The United States and Canada have entered into a new information-sharing agreement regarding immigration. This arrangement is intended to enhance security. On December 13, 2012, the U.S. Ambassador to Canada and the Canadian Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism signed a U.S.-Canada visa and immigration-sharing...
A number of Murthy Law Firm attorneys attended an American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) D.C. Chapter meeting on January 16, 2013 at which Stephen Legomsky, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Chief Counsel, and Claudia Salem, Chief, Adjudications Law Division of the Office of Chief...
This is a continuation of our immigration-related reminders to MurthyDotCom readers for the 2013 New Year. Part 1 of this article focused on I-94 issues and expiration dates. The expiration dates of documents related to the immigration process, avoiding problems resulting from these expirations, and...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has taken a major step by releasing the first volume of their new Policy Manual. This Manual will replace the current Adjudicators Field Manual (AFM) as well as a number of USCIS policy memos. The first volume covers...
As we launch into New Year 2013, we at the Murthy Law Firm would like to remind our readers that now is a good time to double check important documents and dates related to one's immigration. This is the first in a series of articles...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has issued the February 2013 Visa Bulletin. No new predictions are provided for the movement of the cutoff dates in future visa bulletins. The February Visa Bulletin is summarized here for the benefit of our readers. Summary of Visa Bulletin Employment-Based,...
This article addresses a concern that was raised in a recent MurthyChat session, regarding changes of employment for those working in H1B status in cap-exempt employment. Readers who wish to transition from H1B cap-exempt employment to cap-subject employment are advised that it is necessary to...
This continuation of the Murthy Law Firm's examination of some of the major immigration developments in 2012 also analyzes the meaning of these developments for 2013. The drastic fluctuation in the employment-based, second preference (EB2) Visa Bulletin cutoff dates for India and China and current...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently conceded that major problems have been encountered in the transition to an electronic filing system. Turning away from the current vendor, the USCIS is considering multiple vendors to address delays and escalating costs. Thus, after a slow...
Fiscal year 2012 (FY12) was the busiest year on record for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) audits of employers' employment eligibility verification (I-9 forms). Beyond just the number of investigations, fines and even arrests also grew dramatically during the past three fiscal years for...
