Last night, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced completion of the H1B cap lottery selection process. Receipt of more than 236,000 H1B petitions was reported, compared to fewer than 233,000 cap-subject petitions filed last year. The USCIS has not provided a breakdown of...
As explained in Annual Reminders for Individuals - Check I-94 Expiration Dates (06.Apr.2016), foreign nationals can avoid a number of serious immigration problems by being mindful of certain key dates related to their stay in the United States, such as the I-94 expiration date. Depending...
As of the time of this writing, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has not yet announced the completion of the H1B random lottery process for fiscal year 2017 (FY17). The Murthy Law Firm, however, has already started to receive electronic receipt notices for...
The May 2016 Visa Bulletin was released by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) earlier today. Unsurprisingly, there is very little movement in the employment-based categories.In the final action (FA) chart, the cutoff date in the employment-based, second preference (EB2) category for India moves ahead by...
The finalized STEM optional practical training (OPT) rule goes into effect on May 10, 2016. The revised regulations allow for a 24-month OPT extension for students with qualifying STEM degrees. Background: Replaces Vacated STEM OPT Regulations As explained in the MurthyDotCom NewsBrief, STEM OPT Could End in...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that the H1B cap limit for fiscal year 2017 (FY17) has been reached. This applies to both the 65,000 regular H1B cap limit as well as the 20,000 advanced degree (masters) cap exemptions.As the H1B case...
On March 18, 2016, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued the finalized policy memorandum on determining whether a new job is the same or similar in the context of a job change pursuant to the American Competitiveness in the Twenty First Century Act (AC21)....
Beginning tomorrow, April 1, 2016, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting cap-subject H1B petitions for fiscal year 2017 (FY17). The USCIS will continue to accept cap cases through April 7, 2016. It is widely expected that the number of petitions filed...
Starting April 1, 2016, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) will begin issuing 14-day termination notices to students who fail to submit requested additional documentation within the 30 days allowed following their admission to the United States. This information comes via an official notice issued...
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has issued an alert regarding an intermittent technical problem in the PERM labor certification (LC) system. This glitch causes information to disappear from the completed PERM form ETA 9089 after online submission. PERM Section K Information Mishaps The PERM LC process...
