Form I-9 Compliance for H1B Employers
Generally speaking, whenever a U.S. company hires a new employee, the employer is required by law to verify the identity and employment authorization of the worker. This is accomplished by completing...
View ArticleMurthy Success Story: AAO Recognizes Individual Rights in AC21 Case
The administrative appeals office (AAO) issued a non-precedent decision, on April 28, 2017, that acknowledges the right of an I-140 beneficiary who has ported to a new employer pursuant to the American...
View ArticleFraud Alert: DHS Warns of New Telephone Scam
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has issued a warning in relation to a recent trend in telephone scams. The OIG warns that criminals are calling...
View ArticleTPS Terminations for Several Countries Effective May 21, 2017
Designations for temporary protected status (TPS) for nationals of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone will be terminated on May 21, 2017. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is also...
View ArticleJune 2017 Visa Bulletin Check-in: Predictions for EB3 India
Last night, Charles Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division for the U.S. Department of State (DOS), was the featured speaker at the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)...
View ArticleU.S. Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Denaturalization Case
The United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments, on April 26, 2017, in Maslenjak v. United States, a case regarding the denaturalization of a U.S. citizen due to false statements she made during...
View ArticleUSCIS Releases Guidance Related to ACICS Loss of Accreditation
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released April 20, 2017 guidance on how international students, particularly those in English language study and STEM OPT extension programs, will...
View ArticleWage Obligations of Employers Towards H1B Employees
The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is responsible for investigating and enforcing federal minimum wage, overtime pay, and recordkeeping requirements, as well as...
View ArticleNewsFlash! Nationwide Block of Travel Ban Upheld by Appellate Court
This afternoon, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s decision to temporarily prevent enforcement of a travel ban created by an executive order signed by President Trump in March...
View ArticleDOS Proposes Supplemental Questions for Visa Applicants with Security Concerns
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) published a notice in the Federal Register on May 4, 2017, requesting approval and public comments for proposed information to be gathered from visa applicants...
View ArticleOverview of the EB5 Immigrant Investor Category
The employment-based, fifth preference (EB5) immigrant investor program provides an avenue for foreign nationals to become U.S. permanent residents (“green card” holders) based on a qualifying...
View ArticlePresent the Latest H1B Approval Notice to CBP
When an H1B visa foil (commonly referred to as a visa ‘stamp’) is issued, the consular officer typically annotates the visa with the petition number and expiration date of the I-797 approval notice...
View ArticleMurthyAudio: Business Immigration in the Era of Compliance and Investigations
Since the inauguration of President Trump in January, there has been much uncertainty in the immigrant community, and information is key. Accordingly, the Murthy Law Firm offered a special 3-part...
View ArticleTPS Terminations for Several Countries Effective May 21, 2017
Designations for temporary protected status (TPS) for nationals of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone will be terminated on May 21, 2017. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is also...
View ArticleDHS Having Trouble Tracking Visa Overstays Due to Poor IT Systems
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released a report detailing how technological limitations have hampered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement...
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Family-Based Immigration Simplified
At the Murthy Law Firm, we receive many questions about immigration petitioning for relatives. While there are various nuances to this topic, we have simplified the initial, fundamental question: who...
View ArticleNewsFlash! Parole Program for Entrepreneurs in Jeopardy
According to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle, the parole program for entrepreneurs, which was scheduled to go into effect in July 2017, is now being re-reviewed by the Office of Management and...
View ArticleH1B Lottery Process Documents Obtained by Filing FOIA Lawsuit
By law, there is an annual limit of 65,000 new H1Bs that may be approved each year, not including the 20,000 available under the advanced-degree exemption (i.e. master’s cap) and those filed for...
View ArticleUniversity Must be Accredited When Degree Awarded for Master’s Cap
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy memorandum on May 23, 2017 that adopts the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) decision in Matter of A-T- Inc. The adopted decision...
View ArticleJuly 2017 Visa Bulletin: EB3 India Advances, EB3 China Retrogresses
This afternoon, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the July 2017 Visa Bulletin. In the final action (FA) chart, the employment-based, first preference (EB1) category remains unchanged from the...
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