This afternoon, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the H1B registration period for the fiscal year 2022 (FY22) will run from noon Eastern Time (ET) March 9 through noon ET on March 25, 2021. As discussed in yesterday's MurthyDotCom NewsFlash, USCIS Will...
Tomorrow, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will publish a rule in the Federal Register that will serve to delay implementation of the January 8, 2021 final rule that had been slated to significantly alter the H1B registration system. Under the now-delayed rule, which...
Today, President Joe Biden will sign three immigration-related executive orders (EOs). These EOs largely serve to undo various immigration policies and practices implemented by the Trump Administration. The first two EOs focus on the previous administration's efforts related to undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers, while...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is again extending the response time flexibility, initially announced on March 30, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This flexibility applies to applicants and petitioners responding to any of the following, issued from March 1, 2020 through March...
Answer It is possible to make an expedite request. However, unless you can evidence a truly compelling reason, the request is not likely to be granted. An overview of the current expedite criteria can be found in the 03 June 2019, MurthyDotCom NewsBrief, USCIS Implements Stricter...
In the final days of the Trump Administration, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) attempted to rush through a regulation that would have required both H1B employers and end-clients to submit H1B petitions for workers placed at client sites. Because this was a final...
This evening, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the text of a final rule that will change the definition of "employer" in the H1B context. Per this rule, end-clients would be required to submit petitions to the USCIS for H1B workers.At the same...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that all in-person services will be suspended on January 19th and 20th in order to "ensure the safety of … employees and individuals with appointments." The USCIS will send new appointment notices to stakeholders who had...
Answer The USCIS is experiencing significant delays in issuing receipt notices for the I-485s filed at lockboxes in October. You can try sending an eMail to the USCIS lockbox support at lockboxsupport@uscis.dhs.gov. However, it appears that many of these inquiries are going unanswered. (14.Jan.2021)Sheela Murthy and...
Answer The interview requirement for all employment-based I-485 applications was implemented by the Trump Administration in 2017. Undoubtedly, that is one of the factors that has led to USCIS processing delays. It is possible the Biden Administration could reverse this requirement. However, as of yet, there...
