Winter snowstorms and other weather-related problems can impact the operations of virtually any organization or business. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is no exception; nor are the courier and mail delivery services exempt from delays due to weather. The government recognizes that severe...
In response to complaints from stakeholders, a recent statement from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) indicates efforts to significantly reduce the processing time for form I-130 relative petitions filed by U.S. citizens on behalf of immediate relatives. The USCIS notes that processing times...
In mid-November 2013, attorneys from the Murthy Law Firm participated in the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) DC Chapter Fall Conference as speakers and moderators for many of the informative panels. One particularly thought-provoking session, moderated by Sheela Murthy, was a U.S. Department of Labor...
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has submitted proposed regulatory changes intended to improve the F-1 and M-1 student programs. The changes potentially would provide more resources in the form of additional designated school officials (DSOs). The proposals would also provide better options to F-1 and...
In a recent and concerning adjudication trend, the Nebraska Service Center (NSC) of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has begun denying F-1 optional practical training (OPT) STEM extension applications filed by students who engaged in employment as unpaid interns during the initial 12...
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has alerted stakeholders of the issuance of inappropriate requests for evidence (RFEs) by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) National Benefits Center (NBC) in connection with family-based, second preference "A" (FB2A) petitions. These RFEs are asking petitioning family...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a news alert on November 15, 2013, reminding those impacted by the devastation in the Philippines created by Typhoon Haiyan that certain forms of immigration relief may be available. This reminder covers a number of general provisions applicable...
The I-485 inventory charts kept by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have recently been updated. The charts detail the number of pending employment-based (EB) adjustment-of-status (I-485) cases by EB preference category, country of chargeability, and month and year of the priority date. This...
Mergers and acquisitions frequently result in critical immigration compliance issues that must be addressed, as explained in the MurthyDotCom NewsBrief, Mysteries of Mergers & Acquisitions: Basics of Immigration Due Diligence (26.March.2012). It is typically the responsibility of a human resources manager or other company representative,...
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...
