Category: US Citizenship

COVID-19 is having a vast impact on immigration operations across all government agencies. To help navigate these challenges, Berardi Immigration Law is providing a summary with the most recent updates from US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Customs and Border Protection, the Department of State, and the Department of Labor.  Updates from USCIS  Premium processing suspended […]

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) requires naturalization applicants to demonstrate good moral character (GMC). Some offenses, such as murder and aggravated felony, can permanently bar applicants from establishing GMC. Lesser offenses can conditionally bar applicants from proving GMC, requiring them to wait until they have established the statutory period without an offense to reapply […]

Who is an “Accidental American”?  There are on occasion individuals born inside the United States to non-U.S. parents or individuals born outside the United States to U.S. citizen parents, are often unaware of their status as U.S. citizens for years.   These individuals are commonly referred to as “Accidental Americans.”  While this can initially feel quite exiting for […]

Every fiscal year, approximately 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas are made available to qualified applicants under the provisions of US immigration law. Employment based immigrant visas are divided into five preference categories. These five preference categories include priority workers and persons with extraordinary ability, professionals holding advanced degrees and persons of exceptional ability, skilled workers, professionals, […]

President Trump’s October 4th Proclamation has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge.  If allowed, it would require those seeking U.S. visas to obtain approved health insurance within 30 days of entry if they are not able to cover their own healthcare expenses. Judge Michael Simon, a Federal District Judge in Portland, Oregon, issued a nationwide temporary […]

On October 4, 2019, President Trump issued a proclamation that will require legal immigrants to gain approved health insurance coverage within 30 days of their entry to the U.S, unless they can prove that they are in a financial position that allows them to cover their own foreseeable medical expenses...

On October 11, 2019, three federal courts prevented the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from implementing the new DHS Public Charge final rule. The rulings came from...

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued the final public charge rule last month, and it will go into effect this coming Tuesday, October 15, 2019. With this new change, individuals who are likely to rely on public benefits while in the U.S. could be denied either admission to the country or an adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident...

The United States in one of 30 countries around the world that offers birthright citizenship to any person born on U.S. soil. Birth in the United States is the most straightforward way one can acquire U.S. citizenship, but it is not the only way...

Obtaining lawful permanent resident status by marriage to a U.S. citizen is a multi-step process. The first step of the marriage-based Green Card process involves the filing of Form I-130, Petition for Alien Resident, by the U.S. Citizen spouse...