11 May 2018

Updated Rulemaking Agenda Again Lays Out Trump’s Harsh Plans for Foreign Nationals

At the end of 2017, MurthyDotCom summarized a number of concerning immigration regulations under consideration by the Trump Administration in the NewsBrief, Troubling Immigration Rules, Including End of H-4 EAD, on Trump’s Rulemaking Agenda (2017.Dec.15). While none of the rules has yet come to light,...

07 May 2018

May 2018 Visa Bulletin Check-In: Short-Term Predictions

Most months, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, Charles Oppenheim, provides visa bulletin explanations and predictions. For the May 2018 Visa Bulletin, Mr. Oppenheim only provides some very minor, short-term predictions. Family-Based Preference Categories For most family-based (FB) preference...

23 Mar 2018

NewsFlash! President Trump Signs Bill Funding Federal Government Through September 2018

This afternoon, President Trump signed a federal spending bill that keeps the government open through September 30, 2018. This bill also extends the employment-based, fifth preference (EB5) regional center program for the same time period. The bill does not, however, provide any protections to beneficiaries...

21 Mar 2018

Government Faces Yet Another Possible Shutdown After March 23, 2018

Congress must pass a spending bill to extend government operations by midnight of March 23, 2018, or else another temporary shutdown of the federal government will go into effect. A government shutdown at this time would be especially problematic because H1B cap season is upon...

09 Feb 2018

NewsFlash! Government Reopening Following Hours-Long Shutdown

This morning, President Trump is expected to sign a bill that will reopen the federal government through March 23, 2018. This bill will also extend various immigration programs, including the employment-based, fifth preference (EB5) regional center program, for the same time period. Copyright © 2018, MURTHY...

07 Feb 2018

Government Faces Yet Another Possible Shutdown After February 8, 2018

In what has become almost routine, the federal government is teetering on yet another potential government shutdown. The deadline for passing a spending bill to extend government operations is midnight on Thursday, February 8, 2018. Failure to pass such a bill would result in the...

22 Jan 2018

NewsFlash! Senate Reaches Agreement to End Government Shutdown

This afternoon, Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Senate came to an agreement on a stopgap bill to fund the federal government through February 8, 2018. The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to approve the bill and send it to President Trump to sign...

20 Jan 2018

Government Shutdown Now in Effect

A partial shutdown of the federal government is now in effect because Congress was unable to pass a new budget or continuing resolution. This also means that several immigration programs, including the regional center portion of the employment-based, fifth preference immigrant investor program is temporarily...

18 Jan 2018

Potential Government Shutdown After January 19, 2018

With less than a week left to pass a spending bill to extend government operations, there is a possibility that the U.S. government will be forced to shut down temporarily as of midnight on January 19, 2018. Such shutdowns are rare, and there is a...