The Employment Creation Immigrant Visa (EB5) program was established to provide the means for a foreign national investor to secure permanent residence (a "green card") by investing in a U.S. business, thereby, creating jobs for U.S. workers. Historically, the program has been fraught with problems....
The U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin for January 2012 is now available. The January Visa Bulletin brings incredibly good news for many in the employment-based, second preference (EB2) category. The cutoff date in EB2 for India and China will advance to January 1, 2009...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) appears to be encountering difficulties in their efforts to transition from paper-based operations to online systems. Therefore the December 2011 targeted timeframe for the first of the planned, phased-in releases will not be met. For the time being,...
Interest is high and discussion animated among immigrant groups and within the immigrant community regarding a proposed change in immigration law referred to as H.R. Bill 3012, the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act. At the Murthy Law Firm, we have seen online discussions on this...
Numerous questions have been generated by movement of the EB2 cutoff date for India and China, as reflected in the U.S. Department of State (DOS) visa bulletin during the early portion of fiscal year 2012 (FY12). Among these is one important series of questions concerning...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently acknowledged problems with data transmission involving the National Benefits Center (NBC). The NBC had not been receiving proper information regarding the entry of appearance for attorneys and representatives (Form G-28). As a result, important case-related notices were...
The issues forcing a temporary unavailability of visas in the F, M, and J category have been resolved. The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) confirmed on November 21, 2011 that F, M, and J visa processing has resumed. Given the short duration of the...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has issued the anxiously-awaited December 2011 Visa Bulletin. As predicted, the employment-based, second reference (EB2) cutoff date for December 2011 is advancing considerably. The EB2 cutoff for India and China is March 15, 2008, effective during the month of...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced in November 2011 that it will be allowable to "bundle" together L-1 petitions for multiple employees when filed for identical positions by the same employer. The L-1 petitions may be bundled in order to streamline and improve...
The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India recently announced a change in L-1 visa application procedures within India. As of December 1, 2011, all L-1 visa applications filed under an approved L-1 blanket case must be submitted to the U.S. Consulate General in Chennai, India....
