As MurthyDotCom readers were informed on December 9th, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the January 2015 Visa Bulletin. The most significant change is in the employment-based, third preference (EB3) category for rest of the world (i.e. all countries, other than those that...
The U.S. Consulate in Toronto, Canada, has implemented a new, streamlined E-2 visa application process for renewal cases. The revised process should make renewal applications faster and less burdensome for qualifying applicants. Overview of E-2 Visas The E-2 (treaty investor) visa is only available to a foreign...
Following a recent update of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website, online case status information for some cases has temporarily become unavailable. Additionally, as the USCIS is working to fix the "glitch," this is leading to outdated or inaccurate case status update eMails...
The United States has entered into a reciprocal agreement with China regarding the duration of commonly utilized nonimmigrant visa categories. This agreement, effective November 12, 2014, applies to B-1/B-2 business and tourist visitors, F-1 and M-1 students, as well as J-1 exchange visitors. Chinese nationals...
The January 2015 Visa Bulletin was released by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) earlier this evening. As expected, this month's visa bulletin offers little relief for most foreign nationals hoping to become permanent residents of the United States. There is no significant movement in the...
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) issued policy guidance specifying the definition of the term "academic year." as used for SEVP purposes. This is important because many immigration benefits available under the F-1 program are closely tied to how...
A recent computer glitch in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) system has led to the issuance of receipt notices (form I-797) that inadvertently include requests for evidence (RFEs). These receipt notices, asking for missing photographs, have been generated by the Nebraska Service Center...
The National Visa Center (NVC) has changed the requirements regarding supporting documentation submitted in immigrant visa applications. As of November 12, 2014, the NVC has begun accepting photocopies of civil documents, rather than requiring originals. Background on the NVC In cases where a foreign national wishes to...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has designated three West African countries for temporary protected status (TPS), due to the outbreak of Ebola in the region. Effective November 21, 2014, nationals of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone living in the United States are eligible...
As of October 27, 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has changed the procedures for processing challenges to PERM labor certification (LC) denials. These changes alter the manner in which the DOL routes a case once the employer submits a request for reconsideration to...
