comes from the interplay of different perspectives. Amid all our diversity, there is nonetheless an underlying unity, because we share a common purpose and a set of foundational...
On May 6, 2014, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a press release that provides details on the proposed rule that would allow certain H-4 spouses to obtain employment authorization. This rule, which will soon be published in the Federal Register, would allow H-4 spouses...
Answer A request to change from a cap-exempt to cap-subject H1B would be an extension of status, not a change of status. However, in order to make that transition, it is usually necessary for there to be a cap number available. (05.May.2014)In frequent sessions of our...
Answer A person has authorization to work for the new employer based upon the filing of the case when going from H1B status to a new H1B position. However, in order for the new employer to complete the I-9 form for employment verification, the receipt notice...
