Answer The new fiscal year starts on October 1, 2020, and with it, a new annual allotment of immigrant visas. Priority dates likely will advance in October, but we do not know yet how much movement there will be. (20.Aug.2020)Sheela Murthy and other senior attorneys provide...
Answer Generally speaking, leaving the U.S. would have no impact on the validity of the I-140 approval. It typically is permissible to be outside the U.S., even for an extended period of time, and then apply for the green card later, when the priority date becomes...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed temporary suspension of the issuance of courtesy faxes for requests for evidence (RFEs), notices of intent to deny (NOIDs), and denials due to the pandemic. The USCIS will continue to issue such notices via regular mail...
Today, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) updated the exceptions to the nonimmigrant workers who are prohibited from being admitted to the United States based on President Trump's June 22, 2020, executive order. For example, the DOS now provides an exception for H1B, L1A, and...
Murthy Law Firm attorneys provide an update on how COVID-19 has affected U.S. immigration both in the U.S. and at U.S. consulates, which aired on 05.Aug.2020 as part of our teleconference series for employers and their representatives.The MP3 is available here, and is listed in...
On July 31, 2020, USCIS posted a clarification to the July 29, 2020 ruling by the New York U.S. District Court blocking the Trump Administration’s public charge rule during the COVID-19 pandemic. The USCIS has now confirmed that it will not apply the public benefit...
Today, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that it will "adjust USCIS fees by a weighted average increase of 20 percent to help recover its operational costs." The final rule is expected to be published in the Federal Register on August 3,...
On July 29, 2020, U.S. District Judge George Daniels issued an decision temporarily blocking the public charge rule during the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the government to proceed with applying the public charge rule until all the legal challenges...
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has been the source of extensive debate since its creation in 2012. The program allows undocumented foreign nationals who were brought to the United States as children to defer their removal from this country every two years....
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) "policy manual" was recently updated to consolidate guidance related to applying discretion in USCIS adjudications. As noted in the corresponding policy alert, "[f]or many immigration benefits, such as certain applications for lawful permanent residence and employment authorization documents,...
