On November 9, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled against President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program and the expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Barring a reversal...
Answer Yes, a person with a pending I-485 can travel based on an advanced parole document. Or, one can travel on an H1B, H-4, L-1, or L-2 while the I-485 is pending. (09.Nov.2015)In frequent sessions of our Chat, Sheela Murthy and other senior attorneys provide guidance...
The Murthy Law Firm is proud to report that we were able to resolve a family's long-delayed permanent residence (green card) cases. Prior to our involvement in this matter, the individuals had suffered through more than two years of delays in the approval of their...
The Murthy Law Firm is proud to report that we were able to secure employment-based immigrant visas for a family at a U.S. consulate based on the portability provisions in the American Competitiveness in the Twenty First Century Act (AC21). While moving to a new...
Answer The H-4 visa application does not require that the H1B spouse have an up-to-date H1B visa "stamp." The H-4 application simply requires showing proof of the marriage and proof of the spouse's valid H1B status. (19.Oct.2015)In frequent sessions of our Chat, Sheela Murthy and other...
Answer The H1B nonimmigrant category has dual intent. Thus, the I-130 filing does not impact the H1B. While a person can always apply for F-1 even after the I-130 filing, that category requires nonimmigrant intent. Therefore, the I-130 could be a cause for denial of the...
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...
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. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced at the end of August 2015 that certain family-based immigration cases will be moved from the Vermont Service Center (VSC) to the California Service Center (CSC). Such internal case transfers are fairly routine, and typically are to balance...
