In order for the United States to participate in foreign commerce, treaties and diplomatic relations, foreign government representatives and their entourages must be able to enter the United States for official business. Diplomats are not subject to the same stringent requirements as other persons seeking...
The Treaty Trader / Investor Visa (nonimmigrant E classification) is designed for the benefit of nationals of a country with which the U.S. has a treaty of commerce and navigation, or a similar agreement. The E classification is divided into two categories. E-1 is for...
H1Bs have long been the visa of choice for those bringing specialty occupation employees to the U.S. to work temporarily. However, it is also important to consider alternatives to the H1B program. The L-1 visa is potentially an attractive option for multinational companies. Following is...
As many MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers are aware, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H1B cap-subject filings for fiscal year 2013 (FY13) as of Monday, April 2, 2012. The significance of April 2nd is that it is the first business day...
In 1996 Legacy INS (now the USCIS) issued a memorandum outlining the general policy guidelines on when a new or amended H1B petition must be filed.This memo was issued to allay confusion about deadlines for filing an amended petition. Although the memo attempts to clarify...
Parts 1 and 2 of this article examine some of the major immigration developments in 2011, and analyze the potential impact of those developments for 2012. We previously discussed the forward movement of the EB2 India and China cutoff dates in the visa bulletin. Here...
This series of articles examines some of the key immigration developments of 2011. We discuss how these developments could affect MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers in 2012 and make recommendations for strategic planning on the U.S. immigration law front in 2012. Our focus here is the...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced that the U.S. Consulate at Chennai, India stopped processing immigrant visa (IV) petitions as of January 1, 2012. The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi and U.S. Consulate in Mumbai are now the only locations in India conducting interviews...
As previously announced to MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers, the H1B cap for fiscal year 2012 (FY12) was reached November 22, 2011. Explained here is the process for cases filed on or before November 22, 2011, as well as procedures for initiating H1B cap cases for...
NewsFlash! No H1B Lottery in FY 2012 Posted 02.Dec.2011It has been announced that the USCIS will NOT be holding a lottery of H1B cap-subject cases filed on the final day of filing for fiscal year 2012 (FY12). The cap for FY12 was reached on November 22,...
