Everyone has to eat, and somebody has to pick the fruits and vegetables that wind up on our tables each day - just who picks it is very much on the minds of farmers and government officials who need to resolve an ongoing problem: the...
The Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) Ombudsman, January Contreras, addressed matters of concern in May 2011 at an American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) meeting attended by a number of attorneys from the Murthy Law Firm. The CIS Ombudsman's role is to assist with U.S. Citizenship...
The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) is developing the next generation of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). The new system, known as SEVIS II, is designed to address the limitations of the current SEVIS system. The timeframe for the phased-in implementation...
Americans still reeling from the economic dislocations of the past few years might be hard to convince, but immigration continues to be crucial to our economic growth and competitiveness, according to a recent study released by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), a non-partisan Washington think...
As we often observe on this blog, immigration is one of the major ingredients in America's success. Immigration has made America a hub of innovation and creativity, bringing bright, ambitious people here from around the world - people who contribute their talents, new ideas, and...
Many people change status from H1B to H-4 and, later, consider changing back to H1B. This issue was raised in a recent session of the MurthyChat. Some of the frequent questions and misunderstandings in the ability to file and change status and the implications and...
As many people face delays and denials of their nonimmigrant visa requests at U.S. consulates and embassies abroad, questions arise as to the status of dependent family members who are in the United States. It is important, therefore, to remind MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers of...
Amid an increasing number of I-9 audits and investigations, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has created the I-9 Central Portal for use by employers seeking to comply with the hiring restrictions imposed by U.S. immigration law. The new I-9 portal was announced in...
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently released a report entitled Immigration: Myths and Facts, designed to refute several common misconceptions that have crept into our national debate on immigration policy. (See Immigration: Myths and Facts, Labor, Immigration & Employee Benefit Division, U.S. Chamber of Commerce,...
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a news release on May 12, 2011 announcing that ICE has added new degree programs to the list of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees eligible for the 17-month optional practical training (OPT) extension for F-1...
