The Department of State (DOS) advised today that the EB2 India and China category is likely to retrogress in the May or June 2012 Visa Bulletin. Charles Oppenheim, Chief, Visa Control and Reporting, provided this information at an AILA conference on March 16, 2012. Mr....
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) launched its Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIR) initiative through an information summit on February 22, 2012. The EIR initiative is an important component of President Barack Obama's efforts to facilitate immigration benefits for foreign national entrepreneurs who will help to create...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has proposed a regulatory change that is intended to improve the procedures for certain applications for waiver or forgiveness of periods of unlawful presence in the United States. This is only a proposal at this time, and, as...
The U.S. Department of State has released the April 2012 Visa Bulletin. Unlike recent prior months, the cutoff date in the employment-based, second preference (EB2) category remains at May 1, 2010 for April, the date set in the March Visa Bulletin. This is better than...
The Director of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), Louis M. Farrell, recently revealed that SEVP is being audited by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) as a follow-up to the Tri-Valley University (TVU) investigation. This was announced in the January 2012 issue of the...
In the past few months, it has been possible for many foreign nationals to advance to the final stage in the permanent residence (green card) process. The U.S. Department of State (DOS) Visa Bulletin has shown employment-based, second preference (EB2) cutoff dates for India and...
As regular readers of MurthyDotCom and the MurthyBulletin are aware, the employment-based, second preference (EB2) cutoff dates in the U.S. Department of State (DOS) Visa Bulletin have advanced rapidly in recent months. Many individuals are closer to completion of the permanent residence (or "green card)...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is considering changes to the immigrant visa waiver process. These potential modifications are in response to recommendations for changes in processing Form I-601 applications made by the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (CIS Ombudsman). While the changes are...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a final rule that would establish a permanent global entry program (GEP), allowing faster clearance for certain pre-approved, low-risk travelers. This program will help streamline the processing of international visitors to the United States through selected international...
Many MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers have inquired as to whether the laws have changed to allow individuals in H-4 dependent status to obtain work authorization. At the time of this writing, there has been no favorable change to allow H-4 dependents to work. The renewed...
