The U.S. Department of State (DOS) is experiencing technical problems that are causing delays in issuance of U.S. visa "stamps," as well as some U.S. passports. DOS advises that the problems are not limited to any specific country or visa category.The visa delays are the...
The Murthy Law Firm filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Administrative Appeals Office (AAO), urging for a long-needed change in interpretation and policy. The issue centers on recognition of rights of immigrant petition (form...
A nationwide, class action lawsuit has been filed against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for delays in the adjudication of employment authorization documents (EADs). This lawsuit, captioned Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) v. USCIS, asserts...
This morning, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the July 2015 Visa Bulletin. The employment-based, second preference (EB2) category for people born in India sees no movement, leaving the cutoff date at October 1, 2008. EB2 China, on the other hand, moves ahead by four...
As discussed in Part 1 of this article, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) finally published answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) on May 20, 2015, explaining the new regulation that allows certain H-4 spouses to apply for employment authorization documents (EADs). In this second...
Foreign nationals with long-pending adjustment of status applications (form I-485) should anticipate being issued requests for evidence (RFEs) as the visa bulletin cutoff date approaches the priority dates of their respective cases. These RFEs typically request submission of updated I-485 eligibility documentation, including new medical...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has asked Congress to make changes to the employment-based, fifth preference (EB5) immigrant investor program. The goal of this request, which was made by DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, is to better protect against fraud and to address various...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released interim guidance addressing employer obligations for filing amended petitions for H1B workers who have been moved to new worksites. The guidance sets a deadline of August 19, 2015 for H1B employers to come into compliance with the...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) are in the initial stages of proposing important regulatory changes affecting employment-based (EB) immigration. The spring 2015 DHS regulatory agenda includes rulemaking that, if implemented, would make certain beneficiaries of...
Many immigration strategies in employment-based cases rely upon the ability to retain the priority date between permanent resident (or, "green card") case filings for the same individual. It is widely used in what is commonly known as upgrading between categories, as well as during changes...
