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,...
The White House announced today that the parole-in-place program to promote family unity will officially launch on August 19, 2024. Applications filed prior to this date will be rejected. Details about the program should be published in the Foreign Affairs Manual in the very near...
On February 2, 2021, President Joseph Biden issued an executive order on restoring faith in the U.S. legal immigration systems and strengthening integration and inclusion efforts for new Americans. This executive order led the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to announce updated policy guidance...
This afternoon, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the August 2024 Visa Bulletin. All cutoff dates listed refer to those in the final action chart (i.e., Chart A), unless otherwise specified. Visa Bulletin Summary Employment-Based, First Preference (EB1) Category There is no change in the EB1 category....
As previously discussed on MurthyDotCom, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on June 17, 2024, a proposed program to promote family unity by removing certain roadblocks towards lawful permanent residency (i.e., a "green card”) for qualifying undocumented noncitizen spouses of U.S. citizens. The...
In order to enter the United States in H1B status, a foreign national typically must first obtain an H1B visa foil (commonly referred to as a visa "stamp") from a U.S. consulate or embassy. This visa stamp generally will be annotated with the name of...
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, we filed the immigrant petition (form I-140) for a water...
On June 6, 2024, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register that, if implemented, would alter when the 9-11 response and biometric entry-exit fee for H1B and L-1 visas (oftentimes referred to as the "public...
The USCIS confirmed to the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) that, because June 30, 2024 falls on a Sunday, cap-subject H1B petitions that are properly filed on Monday, July 1, 2024 will be considered timely filed. This only applies paper-based H1B filings; H1B petitions filed...
A unique feature of U.S. immigration law is how certain rules and policies can change depending on the presidential administration. A president’s ability to dictate and change immigration rules largely depends on whether a rule is statutory, regulatory, or administrative policy. Understanding the difference between...
