Differences Between: Lawful Status, Period of Authorized Stay, & Unlawful...
Regular readers of MurthyDotCom likely have come across the terms lawful status, period of authorized stay, and unlawful presence. These related, yet distinct, concepts can play a very important role...
View ArticlePossible Government Shutdown After December 21, 2018
Congress must pass a spending bill to extend government operations by midnight of December 21, 2018, or else another temporary shutdown of the federal government will go into effect. This would be the...
View ArticleJanuary 2019 Visa Bulletin Check-In: Predictions Coming in February
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, Charles Oppenheim, often issues visa bulletin explanations and predictions, following the release of the monthly...
View ArticleSanta’s Visa Options for Coming to Town on Christmas Eve
While scientists have been known to investigate whether it is physically possible for Santa Claus to travel around the world in just one night, they tend to overlook the legal implications of the jolly...
View ArticleNewsFlash! Partial Government Shutdown Now in Effect
A partial shutdown of the federal government is now in effect because Congress was unable to pass a new budget or continuing resolution. This also means that several immigration programs are...
View ArticleImportance of Accurate & Consistent Birth Documents in Immigration Filings
The Murthy Law Firm routinely receives calls from individuals asking how to deal with birth documents that have incorrect information. Foreign nationals seeking to apply for U.S. immigration benefits...
View ArticleMurthyAudio: Year End Planning – Immigration Compliance Files
While the teleconference series offered by the Murthy Law Firm is designed for employers and their representatives, this information may be of interest to employees and to those considering launching a...
View ArticleUSCIS Clarifies the 1-Year Foreign Employment Requirement
In order for an L-1 petition to be approved, one of the basic requirements is that the beneficiary has worked abroad for a related entity for at least one year in the past three years. This is often...
View ArticleNew Year’s Reminders for Employers (Part 1 of 2)
With the arrival of another new year, now is a good time for employers to review a number of immigration-related matters and documents to help ensure smooth business operations in 2018. It is always...
View ArticleNew Year’s Reminders for Employers (Part 2 of 2)
Part 1 (02.Jan.2019) of this MurthyDotCom NewsBrief provides a number of tips and reminders for companies to verify that they have remained in compliance with certain key employment and immigration...
View ArticleFactors for F-1 Students to Consider in Selecting a College or University
Since taking office, the Trump Administration has instituted numerous policies to make it more difficult for foreign nationals – including international students – to come to the United States. This...
View ArticleFebruary 2019 Visa Bulletin: Cutoff Date for EB3 India Passes EB2
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the February 2019 Visa Bulletin. Notably, in the employment-based, third preference (EB3) category, the cutoff date in the final action (FA) chart for...
View ArticleUSCIS Updates Interview Waiver Guidance for I-751 Petitions
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released a policy memorandum that provides USCIS officers with guidance on when the in-person interview requirement may be waived for the...
View ArticleNewsFlash! Use Final Action Chart in February 2019 Visa Bulletin for...
As predicted, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated its adjustment of status filing charts webpage to indicate that only the less favorable final action (FA) chart can be...
View ArticleOnline Fee Calculator Added to USCIS Website
A new online fee calculator has been added to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website to help stakeholders properly calculate the amount owed when applying for certain immigration...
View ArticleFebruary 2019 Visa Bulletin Check-In: Insight into Cause of EB3 India Movement
Most months, Charles Oppenheim, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, provides visa bulletin explanations and predictions. Predictions for cutoff date...
View ArticleNewsFlash! Deal Reached to Temporarily End Government Shutdown
President Trump has agreed to support a bill that would reopen the government through February 15, 2019. Congress is expected to quickly pass the bill, perhaps as soon as sometime this evening. The...
View ArticleNewsFlash! USCIS Resumes Premium Processing for FY19 Cap Subject H1B Petitions
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that, beginning Monday, January 28, 2019, premium processing will resume for all fiscal year 2019 (FY19) H1B cap cases, including the...
View ArticleAnswers to Some Questions for N-400 Interview May Change after Elections
When a foreign national applies for U.S. citizenship, the individual typically must pass a civics test prior to approval of the application for naturalization (form N-400). There are 100 possible...
View ArticleDHS Publishes Final Rule for H1B Preregistration – FY 2020 Not Affected
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted a final rule reversing the order by which the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) selects H1B petitions under the H1B regular cap and the...
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