Murthy Law Firm founder and president, Sheela Murthy, was invited to join Governor Martin O'Malley and local immigrant advocates for a luncheon meeting held at downtown Baltimore's Center Club on July 17th. The purpose of this gathering was to discuss Maryland's DREAM Act and the...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) Visa Bulletin for August 2012 contains no surprises for our readers. The employment-based, second preference (EB2) category for India and China is unavailable through the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2012. The retrogressed date of January 1, 2009 in EB2...
Remember those entrepreneurs who were planning to moor a cruise ship off the California coast, just outside the territorial limit, to serve as a floating hotel-cum-business-incubator for techies who couldn't get a U.S. visa? [See Comprehensive Immigration Reform Remains an Unmet Need, MurthyBlog (17.Nov. 2011).]...
Minister Counselor James W. Herman, of the U.S. Embassy, New Delhi, India, advised in late June 2012 of ongoing consideration of a potential drastic reduction in the duration of B-1 (business visitor) visas issued to Indian citizens seeking to visit the United States. A recent...
Like their neighbors to the south, Canadians are wrestling with immigration issues of their own, trying to balance competing pressures - on the one hand, the need for smart, talented and creative people to bolster their economy, on the other, the need to find jobs...
The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) issued a decision on June 14, 2012 overturning the denial of a PERM labor certification (PERM labor) despite a 0.0003 percent variation between the employer's offered wage and the U.S. Department of Labor's prevailing wage determination (PWD)....
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a notice, published in the Federal Register on July 9, 2012, regarding proposed changes to the labor condition application (LCA). The LCA form is a key requirement in the H1B process. The proposed changes are significant, and address...
On July 11, 2012 Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) announced that he was lifting his "hold" on H.R. 3012, The Fairness to High-Skilled Immigrants Act. The bill proposes a phased-in elimination of per-country numerical limitations in the employment-based (EB) green card categories. This bill was approved...
Foreign-born inventors play a key part in maintaining America's technological edge, according to a recent study by the Partnership for a New American Economy (PNAE). (See Patent Pending: How Immigrants are Reinventing the American Economy, Partnership for a New American Economy, June 2012.) Looking at...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) issued a message of encouragement, with helpful information and advice for students who intend to study in the United States for the 2012-13 academic year. Summarized here for our readers are tips that were shared by the DOS. Majority of...
