The U.S. government is in a state of partial shutdown as of October 1, 2013 due to an inability to obtain congressional agreement on appropriations. As of October 1st, the Department of Labor iCert system is unavailable. This system is used for both PERM labor...
If the U.S. Congress cannot reach an agreement on a funding extension before midnight tonight, there will be what is commonly referred to as a government shutdown, effective October 1, 2013. In such a situation, government services are not completely eliminated. However, government operations are...
The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) recently addressed questions related to efforts to verify the employment authorization of contractors. The issue is whether it is appropriate for a general contractor to request employment authorization documentation from...
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival's program (DACA) marked its one-year anniversary on August 15, 2013. Although the program has obviously not resolved many of the problems this nation faces regarding its population of undocumented foreign nationals, DACA has at least provided substantial benefits to...
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has changed an important F-1 student-related procedure. As of July 31, 2013, the ICE Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) no longer mails I-797C, notice of action receipts for payments of Form I-901 Student and Exchange Visitor Information...
On August 2, 2013, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) issued a Travel Alert, warning U.S. citizens of "the continued potential for terrorist attacks, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, and possibly occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula." To that end,...
Time and time again, the transition to new systems and technologies brings with it new bumps in the road. Several Murthy Law Firm attorneys attended the 2013 American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Annual conference in San Francisco, California, where there were reports of problems arising...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released information on the expansion of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Global Entry Program (GEP). The GEP, which is one of the Trusted Traveler Programs administered by the CBP, allows low-risk individuals to obtain a...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has implemented changes at U.S. ports of entry (POEs) intended to prevent improper admission of students and exchange visitors. The need for improvements in the data systems was brought to light after the Boston Marathon bombings. The new...
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) initiated the roll out, on April 30, 2013, of a completely new system for documenting arrivals and departures at U.S. airports and seaports. The schedule for the transition to all U.S. airports and seaports allowed for a four-week...
