As evidenced from the inquiries we receive at the Murthy Law Firm, there are many individuals who are interested in the possibility of what is referred to as "upgrading" their permanent resident (commonly, "green card") cases to employment-based, second preference (EB2). This strategy is used...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has issued the visa bulletin for December 2013. The cutoff date movements are consistent with predictions offered by the DOS this past October for employment-based cases and family-based cases. The most notable development is yet another round of significant EB2 retrogression...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) Visa Bulletin for December 2013 contains a cutoff date of November 15, 2004 for employment-based, second preference (EB2) category for India. This substantial retrogression was expected, based upon official DOS predictions issued in October 2013. This means another extended...
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) iCert system has, of late, been exhibiting some intermittent technical problems. The iCert system is used for a number of immigration-related processes, including labor condition applications (LCA), which are necessary for the H1B process, and PERM labor certification cases....
Historically, there has been considerable variation in the amount of time required for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to process PERM labor certification applications. The recent trend, however, has been for the processing of these cases to drag on significantly longer than in years...
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued guidance on October 31, 2013, regarding PERM labor certification cases impacted by the recent government shutdown. During the shutdown, it was not possible to use the DOL Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) electronic submission systems. The guidance...
As a result of the U.S. federal government shutdown, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is temporarily not accepting or processing prevailing wage requests. A prevailing wage determination (PWD) is generally a required component at the outset of the PERM labor certification process that is used...
As many MurthyDotCom readers know, the common qualifications for the employment-based, second preference (EB2) category is possession of an advanced degree or its equivalent. This requirement poses a challenge for many individuals who, because of their educational histories, are limited to filing in the employment-based,...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has recently issued a large volume of identical requests for evidence (RFEs) on pending applications to adjust status (form I-485) cases. The RFEs appear to be an effort to check key issues in long-pending employment-based I-485s. RFEs on EB3s...
A May 28, 2013 decision, issued by the U.S. Department of Labor's Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) significantly limits options for fixing incorrect information on a PERM labor certification application. In Matter of Sushi Shogun BALCA has limited the use of the far...
