As reported in the June 27, 2013 MurthyDotCom NewsFlash! U.S. Senate Passes CIR Bill; Still Faces Major Obstacles in House, the U.S. Senate passed S.744, a comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) bill entitled, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act. That bill cannot become...
As predicted, the family-based, second preference "A" category (FB2A) for spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents (LPRs, or "green card holders") is current under the August 2013 Visa Bulletin. A more thorough review of this category is provided in the MurthyDotCom NewsBrief, FB2A Could...
The State Council of Higher Education for Northern Virginia (SCHEV) resolved to revoke the University of Northern Virginia's (UNVA) Certificate to Operate. This action was taken on July 15, 2013, based upon UNVA's failure to meet previously-agreed upon time lines related to accreditation.The actions of...
As predicted, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) Visa Bulletin for August 2013 provides favorable advancements of both the employment-based, second preference (EB2) category for Indian nationals, and the family-based, second preference "A" (FB2A) category. This undoubtedly comes as welcome news to a great many...
Immigration law is full of complex legal and procedural concerns. At times, however, simple matters and small details can create disruptions within the system. Such is the case with a recent problem, which has since been resolved, at the U.S. Department of State (DOS) National...
Time and time again, the transition to new systems and technologies brings with it new bumps in the road. Several Murthy Law Firm attorneys attended the 2013 American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Annual conference in San Francisco, California, where there were reports of problems arising...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) Visa Bulletin for August 2013, as predicated, contains significant advancement in the cutoff date in the employment-based, second preference (EB2) category for India. The EB2 India cutoff date, effective during August 2013, advances to January 1, 2008.The family-based, second...
The possibility of permanent residence (or "green card") approval may become a reality for some MurthyDotCom readers. This is due to the possibility of forward movement of cutoff dates in the category for EB2 India in the U.S. Department of State (DOS) Visa Bulletin in...
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a key section of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on June 26, 2013. DOMA, which prohibited the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages, stood in the way of providing marriage-based immigration benefits to legally-married gay and lesbian couples....
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a large volume of notices retracting many previously-issued requests for evidence (RFEs) on pending applications for adjustment of status (I-485) cases. These notices instruct derivative / dependent spouses and children to ignore the RFEs that were...
