The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is responsible for investigating and enforcing federal minimum wage, overtime pay, and record-keeping requirements, as well as various employment standards and worker protections required under U.S. immigration law. Such investigations are often...
Beginning October 1, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will exempt all I-539 applicants from paying the $85 biometrics service fee. This exemption will apply indefinitely. Background Information In 2019, the USCIS implemented a policy that required most form I-539 applicants to complete biometrics screening...
Congress must pass a spending bill to extend government operations before October 1, 2023, or else a temporary shutdown of the federal government will go into effect. This would be the first shutdown of the Biden Administration. Annual Budget Process and History of Shutdowns The money needed...
On September 1, 2023, the U.S. Department of States (DOS) issued a reminder to visa applicants that all machine-readable visa fee receipts issued prior to October 1, 2022, will expire on September 30, 2023, unless immediate action is taken. If an affected individual does not...
Today, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the October 2023 Visa Bulletin, which is the first visa bulletin of fiscal year 2024. As expected, there is movement in most of the categories. All cutoff dates listed refer to those in the final action chart...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated the USCIS Policy Manual with additional guidance that expands the extraordinary circumstances exception to the Child Status Protection Act's (CSPA) "sought to acquire" requirement. This update stems from a February 14, 2023, policy update that expanded...
Many foreign nationals hold some mistaken beliefs related to the employment authorization document (EAD). Laws and regulations that govern employment through the EAD may differ substantially from the rules that govern work authorization provided by nonimmigrant status, such as H1B. Foreign nationals must make efforts...
Pursuant to the regulations, the J-1 program was established to "increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries by means of educational and cultural exchanges. Educational and cultural exchanges assist [the U.S. Department of State] in furthering...
The Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS) of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is responsible for conducting site visits, when needed, at the homes of married couples in spousal permanent residence ("green card") cases. This is an effort to identify and investigate...
On July 1, 2023, Florida's new wide-ranging law, SB 1718 went into effect. A foreign national living in Florida should be aware of the impact of SB 1718, as summarized in this MurthyDotCom NewsBrief. Government Funding for Community IDs SB 1718 prohibits cities and counties in Florida...
