Leon Rodriguez was sworn in as the new Director of the U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on July 9, 2014, following his confirmation by the U.S. Senate in June. Director Rodriquez is the fourth USCIS Director, since the agency was created in 2003. New...
The Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (CIS Ombudsman) 2014 Annual Report was submitted to Congress on June 27, 2014. The report details various deficiencies found within the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), according to the Ombudsman's office, including problems with H1B and L-1 processing...
The U nonimmigrant category provides immigration benefits to foreign nationals who have been the victims of certain serious crimes. These individuals may be able to obtain immigration benefits under the U nonimmigrant category by assisting U.S. law enforcement in its efforts to prosecute the perpetrator/s...
The U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Vermont Service Center (VSC) has announced a pilot program to use two-sided printing for certain types of notices. The purpose of this initiative is to reduce costs and waste. Stakeholders should be careful to review both the...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has provided instructions regarding the process for renewing enrollment in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. DACA provides temporary immigration relief to eligible undocumented foreign nationals who entered the United States as children. Beneficiaries of the program...
On May 19, 2014, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice to seek comments, for a period of 60 days, on proposed changes to the notice of entry of appearance as attorney or accredited representative (G-28 form). A G-28 must be properly completed...
On Monday, June 2, 2014, the Murthy Law Firm received our first batch of returned H1B filings for cases that were not selected in this year's H1B lottery. More than two weeks have passed since our firm last received any new receipt notices for H1B...
Maria Odom, the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, gave a presentation on various immigration issues on May 21, 2014. The setting was a meeting of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Washington D.C. Chapter, which was attended by several attorneys...
A U.S. federal district court recently ruled on a case involving an issue that is a vital component of every H1B petition. The H1B classification is only appropriate for positions that qualify as "specialty occupations." In the case at hand, CareMax Inc. v. Eric Holder,...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) hosted a teleconference on April 24, 2014, to discuss the coming expansion of the Administrative Site Visit and Verification Program (ASVVP) to include certain L1A petitions. The ASVVP program, which began in July 2009, is designed to verify...
