Most months, Charles Oppenheim, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, provides visa bulletin explanations and predictions. Following the release of the April 2020 Visa Bulletin, Mr. Oppenheim provides some updates in light of the unprecedented situation that...
As COVID-19 crises continues to sweep through the nation, the lives of millions of Americans have been turned upside down. Schools are closed, businesses are shuttered, and the economy is imploding. And with no concrete timeline in place for when the virus will be contained,...
Answer Unemployment benefits normally are not taken into consideration for public charge purposes. But, as an H1B worker, you may not be eligible for unemployment benefits in your state. You should check with your state unemployment agency to determine whether you might qualify. (25.Mar.2020)Sheela Murthy and...
Answer In order to encourage testing and treatment of COVID-19, the USCIS is waiving all public charge considerations directly related to this virus. Per the announcement, "USCIS will neither consider testing, treatment, nor preventative care (including vaccines, if a vaccine becomes available) related to COVID-19 as...
Answer Assuming your I-94 is still valid, you likely are eligible for a 60-day grace period (or until the end of your I-94 period, whichever comes first). If you need to stay in the U.S. beyond that point, you may be able to apply for a...
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia recently ruled in IT Serve Alliance v. L. Francis Cissna that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) overstepped its authority in issuing its February 2018 memorandum heightening the evidentiary requirements for H1B petitions filed by...
Murthy Law Firm attorneys discuss the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and its impact on current U.S. immigration. Aired on March 25, 2020, this teleconference was open to everyone - no only to our usual audience of U.S. employers and their representatives. In these unsettling times, our...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that, effective March 21, 2020, it will begin accepting all benefit forms and documents with reproduced signatures. Per the announcement, "[t]his means that a document may be scanned, faxed, photocopied, or similarly reproduced provided that the...
Effective immediately, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is temporarily suspending the availability of premium processing service for all form I-129 and form I-140 petitions. The USCIS will continue to provide premium-processing service for cases for which the I-907 request for premium processing has...
The border between the United States and Mexico has been temporarily closed for nonessential traffic. This follows the closing of the U.S./Canada border earlier this week. Copyright © 2020, MURTHY LAW FIRM. All Rights Reserved...
