For many years, Charles Oppenheim, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, has been providing monthly visa bulletin explanations and predictions. He is scheduled to retire in December 2021, but he did make the time to provide some...
Answer Before the registration period can be reopened for this year's H1B cap, the USCIS has to finish selecting all of the registrations submitted in March 2021. If all the registrations are selected, and the USCIS still has not reached the regular and/or master's caps, the...
Today, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it had selected additional registrations submitted for the fiscal year 2022 (FY22) lottery. Any employer with a registration selected in the third lottery will be given until 23.Feb.2022 to file an H1B petition on behalf...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is again expanding its credit card payment pilot program, this time for certain petitions filed with the Vermont Service Center (VSC). Under this expanded program, if a petitioner files a petition for a nonimmigrant worker (form I-129) for...
In August 2021, the Biden administration authorized deferred enforced departure (DED) for 18 months for eligible Hong Kong residents. The Administration has now published details on the implementation of employment authorization for individuals covered by the DED executive order.Effective 05.Aug.2021, eligible Hong Kong residents covered...
The Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (CIS Ombudsman) has released a tip sheet to guide customers in communicating with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The USCIS has implemented a number of changes to reduce reliance on live assistance by telephone...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has provided answers to a number of frequently asked questions (FAQs) on its newly implemented bona fide determination process for pending U nonimmigrant applications. As reported in the MurthyDotCom NewsBrief, Employment Authorization Available for Pending U Visa Petitioners...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has expanded its credit card payment pilot program to the Texas Service Center (TSC). Under this expanded program, if a petitioner files an immigrant petition for alien worker (form I-140) at the TSC with a request for premium...
Answer Unfortunately, we do not yet have any updates on this rule. As we indicated on MurthyDotCom, although the rule was slated for release in September 2021, this date was subject to change. We are still hopeful that the rule will be released in the near...
Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that, effective October 1, 2021, the COVID-19 vaccination will be added to the list of required vaccinations for foreign nationals applying for permanent residency in the United States (i.e., a green card). The U.S....
