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Immigration Law

VisaMap :: Immigration Portal

VisaMap gives both the Immigration Practice Group at Murtha Cullina LLP and its clients a central location to aggregate and share knowledge.
By David Carson

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Last Entry: September 16, 2008 at 14:00:39

Visa Bulletin :: September 2008

Posted on August 18, 2008

Visa Bulletin :: July 2008

Posted on June 12, 2008

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USCIS Q & A ? Extension of OPT Period for Qualified F-1 Students

Posted on May 23, 2008
From USCIS.gov. Supplemental Questions & Answers: Extension of Optional Training Program for Qualified Students The U.S. Department of Homeland Security released an interim final rule on April 4, 2008, extending the period of Optional Practical Training (OPT) from 12 to 29 months for qualified F-1 non-immigrant students...

Visa Bulletin :: June 2008

Posted on May 15, 2008

USCIS Modifies Application for Employment Authorization

Posted on April 24, 2008
From USCIS.gov. WASHINGTON?U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has revised Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. The form now includes additional eligibility codes. These changes have been made in accordance with the Department of Homeland Security’s recent interim final rule regarding Optional Practical Training (OPT), published on April 8, 2008 in the [...

USCIS Announces Automatic Change of Status for F-1 Students with Approved H-1B Petitions

Posted on April 18, 2008
From USCIS.gov. USCIS To Allow F-1 Students Opportunity To Request Change of Status Short-term, Immediate Measure for Beneficiaries of Selected H-1B Petitions WASHINGTON?U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it would allow F-1 students who are the beneficiaries of selected H-1B petitions for fiscal year (FY) 2009 to request a change of status in lieu of [...

USCIS Runs Random Selection Process For H-1B Petitions

Posted on April 14, 2008
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today conducted the computer-generated random selection processes on H-1B petitions, to select which H-1B petitions for fiscal year 2009 (FY 2009) would continue to full adjudication. If approved these H-1B petitions will be eligible to receive an H-1B visa number.

Visa Bulletin :: May 2008

Posted on April 12, 2008

USCIS Releases Preliminary Number Of FY 2009 H-1B Cap Filings

Posted on April 10, 2008
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced a preliminary number of nearly 163,000 H-1B petitions received during the filing period ending on April 7, 2008. More than 31,200 of those petitions were for the advanced degree exemption.

Labor Certification - Specialization FAQs, Round 1

Posted on April 08, 2008
From the US Department of Labor. OFLC announced that effective June 1, 2008 it will centralize the filings of it applications. 73 FR 11954 (March 5, 2008). As of that date, permanent labor certification applications (PERM) will be handled by the Atlanta National Processing Center (NPC), and temporary applications (H-2A, H-2B, etc...

Questions and Answers: Extension of Optional Practical Training Program for Qualified Students

Posted on April 04, 2008
From USCIS.gov. Regulations Relating to Practical Training: What is optional practical training? Optional Practical Training (OPT) is temporary employment that is directly related to an F-1 student?s major area of study. Under the prior rules, an F-1 student could be authorized to receive up to a total of 12 months of practical training either before (pre-) and/or [...

USCIS Announces Interim Rule on H-1B Visas

Posted on March 20, 2008
With less than two weeks until the H-1B Cap opens, USCIS announced some important rule changes. Click on a link below to jump to the relevant document. USCIS Announces Interim Rule on H-1B Visas Rule Fact Sheet: Changes to the FY2009 H-1B Program Interim Final Rule on Duplicate H-1B Petitions A...

Visa Bulletin :: April 2008

Posted on March 16, 2008
From travel.state.gov –

Recent BALCA Decisions

Posted on February 28, 2008
The Labor Department’s Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) issued a number of decisions over the past few weeks. These decisions provide some insight into important labor certification issues.

New Background Check Policy for I-485 Applicants

Posted on February 28, 2008
USCIS recently issued a memorandum revising its requirement that an FBI background check be complete before approving some applications, including I-485 applications. From the memorandum: Where the application is otherwise approvable and the FBI name check request has been pending for more than 180 days, the adjudicator shall approve the I-485, I-601, I-687, or I-698 and proceed [...

Higher Civil Fines Against Employers Announced

Posted on February 26, 2008
The Department of Justice announced higher fines for employers who violate immigration laws. There is nothing extraordinary about the fine increase - fines were increased to keep pace with inflation.

Form I-130s Filed With the Chicago Lockbox

Posted on February 19, 2008
All stand-alone I-130 petitions should now be filed with the Chicago Lockbox according to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The Chicago Lockbox is two post office boxes in Chicago (listed below). Because some couriers will not ship to a post office box, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) also obtained the Chicago Lockbox [...

Visa Bulletin :: March 2008

Posted on February 18, 2008

USCIS Consolidates Biometrics Appointments for I-485 Applicants

Posted on February 15, 2008
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that effective today it will begin consolidating biometrics collection when employment-based adjustment of status applications and employment authorization requests are filed at the same time at one of the Service Centers...

USCIS Hints for Filing a FY 2009 H-1B Cap Case

Posted on February 04, 2008
From USCIS.gov. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), anticipating that April 1, 2008 will see a repeat of the mass filings from last year, wishes to offer this list of measures the petitioner can take to ensure that their petition is correctly filed.

Centralized Filing Location for Cap-Exempt H-1B Petitioners

Posted on February 03, 2008
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today a new customer service initiative to streamline the adjudication of H-1B petitions. Effective immediately, USCIS will employ a special unit dedicated to processing these types of H-1B cap exempt petitions at the USCIS California Service Center (CSC)...

India Employment Second Preference Becomes ?Unavailable? in February Visa Bulletin

Posted on January 09, 2008
The February 2008 Visa Bulletin was just released and the annual limit for the India EB-2 preference category has become “unavailable”. From the notes of the bulletin, Despite two retrogressions of the India Employment Second preference cut-off date, demand for numbers by CIS Offices for adjustment of status cases has remained extremely high in recent months...

Visa Bulletin :: February 2008

Posted on January 09, 2008

India Employment Second Preference Cut-Off Date Retrogression

Posted on December 18, 2007
[Update January 9th, 2008 ] The February 2008 Visa Bulletin was just released and retrogression continued in the EB-2 category for nationals of India. Read about the retrogression, by following this link. We recently posted the January 2008 Visa Bulletin from the State Department...

DOL Backlog Elimination FAQ :: December 2007

Posted on December 18, 2007
The latest round of FAQs on Backlog Elimination from the Department of Labor (DOL) has been reproduced below. The original pdf version is available here (.pdf). See http://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/ for prior DOL Backlog Elimination FAQs. Backlog Elimination Frequently Asked Questions Round 8 December 2007 1...

Visa Bulletin :: January 2008

Posted on December 14, 2007

?No-Match? Rule Blocked (Updated Nov. 24, 2007)

Posted on November 24, 2007
[UPDATE : October 10, 2007] "No-Match" Rule blocked by California court. "...if allowed to proceed, the mailing of no-match letters, accompanied by DHS?s guidance letter, would result in irreparable harm to innocent workers and employers."

Visa Bulletin :: December 2007

Posted on November 14, 2007

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