On May 18, 2016, several Murthy Law Firm attorneys attended an American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) meeting at which Charles Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, spoke. Mr. Oppenheim's responsibilities include determining the cutoff dates in the monthly Department of State (DOS)...
Many types of immigration forms submitted to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) require the applicant to provide biometrics at an office in the United States. The USCIS has recently confirmed, however, that in "rare circumstances," the agency has the discretion to allow such...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a new system for employers to follow up on long-delayed nonimmigrant worker petitions (form I-129). This option applies when an employer's I-129 has been in pending status for 210 days or more. Background: Form I-129 for Nonimmigrant Cases The...
As of this writing, many are still anxiously awaiting the outcome of H1B petitions filed against the fiscal year 2017 (FY17) H1B cap. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced completion of the lottery selection on April 12, 2016, and premium processing officially commenced...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) provides a monthly visa bulletin "check in" with Charles Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division. The most recent check in provides insights into some of the unexpected developments in the June 2016 Visa Bulletin, as well...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has created a webpage exclusively for informing the public about workload-related case transfers. The USCIS periodically shifts designated case types between service centers to more evenly distribute workloads. The online resource makes it easier for stakeholders to stay...
Per a notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Federal Register on May 4, 2016, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is seeking to raise filing fees for most types of immigration filings. This notice specifies the amount of the proposed fee increases and explains...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) June 2016 Visa Bulletin sent shock waves through the immigrant community, with years of retrogression in the employment-based, second preference (EB2) category for India and China, as well as the employment-based, third preference (EB3) category for China. The rollback...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) have special, expedited procedures for active duty U.S. military personnel stationed overseas who are petitioning for immigration benefits for their family members. These procedures help to greatly reduce the paperwork processing...
Cutoff dates in the employment-based, second preference (EB2) category for India and China suffer substantial retrogression in the June 2016 Visa Bulletin, which was released this afternoon by the U.S. Department of State (DOS). In the final action (FA) chart, EB2 India rolls back more than...
