The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) experienced a massive "crash" of its computer systems in April 2014. The EOIR announced, however, that it has been able to recover all of the data, and that portions of its system are once again operational. EOIR Computer Systems Crash,...
A U.S. federal district court recently ruled on a case involving an issue that is a vital component of every H1B petition. The H1B classification is only appropriate for positions that qualify as "specialty occupations." In the case at hand, CareMax Inc. v. Eric Holder,...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) hosted a teleconference on April 24, 2014, to discuss the coming expansion of the Administrative Site Visit and Verification Program (ASVVP) to include certain L1A petitions. The ASVVP program, which began in July 2009, is designed to verify...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that, as of January 2014, more than half a million employers are participating in the E-Verify program. E-Verify allows employers to verify online whether an individual is legally authorized to work in the United States. The increased...
Portions of two more volumes of the new online policy manual of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have recently been released. The additions deal with fraud and willful misrepresentation grounds of inadmissibility, and the availability of corresponding waivers. Purpose of Online USCIS Policy Manual In January...
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear appeals filed by towns in Texas and Pennsylvania, regarding their attempts to locally enforce certain U.S. immigration laws. This means that the earlier decisions by federal appellate courts striking down the towns' laws will stand. Local Efforts to Regulate...
To provide clarity on an important issue regarding recruitment in PERM labor certification (LC) cases, the frequently asked questions section of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)'s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) was recently updated. In the frequently asked questions (FAQs), under the Recruitment Report...
A portion of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) audit plan for PERM labor certification (LC) cases was recently released. The plan describes tiers of cases that are more likely to be subjected to audits, and also points out some of the potential triggers that...
The Murthy Law Firm reminds readers that the H1B cap-filing season for fiscal year (FY) 2015 is drawing near. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting cap-subject H1B petitions on Tuesday, April 1, 2014. Employers and individuals who have not made appropriate...
A Freedom of Information ACT (FOIA) request has led to the release of an internal, confidential memorandum from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS). The memo, dated June 3, 2013, revises USCIS policies related to detecting and...
