Berardi Blog

In a letter to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) has informed the court that a proposed regulation to rescind the H-4 employment authorization is not likely to be published in the Federal Register…

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) encourages first time TN and L1 applicants to go to one designated ports of entry where applicants will receive optimized processing. There are fourteen total ports designated for optimized processing. This includes the Peace Bridge…

Natural catastrophes, such as extreme weather, can affect the processing of your USCIS application, petition, immigration request, or USCIS appointment. USCIS has the discretion to take the following measures, upon request, if you have been affected by…

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…

USCIS announced yesterday the fee involved with the newly required electronic registration of H-1B cap petitioners. The fee is $10 for each electronic registration, and it is intended to recover the costs spent on the new H-1B registration system. The proposed fee for electronic registration is…

As summer break comes to an end for many F-1 international students, it is important to keep in mind a few tips for a smooth entry into the U.S. for the upcoming school semester. When you re-enter at a U.S. Port of Entry, you should carry the following documents: your valid passport…

The E-2 treaty investor visa is a nonimmigrant visa that allows investors from treaty countries to work in the U.S. through their investment in a U.S. enterprise. To qualify for an E-2 visa, the enterprise must be bona fide and the investment must be a significant percentage of the value of the enterprise…

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…

Those looking to invest in the U.S. or those who work for a business that is at lease 50% owned by citizens of the same treaty company may be eligible for an E Visa. Our office regularly helps owners and employees navigate their E visa options and have collected these important facts…

Whether you are pursuing a marriage based green card, immigrating for your work, or being sponsored by a family member, obtaining a visa to enter the United States can be a time-consuming, stressful, and frustrating process. Every step of the way…

The new Foreign Labor Application Gateway, “FLAG”, has been adding new filing capabilities in the past few months. Next on the to-do list is moving H-1B filing over to FLAG, along with filings for H-1B1 and E-3 programs. The shift is scheduled for later this year…

Taking your oath to receive U.S. citizenship is an important moment, one many wish to share with the people in their life that supported them along the way. We want you to have the best experience possible for the day of your ceremony, so we collected the following tips for inviting guests…

A new rule from USCIS, published July 24th, implemented significant changes to the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program. The changes will take effect November 21stof this year. USCIS reports that the changes were necessary…

Associate Attorney with Berardi Immigration Law, Zach Ahlstrom, recently had a successful TN application presented by one of our clients to Customs and Border Protection located at the Peace Bridge port of entry in Buffalo, New York. This client was applying under the Graphic Design designation. In order to qualify under this designation, the beneficiary […]

USCIS has announced that it will begin implementing an updated naturalization test beginning December 2020 or early 2021. In order to naturalize, candidates must demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of U.S. civics and the English language by passing a naturalization test.   In December 2018, USCIS formed a naturalization test revision working group with members from […]

On March 1, 2019, USCIS reported that I-539 applications filed concurrently with a qualifying I-129 petition will no longer be eligible for premium processing. USCIS announced the change was necessary to accommodate wait time on the biometrics appointments necessary for the Form I-539 adjudication…

Today, Kevin K. McAleenan, the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, announced a new designation of aliens subject to expedited removal that applies to certain aliens encountered anywhere in the country within two years of illegal entry. Use of expedited removal pursuant to the new designation is expected to alleviate some of the burden and capacity […]

The Department of State (DOS) releases the Visa Bulletin every month which summarizes the availability of immigrant visa numbers. The Visa Bulletin is used to determine when a foreign national’s green card application is eligible to move forward.  DOS has recently released the August 2019 visa bulletin which contains notable retrogressions in employment-based (EB) categories.  […]

Associate Attorney with Berardi Immigration Law, Zach Ahlstrom, recently had a successful TN application presented by one of our clients to Customs and Border Protection located at the Peace Bridge port of entry in Buffalo, New York. This client was applying under the Economist designation. In order to qualify under this designation, the beneficiary must […]

Congratulations to our clients, Ted and Austhin, who recently completed the marriage-based green card process and were successfully approved! Ted is a U.S. citizen and Austhin is a citizen of Indonesia. Austhin recently received her ten-year green card with the help of our firm after filing an approved Form I-130 and attending an immigrant visa […]