Author: Jeff MacArthur

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of State (DOS) have recently announced dramatic changes coming to the visa bulletin system for the month of October 2015. These changes will allow individuals affected by visa backlogs to begin their immigrant visa paperwork or file for adjustment of status before their priority dates become […]

E-Verify is a program offered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that allows U.S. employers to verify the employment eligibility of new hires. The program is currently being used by 600,000 employers at over 1.9 million hiring sites in the U.S. In 2014, DHS launched a corresponding program for employees, myE-Verify, which helps protect […]

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has recently simplified the process for paying the USCIS Immigrant Fee online in its electronic immigration system. The revised immigrant fee payment process reduces the amount of information necessary for an immigrant to provide to USCIS. In response to customer feedback, anyone can now pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee […]

Berardi Immigration Law has had another successful month at the Peace Bridge. Each of our clients’ petitions was approved, and we presented several interesting cases to Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Below we provide a brief summary of some of these cases in this month’s border recap: TN Reconsideration Our office regularly receives urgent phone […]

The Buffalo Law Journal recently interviewed Berardi Immigration Law’s Managing Partner, Rosanna Berardi, regarding a hot topic in the immigration world: sanctuary cities. In the article, published on August 24, 2015, several Buffalo immigration attorneys discuss the negative and positive aspects of sanctuary cities and the toll they will have this political season. For those […]

On August 17, 2015, USCIS released long-awaited final guidance on the adjudication of the L-1B classification, which permits multinational companies to transfer employees who possess “specialized knowledge” from the companies’ foreign operations to their U.S. operations. Previously, there was little consistent guidance on the definition of “specialized knowledge” and how L-1B petitioners could actually demonstrate […]

On Wednesday, August 12, 2015, U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle vacated a 2008 ruling that extended the Optional Practical Training period for foreign students with STEM degrees by 17 months for an overall work period of 29 months. In the wake of this new ruling, many believe the Obama administration is likely to act […]

As many of you may know, foreign nationals who marry U.S. citizens are entitled to apply for a U.S. green card. However, if a foreign national has been married to the U.S. citizen for less than two years, he or she will only be granted a “conditional” green card from the U.S. government. A conditional […]

Last week, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh C. Johnson announced that the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State, along with certain other federal agencies, will begin introducing a number of additional and revised security criteria for all participants in the Visa Waiver Program. The criteria will apply to new and current members of […]

For all non-Canadian individuals, the immigration process does not simply culminate in an approval from USCIS. Once USCIS gives the green light, foreign nationals must still attend a visa interview at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad. After the interview, the Consular Officer must approve the foreign national’s case and physically issue the visa document. […]