The issues forcing a temporary unavailability of visas in the F, M, and J category have been resolved. The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) confirmed on November 21, 2011 that F, M, and J visa processing has resumed. Given the short duration of the...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced in November 2011 that it will be allowable to "bundle" together L-1 petitions for multiple employees when filed for identical positions by the same employer. The L-1 petitions may be bundled in order to streamline and improve...
The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India recently announced a change in L-1 visa application procedures within India. As of December 1, 2011, all L-1 visa applications filed under an approved L-1 blanket case must be submitted to the U.S. Consulate General in Chennai, India....
The USCIS H1B cap count had reached 56,300 as of November 14, 2011. This means that there are fewer than 9,000 cap numbers remaining out of the 65,000 limit for fiscal year 2012 (FY12). As expected, the rate of filings has increased in the past...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently confirmed its current examination of the circumstances under which employers must file amended H1B petitions for their employees. This is a matter of great importance to many employers of H1B workers. The key questions involve whether the...
MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers were previously advised of changes in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) procedures regarding transmission of certain receipt / approval notices to attorneys. The change was not favorably received. Therefore, on October 20, 2011, the USCIS announced that the changes will...
H1B visa refusals have become common for those working within the IT consulting industry, as regular MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers are aware. These problems have made travel abroad by H1B employees risky, if a new visa is required for reentry to the United States. This...
The terms visa and status are often used interchangeably, which creates confusion for many people. Here, the distinctions between visa and status are clarified for the benefit of our readers. Visa Issued by U.S. Consulate Abroad A visa is a document issued by the U.S. Department of...
Employers continue to weather ongoing economic problems in the United States, as well as immigration-related scrutiny, which has increased over the past few years. As U.S. companies consider their projections and proposals for 2012, their attention should also turn to matters that can facilitate smoother...
The USCIS Office of Transformation Coordination (OTC) recently provided an overview of the current status of the USCIS Transformation. Transformation is a large scale USCIS program to upgrade from paper-based operations to electronic systems. One important part of this series of changes is the phasing...
