Employers of H1B workers must comply with strict requirements enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). One such requirement is the obligation to pay wages until there has been a bona fide termination of H1B employment. The applicable standard rules were established in a...
Since June 2013, same-sex couples have been eligible for the same type of U.S. immigration benefits as opposite-sex couples. This policy shift, however, has given rise to safety concerns for beneficiaries in certain types of cases involving same-sex couples; more specifically, the U.S. Department of...
The Director of the U.S. Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS), Leon Rodriguez, held a public teleconference this afternoon (22.Jan.2015) to discuss various agency initiatives. The first topic addressed by Director Rodriguez was to provide a brief update on the proposed rules to grant certain H-4...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) continues to work on improving the Case Status Online system, which, as the name implies, allows stakeholders to check the status of a case using the internet. The USCIS provided an update on the progress being made to this...
Effective January 27, 2015, changes will be made to the issuance of decisions and correspondence, as well as documents related to permanent residence. The changes impact which parties will receive written communication or notices and documents from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Parties Involved...
The President's November 20, 2014 announcement of various executive actions related to immigration has created excitement and hope for foreign nationals living in the United States. The uncertainty of the changes in rules and regulations, however, also makes foreign nationals prime targets for criminals who...
Immediately following President Obama's November 20, 2014 announcement of his executive actions related to immigration reform, the Murthy Law Firm began to receive queries asking when the changes would go into effect. While the timeline on immigration benefits for undocumented aliens has been fairly well...
Following a recent update of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website, online case status information for some cases has temporarily become unavailable. Additionally, as the USCIS is working to fix the "glitch," this is leading to outdated or inaccurate case status update eMails...
A recent computer glitch in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) system has led to the issuance of receipt notices (form I-797) that inadvertently include requests for evidence (RFEs). These receipt notices, asking for missing photographs, have been generated by the Nebraska Service Center...
The National Visa Center (NVC) has changed the requirements regarding supporting documentation submitted in immigrant visa applications. As of November 12, 2014, the NVC has begun accepting photocopies of civil documents, rather than requiring originals. Background on the NVC In cases where a foreign national wishes to...
