As many MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers are aware, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H1B cap-subject filings for fiscal year 2013 (FY13) as of Monday, April 2, 2012. The significance of April 2nd is that it is the first business day...
Parts 1 and 2 of this article examine some of the major immigration developments in 2011, and analyze the potential impact of those developments for 2012. We previously discussed the forward movement of the EB2 India and China cutoff dates in the visa bulletin. Here...
The Employment Creation Immigrant Visa (EB5) program was established to provide the means for a foreign national investor to secure permanent residence (a "green card") by investing in a U.S. business, thereby, creating jobs for U.S. workers. Historically, the program has been fraught with problems....
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) appears to be encountering difficulties in their efforts to transition from paper-based operations to online systems. Therefore the December 2011 targeted timeframe for the first of the planned, phased-in releases will not be met. For the time being,...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently acknowledged problems with data transmission involving the National Benefits Center (NBC). The NBC had not been receiving proper information regarding the entry of appearance for attorneys and representatives (Form G-28). As a result, important case-related notices were...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced in November 2011 that it will be allowable to "bundle" together L-1 petitions for multiple employees when filed for identical positions by the same employer. The L-1 petitions may be bundled in order to streamline and improve...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued an update on October 19, 2011 regarding the processing of forms for naturalization to U.S. citizenship and proof of U.S. citizenship. The new filing instructions direct the applicants to file all USCIS N forms at a centralized...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has published updated inventory charts showing pending employment-based (EB) adjustment of status (I-485) cases. These charts contain details of pending I-485 cases by EB preference, country of chargeability, and the month and year of the priority date. The...
As the holiday season approaches, MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers should be mindful of federal holiday schedules in connection with their immigration cases. These schedules are important for expectations of appointment availability at the local U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offices and U.S. consulates, as...
MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers were previously advised of changes in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) procedures regarding transmission of certain receipt / approval notices to attorneys. The change was not favorably received. Therefore, on October 20, 2011, the USCIS announced that the changes will...
