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 through September 11,...
In May 2014, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) made it possible for travelers to access their respective I-94 arrival / departure records. This database provides a person's most recent I-94 admission record as well as entry and departure records for the past five...
Most months, Charles Oppenheim, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, provides visa bulletin explanations and predictions. Following the release of the July 2020 Visa Bulletin, Mr. Oppenheim provided some information regarding the use of immigrant visa numbers...
The employment-based, fifth preference (EB5) category returns to being current in the July 2020 Visa Bulletin. This is the first time in a year that EB5 India has not required a final action cutoff date in the monthly visa bulletin. Still, it is important to...
Per the settlement agreement between the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and IT Serve Alliance, the USCIS has now officially rescinded the 2018 Contract and Itinerary Memorandum and the 2010 Determining Employer-Employee Relationship memo. Per the rescission notice, the USCIS shall no longer apply...
This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Trump Administration's attempt to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was "arbitrary and capricious," and therefore invalid under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). DACA is a program that was created by the Obama Administration...
Most months, Charles Oppenheim, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, provides visa bulletin explanations and predictions. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Oppenheim is currently working from home, and therefore is unable to access certain government databases....
If an H1B registration is selected in the lottery, ordinarily, only the employer that submitted the registration is eligible to file an H1B petition for the registrant. However, what if, as a result of a merger or acquisition, the entity that submitted the registration no...
Answer The USCIS has been using this strange "Name Was Updated" status alert for a number of years, and it has long created confusion. It is not entirely clear what this actually means, but it appears to at least sometimes be used by the USCIS as...
Answer No, the USCIS does not offer premium processing for H-4 applications or for EAD. (03.Jun.2020)Sheela Murthy and other senior attorneys provide guidance that clarifies the law. For information on our FREE online services, click here. Access more FAQs here. Copyright © 2020, MURTHY LAW FIRM. All...
