Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) John Morton released a June 17, 2011, memorandum intended to provide additional guidance to ICE personnel on exercising prosecutorial discretion. In this context, favorable prosecutorial discretion refers to the government's ability to choose not to enforce certain...
The 2011 Annual Conference of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) was held in mid-June in San Diego, California. As in years past, several Murthy Law Firm attorneys attended the conference. This is one way we keep up to date with the latest developments in...
At the Murthy Law Firm, we receive many questions about immigration petitioning for relatives. While there are many nuances to this topic, we have simplified the initial, fundamental question: who may file for permanent immigration benefits to provide the "green card" for their relatives. These...
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...
[Part 1 of this news article, H1B Portability: A Change in USCIS Policy? Part 1 of 2 (13.May.2011), is available on MurthyDotCom.]In Part 1 of this article, a narrowing of the USCIS's interpretation of the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act (AC21) was discussed...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a Federal Register notice on April 28, 2011, that removes all designated countries from the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), effective immediately. This decision was made due to the implementation of automated systems for the capture of...
[Part 2 of this MurthyBulletin article discusses the consequence of this variation on individuals who previously engaged in employment under a broader reading of AC21.]One significant change that had been brought about by the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act (AC21) was the benefit...
In the past ten years, the cultural acceptance of same-sex relationships in the United States has increased greatly. What was once a fringe idea has now become a more frequent topic of debate. At the time of this writing, five states and the District of...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director, Alejandro Mayorkas, addressed stakeholders in early February 2011 with a report on the agency's accomplishments in 2010 and projected initiatives for 2011. This overview of Director Mayorkas's address emphasizes topics that may be of special interest to MurthyDotCom...
