On November 25, 2016, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a notice of a proposed revision to the collection of information for USCIS Form I-612, Application for Waiver of the Foreign Residence Requirement. The I-612 is required under Section 212(e) of the Immigration...
Representatives of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) recently addressed some common questions regarding the completion of the training plan for STEM OPT students (form I-983). A number of important topics were discussed, including the issue of potentially placing an F-1 STEM OPT student...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule on November 18, 2016, entitled Retention of EB1, EB2, and EB3 Immigrant Workers and Program Improvements Affecting High-Skilled Nonimmigrant Workers. This new regulation was first proposed in late 2015, as outlined in the MurthyDotCom...
An advance copy of the final rule, entitled Retention of EB1, EB2, and EB3 Immigrant Workers and Program Improvements Affecting High-Skilled Nonimmigrant Workers, has been released; it is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Friday, November 18, 2016. It is scheduled to...
Due to his campaign rhetoric vowing to toughen immigration rules and enforcement, many immigrants and nonimmigrants are nervous about how the recent election of Donald J. Trump as the 45th President of the United States will impact their lives. The Murthy Law Firm understands how...
Last week, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the December 2016 Visa Bulletin. Once again, there is no change in the dates for filing (DF) chart from the previous month. As for the final action (FA) chart, the priority date movement is fairly consistent...
On October 21, 2016, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released the updated version of the extreme hardship policy section of its policy manual. This section guides USCIS adjudicators on determining extreme hardship to qualifying relatives for discretionary waivers of inadmissibility. The guidance becomes...
This afternoon, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the December 2016 Visa Bulletin. In the employment-based, second preference (EB2) category, the cutoff date for India moves ahead by three months, to February 1, 2008. EB2 China advances by just over two months, to September...
Since 2006, couples in India who wed under the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 are required to register their marriages. Contrary to what many believe, however, under Indian law, a failure to register one's marriage generally does not impact the legal validity of the marriage....
On October 24, 2016 the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted a notice in the Federal Register announcing an increase in filing fees for most types of immigration filings. These fee increases are scheduled to go into effect December 23, 2016. USCIS Rationale for Fee...
