The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has announced that several employment-based (EB) immigrant visa categories will remain unavailable for the remainder of fiscal year 2024 (FY24). A category that is unavailable is one for which all the immigrant visa numbers have been exhausted for the...
Most family-based immigrant visa cases require the petitioner to serve also as a financial sponsor for the intending immigrant. To qualify as a sponsor, a petitioner must complete an affidavit of support (form I-864) demonstrating that the sponsor has sufficient means to ensure that the...
Answer You should be eligible for the 60-day grace period in F-1 status as long as your STEM OPT was not denied due to an F-1 status violation. While you are in your grace period, you may transfer your SEVIS to another program of study or...
A federal judge in Texas has temporarily blocked the Biden Administration from continuing to grant parole in place under its Keeping Families Together program. As noted in the MurthyDotCom NewsBrief, USCIS Starts Accepting Applications for Keeping Families Together Program (22.Aug.2024), this program is designed to...
UPDATE: See NewsFlash! Federal Judge Orders Temporary Halt to Parole-in-Place Program, Posted 27.Aug.2024As was recently indicated in MurthyDotCom's NewsFlash! Filing Guide Released for Parole in Place Program for Undocumented Spouses of U.S. Citizens (16.Aug.2024), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began accepting applications for...
As the second round of the FY2025 cap lottery begins, it is important to note one avoidable reason for an H1B petition – or really, any type of petition or application – to be rejected by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is for...
UPDATE: See NewsFlash! Federal Judge Orders Temporary Halt to Parole-in-Place Program, Posted 27.Aug.2024Today, the Biden Administration released a filing guide for form I-131F, which is the new electronic form that soon will be used by certain undocumented spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens to apply...
Among the eligibility criteria a lawful permanent resident (LPR) (commonly known as a "green card" holder) must meet to apply for U.S. citizenship is the requirement to have maintained continuous residence in the United States for a specified period. An extended absence from the U.S....
Answer On the DS-160, there is an option to include information regarding a second I-797 approval notice. Generally speaking, in this situation, one should include both approvals in the DS-160, and request during the interview that the visa be issued for the longer duration. (14.Aug.2024)Sheela Murthy...
This afternoon, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the September 2024 Visa Bulletin. There is no forward movement in any of the employment-based categories from the previous month. Worse still, as the DOS previously predicted, the EB3 category cutoff date for certain countries has...
