The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is again extending the response time flexibility, initially announced on March 30, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This flexibility applies to applicants and petitioners responding to any of the following, issued from March 1, 2020 through January...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced today that, in light of a federal court order issued on September 4, 2020, consulates may resume processing fiscal year 2020 diversity visa (DV) cases to the degree that "local health conditions and post resources allow." However, consulates...
Answer Generally speaking, a person's priority date is not current unless it is at least one day earlier than the final action date. (03.Sep.2020)Sheela Murthy and other senior attorneys provide guidance that clarifies the law. For information on our FREE online services, click here. Access more...
Answer Normally, in order to apply for a green card through a U.S. citizen spouse, one would still need to obtain the waiver to home residency requirement. (03.Sep.2020)Sheela Murthy and other senior attorneys provide guidance that clarifies the law. For information on our FREE online services,...
204(l) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) governs the eligibility for certain continued immigration benefits to surviving family members through a deceased qualifying relative. 204(l) applies to the principal and any derivative beneficiaries of a pending or approved family-based visa petition, any derivative beneficiaries...
Answer Assuming you meet all the other requirements for an H-4 EAD, it typically is possible to file the EAD application while the H1B and H-4 extensions are still pending. (26.Aug.2020)Sheela Murthy and other senior attorneys provide guidance that clarifies the law. For information on our...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reportedly cancelled its plans to furlough a large percentage of its staff at the end of this month. Due to budget constraints, however, the USCIS is cautioning stakeholders to expect longer wait times for certain services, such...
Answer The new fiscal year starts on October 1, 2020, and with it, a new annual allotment of immigrant visas. Priority dates likely will advance in October, but we do not know yet how much movement there will be. (20.Aug.2020)Sheela Murthy and other senior attorneys provide...
Answer Generally speaking, leaving the U.S. would have no impact on the validity of the I-140 approval. It typically is permissible to be outside the U.S., even for an extended period of time, and then apply for the green card later, when the priority date becomes...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the September 2020 Visa Bulletin. There is very little movement from the previous month. This is the final visa bulletin of the current fiscal year. All cutoff dates listed refer to the dates in the final action...
