Reliable sources have been reporting a wave of denials of J-1 visas for international medical graduates (IMGs) applying at U.S. consular posts in Pakistan. The scenario involves Pakistani physicians requesting J-1 exchange visitor visas to begin U.S. medical residency programs at teaching hospitals in the...
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has implemented new background check procedures for nonimmigrants who signed up for military service in exchange for an expedited path to citizenship as part of the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) program. These new procedures have...
Every year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) releases a report that provides data on the entries, exits, and visa overstays that occurred in the previous fiscal year. On May 22, 2017, the DHS released the entry / exit report for fiscal year 2016...
This afternoon, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the July 2017 Visa Bulletin. In the final action (FA) chart, the employment-based, first preference (EB1) category remains unchanged from the previous month, with India and China stuck with cutoff dates of January 1, 2012. In...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy memorandum on May 23, 2017 that adopts the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) decision in Matter of A-T- Inc. The adopted decision serves to instruct USCIS personnel that, for purposes of determining whether a person qualifies...
By law, there is an annual limit of 65,000 new H1Bs that may be approved each year, not including the 20,000 available under the advanced-degree exemption (i.e. master's cap) and those filed for cap-exempt employment. As the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) typically...
According to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle, the parole program for entrepreneurs, which was scheduled to go into effect in July 2017, is now being re-reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget. As explained in the MurthyDotCom NewsBrief, Final Rule to Create...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released a report detailing how technological limitations have hampered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) efforts to track those who overstay their nonimmigrant status in the United States (i.e. visa overstays). ICE...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) published a notice in the Federal Register on May 4, 2017, requesting approval and public comments for proposed information to be gathered from visa applicants identified as requiring additional security-related scrutiny. The proposed questions both expand on information already...
This afternoon, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's decision to temporarily prevent enforcement of a travel ban created by an executive order signed by President Trump in March 2017. In upholding the injunction, the court was critical of the Trump Administration,...
