As anticipated, the President signed a temporary extension of the Conrad State Waiver program on October 8, 2008. The Conrad program is important for many International Medical Graduates (IMGs) who obtain training in the U.S. in J-1 status. The Conrad Waiver program provides an option...
Immigration laws contain protections against employer retaliation and termination in situations where an employee has disclosed violations of the labor condition application (LCA) requirements or cooperated with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in investigations of such violations. The LCA is part of the H1B...
MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers were provided with information on the National Interest Waiver (NIW) option for international medical graduates (IMGs) in our August 29, 2008 article, NIW for Physicians Completing J-1 Waiver Service. In contrast, the labor certification-based permanent residence (green card) option for IMGs...
The California Service Center (CSC) of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) held a liaison meeting with representatives of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) on August 6, 2008. During the meeting, the CSC addressed several questions of general importance submitted by AILA members....
The Administrative Review Board (ARB) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has ruled in a case, entitled Matter of U.S. DOL v. Dallas VA Medical Center, that the Dallas Veteran's Administration Medical Center (DVMC) is not a government research organization. Thus, the DVMC is...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) responded to questions regarding green card renewals, expediting N-400 applications, and I-551 (temporary evidence of permanent resident status) stamps during the April 2008 National Stakeholder Meeting. Clarification on these matters is provided here for the benefit of MurthyDotCom...
As a result of some recent litigation, the physician-specific National Interest Waiver (NIW) is now available to physicians in all specialties. This change, which was implemented nationwide in a memo dated January 23, 2007, is effective immediately. Background Prior to the litigation and the implementing memo, the...
We at the Murthy Law Firm have previously reported on waivers of the two-year home residency requirement that applies to some individuals who hold or have held J-1 status. One of the avenues toward a potential waiver is known as the hardship waiver. This waiver...
On February 23, 2005, the California Service Center (CSC) provided representatives of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) with their views on various immigration issues handled at the CSC. This summary of the highlights of that report is provided for the benefit of MurthyDotCom and...
The PERM regulation, which regular MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers are aware goes into effect on March 28, 2005, retains many of the concepts and provisions from the prior labor certification regulations. Included in this carry-over from current provisions are Schedule A occupations, including Physical Therapists...
