Immigration News from Murthy.com

2010 Diversity Visa Lottery Registration begins Oct 2, 2008 The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has announced that it will accept 2010 Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery applications from 12:00 noon Eastern Daylight Time on October 2, 2008 to 12:00 noon Eastern Standard Time on December 1, 2008. The only way to apply is through the DOS online system, which will be available at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov/, once the lottery registration begins. The DV Lottery Program is limited to persons from countries that are not well represented through other forms of immigration. Detailed instructions for the prior year's lottery are available on the DOS WebSite. These instructions are for FY2009; not 2010. Therefore, they should be viewed only as a guideline at this time. The FY2010 instructions should be followed, once published. OPT Employment Options for Students In clarifying the employment options for students during their periods of Optional Practical Training (OPT), whether it is the standard post-completion OPT or pre-completion OPT, MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers may find it helpful to reread our April 9, 2008 NewsFlash, F-1 OPT Interim Final Rule of April 8, 2008 - Summary and Analysis and subsequent articles on this topic. A revised rule on OPT went into effect on April 8, 2008. The rule addresses the need for persons on OPT to remain employed in order to be regarded as maintaining status. Reduction in FBI Security Delay Cases The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the CIS Ombudsman recently announced progress in reducing the number of pending Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) name checks for foreign nationals seeking immigration benefits. The DHS's September 9, 2008 press release is available online.