The April 2005 Visa Bulletin, issued by the U.S. Department of State (DOS), brought some limited good news to those in the Employment-Based Third Preference (EB3) skilled / professional worker category. The news was not good for those in the EB3 "Other Worker" category. Those...
On February 23, 2005, the California Service Center (CSC) provided representatives of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) with their views on various immigration issues handled at the CSC. This summary of the highlights of that report is provided for the benefit of MurthyDotCom and...
We at The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C. are pleased to report some positive immigration news that will be of interest to many MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers! The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a memo on February 16, 2005, to all Regional...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced on February 10, 2005, that they received over six million entries during the two-month registration period for the DV Lottery program for fiscal year 2006. The registration ended at noon, January 7, 2005. The registrations were made electronically,...
On February 2, 2005, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) issued a Final Rule in the Federal Register that changes some of the fees the DOS charges for certain processes. The rule is effective as of March 8, 2005.The rule adds the $500 Fraud Prevention...
The PERM regulation, which regular MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers are aware goes into effect on March 28, 2005, retains many of the concepts and provisions from the prior labor certification regulations. Included in this carry-over from current provisions are Schedule A occupations, including Physical Therapists...
President George W. Bush signed the Basic Pilot Extension and Expansion Act of 2003 (Public Law No. 108-156), into law on December 3, 2003. This new law extends and expands several important immigration programs through 2008. These programs were first introduced under the Illegal Immigration...
On December 20, 2001, the U.S. Senate voted in favor of two bills that grant work authorization to spouses of persons with "E" and "L" status. On September 5, 2001, these bills (H.R. 2277 and H.R. 2278) were passed by the U.S. House of Representatives....
The USCIS issued a reminder of the deadline for J-1 international medical graduates (IMGs) to enter the United States if they wish to apply for waivers of the two-year home return requirement under the Conrad 30 program, following completion of their training. This deadline for...
