Among the eligibility criteria a lawful permanent resident (LPR) (commonly known as a "green card" holder) must meet to apply for U.S. citizenship is the requirement to have maintained continuous residence in the United States for a specified period. An extended absence from the U.S....
Special handling, sometimes referred to as optional special recruitment, is a PERM labor certification process solely carved out for those who teach at U.S. colleges and universities. While similar to the regular PERM process, in that it requires a test of the U.S. labor market,...
This afternoon, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the September 2024 Visa Bulletin. There is no forward movement in any of the employment-based categories from the previous month. Worse still, as the DOS previously predicted, the EB3 category cutoff date for certain countries has...
The Murthy Law Firm regularly assists foreign nationals in filing self-sponsored immigrant petitions under the EB2 national interest waiver (NIW) category and in the EB1(a) for immigrants with extraordinary ability. In a recent NIW case, the immigrant petition (form I-140) was filed for an expert...
A unique feature of U.S. immigration law is how certain rules and policies can change depending on who is in the White House. A President’s ability to dictate and change immigration law or policy often depends on whether a rule is statutory, regulatory, or administrative...
This morning, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that a second lottery will soon be held for fiscal year 2025. The USCIS will select additional H1B registrations randomly from those submitted in March 2024. The USCIS noted that the master's cap has been...
A policy proposal from the Heritage Foundation named the 2025 Presidential Transition Project – or Project 2025, as it is widely referred to in the press – presents a comprehensive set of conservative reforms aimed at restructuring federal government policies, including U.S. immigration policy. Former...
On July 25, 2024, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule in the Federal Register updating the investment and revenue requirements to qualify for parole under the international entrepreneur rule. Per regulation, the investment requirements must be adjusted every three years...
The United States has a shortage of registered nurses, which has increased the demand for foreign nurses. For a U.S. healthcare employer seeking to hire a foreign nurse or a foreign nurse seeking options for working in the U.S., this article provides an overview of...
On July 15, 2024, the U.S. Department of State announced updated guidance in the Foreign Affairs Manual to ease the process of obtaining a nonimmigrant waiver in certain circumstances. More specifically, this guidance applies to a foreign national who has graduated from a U.S. university,...
