H1B “Master’s Cap” Pitfalls: Cautionary Reminder
With the arrival of fiscal year 2015 (FY15) H1B cap season, foreign nationals and employers should be aware of some important nuances of the H1B advanced-degree exemption, often referred to as the...
View ArticleEB5 Investor Program Criticism by Office of Inspector General
The problems with the U.S. economy have brought renewed focus on options for attracting foreign investors. Similarly, the opportunities created by economic woes in the United States have attracted the...
View ArticleSome Pending H1Bs Transferred to California Service Center
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on December 23, 2013 that some H1B extension petitions filed with the Vermont Service Center (VSC) are being transferred to the...
View ArticleCan I Select My Own Attorney? (Part 1 of 2)
[See Part 2 of this MurthyDotCom NewsBrief.] At the Murthy Law Firm, we are often asked by potential clients whether they can hire us for their immigration matters. The answer to this question often...
View ArticleFDNS Releases 2013 Memorandum on H1B Fraud Detection
A Freedom of Information ACT (FOIA) request has led to the release of an internal, confidential memorandum from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Fraud Detection and National...
View ArticleNew Year Reminders for Employers: Part 2 of 2
Part 1 (26.Dec.2013) of this MurthyDotCom NewsBrief provided a number of tips and reminders for companies to verify that they have remained in compliance with certain key employment and immigration...
View ArticleCan I Select My Own Attorney? (Part 2 of 2)
This is the second in our two-part article on the subject of the selection of one's own attorney for immigration matters. Part 1 of this article addressed this topic in the immigrant (green card)...
View ArticleFebruary 2014 Visa Bulletin
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the February 2014 Visa Bulletin. For the most part, there are no major changes in this latest visa bulletin from the previous month. One exception to...
View ArticleMotions Filed by Murthy Law Firm for F-1 OPTs in Unpaid Internships
In October 2013, the Nebraska Service Center (NSC) of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) unexpectedly began denying optional practical training (OPT) STEM extension applications...
View ArticleU.S. Department of State Warns Against Travel to Mexico
Many foreign nationals travel to Mexico to apply for visas at the U.S. consulates there. Mexico is also a popular tourist destination for U.S. citizens as well as foreign nationals who reside in the...
View ArticleDHS Study-in-the-States Portal Helpful to Students
Current and prospective foreign national students may find it difficult to navigate through all the available options for studying in the United States, and the requirements that must be met. With this...
View ArticleNew Year’s Reminders for Individuals – Part 1 of 3
The start of the year is an excellent time for foreign nationals to double-check important dates related to their immigration statuses. Many aspects of immigration law are tied to expiration dates,...
View ArticleHome-Based Businesses: Inadvertent Unauthorized Employment
From time to time, articles are written to guide MurthyDotCom readers in avoiding inadvertently running afoul of immigration laws. One common problem involves individuals present in the United States...
View ArticleVisa Interview Waiver Program Made Permanent
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) recently made permanent a visa interview waiver program that was initiated as a temporary, pilot program in January 2012. This program allows some individuals seeking...
View ArticleNew Year’s Reminders for Individuals – Part 2 of 3
As explained in Part 1 (24.Jan.2014) of this MurthyDotCom NewsBrief, foreign nationals can avoid a number of serious immigration problems by being mindful of certain key dates related to their stay in...
View ArticleConsiderations for EB3 to EB2 “Upgrade”
As evidenced from the inquiries we receive at the Murthy Law Firm, there are many individuals who are interested in the possibility of what is referred to as "upgrading" their permanent resident...
View ArticleUSCIS Releases New Form N-400
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently released a new version of the application for naturalization (form N-400). This new N-400 is 21 pages in length - 11 pages longer than the...
View ArticleNew Year’s Reminders for Individuals – Part 3 of 3
As with Parts 1 and 2 of this NewsBrief series, this third and final overview focuses on key dates within immigration law. Here, the focus is primarily on dates important to permanent residents ("green...
View ArticleMarch 2014 Visa Bulletin and Short-Term Predictions
The March 2014 Visa Bulletin has been released by the U.S. Department of State (DOS), offering little in the way of movement or surprises. Perhaps the most significant change is the retrogression of...
View ArticleU.S. Citizen Sponsorship of a Foreign National Fiancé/e or Spouse
Much of the world will soon be celebrating Valentine's Day, a day that is always accompanied by an increase in marriage proposals. U.S. immigration law has long-valued the idea of family unity. And, to...
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