The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has proposed a regulatory change that is intended to improve the procedures for certain applications for waiver or forgiveness of periods of unlawful presence in the United States. This is only a proposal at this time, and, as...
The Director of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), Louis M. Farrell, recently revealed that SEVP is being audited by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) as a follow-up to the Tri-Valley University (TVU) investigation. This was announced in the January 2012 issue of the...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a final rule that would establish a permanent global entry program (GEP), allowing faster clearance for certain pre-approved, low-risk travelers. This program will help streamline the processing of international visitors to the United States through selected international...
Many MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers have inquired as to whether the laws have changed to allow individuals in H-4 dependent status to obtain work authorization. At the time of this writing, there has been no favorable change to allow H-4 dependents to work. The renewed...
Parts 1 and 2 of this article examine some of the major immigration developments in 2011, and analyze the potential impact of those developments for 2012. We previously discussed the forward movement of the EB2 India and China cutoff dates in the visa bulletin. Here...
We at the Murthy Law Firm have received some inquiries connected to the August 18, 2011 Obama Administration announcement regarding changes in certain immigration enforcement policies. The crux of the administration's position is that government enforcement efforts should focus on individuals who meet high priority...
The U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security held a hearing in September 2011 to assess the status of current programs administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) aimed at combating and preventing terrorist activity. The testimony presented...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced an initiative intended to encourage bright international students to study in the U.S. The initiative, entitled Study in the States, sets forth the goals of examining and improving upon existing student and exchange visitor programs. The most...
A foreign national is subject to specific, strict requirements as a condition of obtaining F-1 status as a full-time student. Failure to follow legal requirements can lead to status violations, which can have potentially devastating effects for many international students. Foreign national students must stay...
Sheela Murthy met with Arun K. Singh, the Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM), and Datta Palsargikar, the Minister of Community Affairs at the Indian Embassy in Washington DC. The DCM shared updates the DHS had given the Indian government regarding the ICE raid on UNVA.Ms....
