On October 21, 2020, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that the agency had arrested 15 students in F-1 status with approved optional practical training (OPT), who allegedly committed fraud by reporting employment with "companies that don't exist."In addition, ICE reportedly intends to...
In Part 1 of this two-part NewsBrief, MurthyDotCom readers were provided with an explanation of the procedure known as interfiling, also known as transfer of basis. Continuing from where Part 1 left off, we now address how such requests can be made, as well as some of...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that, effective October 19, 2020, the filing fee for premium processing is increasing to $2,500. The only exception to this is for I-129 petitions being filed requesting H2B or R-1 status, the fee is increasing to...
Some of the options for making changes to the basis of a permanent resident ("green card") case after reaching the adjustment-of-status (I-485) stage are addressed here for the benefit of MurthyDotCom readers. Specifically discussed is interfiling, also referred to by the USCIS as "Transfer of...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has issued instructions for entry into the fiscal year (FY) 2022 diversity visa (DV) lottery, more commonly known as the "green card" lottery. The FY22 diversity lottery will grant up to 55,000 immigrant visas to qualified applicants. Registration for...
Today, Thursday, October 8, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published an interim final rule, entitled "Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the United States," that changes how prevailing wages are calculated. This applies to foreign national...
Update: The unpublished version of the DOL rule can be found here, and the unpublished version of the DHS rule is available here. It has been reported that on October 6, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it will issue two rules by...
From time to time, articles are written to guide MurthyDotCom readers in avoiding inadvertently running afoul of immigration laws. One common problem involves individuals present in the United States in lawful, nonimmigrant status who wish to earn extra money. These foreign nationals are often enticed...
Today, a federal district court in California issued a preliminary injunction, blocking the enforcement of President Trump's June 22, 2020 executive order that bans entry of certain nonimmigrants in H, L, or J status. However, this injunction only applies to the plaintiffs in the pending...
On September 30, 2020, the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act was signed into law, funding the federal government through December 11, 2020. Included in the bill is a provision that dramatically changes the premium processing service offered by the U.S. Citizenship and...
