On August 13, 2014, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) provided some good news in an update regarding the visa delays caused by last month's computer crash: "We have made significant progress and issued most of the worldwide backlog of nonimmigrant visa cases. We are working...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the September 2014 Visa Bulletin. The employment-based, second preference (EB2) category for Indian nationals continues to move forward, but is expected to retrogress in the coming months. Cutoff dates for the family-based, second preference "A" category advance across the...
This morning, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the September 2014 Visa Bulletin. Effective September 1st, the employment-based, second preference (EB2) India category will advance to May 1, 2009. The family-based, second preference "A" (FB2A) category, for spouses and (unmarried, minor) children of lawful permanent...
As reported in a series of NewsFlashes posted on MurthyDotCom at the end of July 2014, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) began experiencing problems with one of its key computer systems, the Consular Consolidated Database (CCD). This has caused some ongoing delay in visa processing...
The process of applying for both nonimmigrant and immigrant visas at U.S. consular posts abroad may raise questions of exactly what information is checked and how that information is gathered during the screening process. A June 2014 Congressional Research Service report provides an overview of the...
On July 11, 2014, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigrant Services (USCIS) issued a policy memorandum that provides updated guidance to adjudicators to determine whether a particular nursing position meets the H1B category's specialty occupation requirement. This issue was last addressed by the USCIS in 2002. The...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) have published a notice inviting comments on President Obama's request for a plan to improve the entry process for international travelers arriving at U.S. airports. In the notice, the two agencies are...
In March 2014, the Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) Ombudsman recommended a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) policy change regarding the narrow interpretation of a provision in the law that impacts J-2 spouses of J-1 physicians. Under the USCIS interpretation of the law, these...
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...
