Author: Jeff MacArthur

The new rule published by USCIS eases the impact of I-140 petition revocations and codifies certain longstanding agency policies on I-140 job portability. These benefits are intended to ease restrictions on job mobility for foreign workers, especially from India and China, during their U.S. employment-based immigration process. The rule codifies USCISs interpretations of two key […]

Shortly after USCIS announced plans last week for increased enforcement efforts against H-1B employers, the U.S. Department of Labor also issued its own news release summarizing how it will help detect H-1B fraud and abuse. The DOL plans to protect U.S. workers from H-1B program discrimination by providing “greater transparency and oversight.” The DOL memo […]

On Monday, April 3, USCIS released a memo announcing multiple measures to further deter and detect H-1B visa fraud and abuse. Protecting American workers by combating fraud in the employment-based immigration programs is a top priority of USCIS. The memo states, “The H-1B Visa Program should help U.S. companies recruit highly-skilled foreign nationals when there […]

One of the ways that USCIS ensures employers are H-1B compliant is through site visits. A site visit occurs when an immigration officer visits the worksite of selected H-1B foreign nationals. These site visits are generally chosen at random and are unannounced, meaning that H-1B employers and employees should be prepared for such potential visits […]

The Department of Homeland Security has recently published a memo unveiling a webpage with a summary of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) enforcement actions related to inadmissibles, apprehensions, arrests of individuals with criminal convictions, and individuals who have been apprehended multiple times crossing the border illegally. CBP is the nation’s largest federal law enforcement agency […]

The United States recently announced that it would impose a ban on certain electronic devices from being carried in the cabin of commercial airlines on flights from specific, predominantly Muslim countries. The new restrictions affect nine airlines flying from 10 airports in Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates […]

On March 27, 2017, Managing Partner of Berardi Immigration Law, Rosanna Berardi, was asked to be the featured speaker for the Amherst Republican Women’s monthly meeting. The Amherst Republican Women’s Group is a division of the Erie County Federation of Republican Women, created in 2012. This organization encourages and supports the candidacy of Republican women […]

On January 17, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began implementing its amended regulations regarding certain employment-based immigrant and nonimmigrant visa programs. The government published its final rule regarding the proposed changes in November 2016. The final rule provides the text of the new and revised regulatory language as well as DHSs responses to […]

The L-1 category for intracompany transferees is available to individuals who have worked on a full-time basis for at least one year in the three years preceding the petition for a foreign corporation with a parent, subsidiary, branch or affiliate in the U.S. Foreign Employment Requirements Qualifying Capacity The applicant must qualify in a capacity […]

QUESTIONS TO ASK ABOUT THE PROPOSED MERGER/ACQUISITION: How is the deal to be structured? Is it a merger or a spin-off where employees will have a new employer with a different FEIN? Is it a stock purchase? Is it an asset acquisition where no liabilities are being assumed? Is it a successor in interest where […]