There has been a great deal of confusion surrounding recent changes to the U.S. Department of State (DOS) visa bulletin system. There are now two cutoff charts each for the family-based (FB) and employment-based (EB) preference categories. As previously discussed, however, those seeking to file an...
A Federal Court has denied a motion for relief in connection with the October 2015 Visa Bulletin. The motion requested a temporary restraining order (TRO) requiring the USCIS to accept form I-485 filings based upon the initially published October visa bulletin.The motion is part of...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has issued instructions for entry in the fiscal year 2017 (FY17) diversity visa (DV) lottery. The DV lottery, often called the "green card" lottery, grants 50,000 visa numbers each year to qualified applicants. Registration for FY17 began on October...
Excitement over the October 2015 Visa Bulletin turned to disappointment, frustration, and anger on September 25, 2015, when the U.S. Department of State (DOS) issued a revised version of the visa bulletin, superseding the original version. The cutoff dates for filings in the revised October...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) charges a fee to individuals who obtain immigrant visas at U.S. consulates abroad. This fee covers processing costs, including the cost to produce the individual's permanent residence card ("green card"). In response to requests from stakeholders, the USCIS has...
As previously indicated, the Murthy Law Firm is generally recommending against filing adjustment-of-status applications (form I-485s) based on the cutoff dates listed in the original version of the October 2015 Visa Bulletin, which was released on September 9, 2015. This recommendation is based on a...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) is introducing a major beneficial change to the visa bulletin system, as officially announced in the release of the October 2015 Visa Bulletin. As previously rumored, effective October 1st, the monthly visa bulletin now will include two separate cutoff date charts...
The October 2015 Visa Bulletin from the U.S. Department of State (DOS) reflects a newly revised system of dual cutoff dates. As of October, the visa bulletin contains a new, separate cutoff date chart for filing the application for adjustment (form I-485). The cutoff dates...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) is reportedly working to implement a significant change to the monthly visa bulletin system, as part President Obama's push to streamline the U.S. immigrant visa system. According to an article published in The National Law Review, the DOS plans to begin...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy memorandum on April 15, 2015, on a technical matter under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA). U.S. immigration law generally limits dependent or derivative status to children who are under twenty-one years of age. In the...
