The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) recently issued a precedent decision, which significantly changes prior interpretations regarding travel on advance parole (AP) after an individual has been unlawfully present in the United States. Under the BIA decision, Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly, an individual who...
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has audited a significant percentage of PERM labor certification (LC or labor) cases since early 2012. The incidence of PERM audits became noticeably higher around February 2012. As explained here for the benefit of MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers, many...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is continuing improvement efforts on the immigrant waiver application process. The USCIS published an April 2, 2012 notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register, as a required step toward instituting such changes. Waiver for Unlawful Presence Changes proposed...
The U.S. consulates and embassies are currently implementing a U.S. Department of State (DOS) pilot program announced in January 2012. This program allows individuals who meet certain conditions to avoid interviewing at U.S. consulates when seeking their visas. This Visa Interview Waiver Program (IWP) is...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the expansion of the Global Entry Program (GEP). This program facilitates entry to the United States for qualified, trusted travelers. Background on Global Entry Program Details regarding the permanent creation of the...
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...
Numerous questions have been generated by movement of the EB2 cutoff date for India and China, as reflected in the U.S. Department of State (DOS) visa bulletin during the early portion of fiscal year 2012 (FY12). Among these is one important series of questions concerning...
The issues forcing a temporary unavailability of visas in the F, M, and J category have been resolved. The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) confirmed on November 21, 2011 that F, M, and J visa processing has resumed. Given the short duration of the...
As the holiday season approaches, MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers should be mindful of federal holiday schedules in connection with their immigration cases. These schedules are important for expectations of appointment availability at the local U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offices and U.S. consulates, as...
H1B visa refusals have become common for those working within the IT consulting industry, as regular MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers are aware. These problems have made travel abroad by H1B employees risky, if a new visa is required for reentry to the United States. This...
