Skip to main content

Berardi Blog

The Berardi Immigration Law blog – find all our posts here.

  • Breaking News: Trump Administration Announces End to DACA Program

    The Trump Administration formally announced this morning that it will end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA), which allows young undocumented immigrants to stay in the United States. The program currently protects an estimated 800,000 people known as “DREAMers,” who entered the country illegally as children. The DACA program was formed through executive […]
    Read More
  • Breaking News: USCIS to Expand Interviews for All Employment-based Adjustment of Status Applicants

    USCIS announced yesterday that beginning on October 1, 2017, they will begin expanding in-person interviews for applicants moving from an employment-based nonimmigrant status to Lawful Permanent Resident status through the filing of an Adjustment of Status (Form I-485) application. This change comes as part of President Trump’s Executive Order 13780, “Protecting the Nation from Foreign […]
    Read More
  • In-Depth Analysis: The RAISE Act

    A few weeks ago, President Trump endorsed the Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment Act (RAISE Act). The new bill, which was introduced by Senators Tom Cotton (Ark.) and David Perdue (Ga.), outlines a 10-year plan to cut current immigration levels by 50 percent. The following is a breakdown of the Act’s major components: Elimination […]
    Read More
  • Travel Update: Nonimmigrant Visa Issuance Suspended at U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Russia

    The Russian Government recently imposed a personnel cap on the U.S. mission in Russia. As a result, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates now lack the personnel to handle the normal influx of nonimmigrant visa (NIV) applicants, and NIV issuance has been temporarily suspended beginning Aug. 23, 2017. Operations are set to resume on Sept. 1 […]
    Read More
  • Travel Update: Foreign Visitors No Longer Need to Complete Paper Form I-94/I-94W

    If arriving by air or sea, foreign nationals traveling to the U.S. no longer need to complete paper Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record or Form I-94W Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver Arrival/Departure Record. Upon arrival, a CBP officer will stamp the travel document of each arriving non-immigrant with the admission date, the class […]
    Read More
  • The H-2B and the American Economy

    The H-2B visa program enables U.S. employers to fill temporary nonagricultural jobs with foreign nationals. However, the petitioning employer must meet specific regulatory requirements. To qualify, the petitioner must show that: There are not enough U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified and available to fill the temporary positions; Employing the H-2B workers will not […]
    Read More
  • Challenges Facing CBP and ICE in Hiring New Officers

    On January 25, President Trump ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to hire an additional 15,000 law enforcement officers. Since then, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) has been conducting a special report to determine whether that is even possible. So what did the OIG find? The OIG has determined that without comprehensive staffing […]
    Read More
  • Rotary Club of Buffalo

    On August 14, 2017, Managing Partner of Berardi Immigration Law Rosanna Berardi was invited to be the featured speaker at the Rotary Club of Buffalo’s weekly meeting. The Rotary Club of Buffalo was founded in 1911 and was the Rotary International’s 28th club in the world. The Rotary Club of Buffalo currently has 150 active members. […]
    Read More
  • Berardi Immigration Law Unveils Brand New Website

    Berardi Immigration Law has recently unveiled a brand new website with a completely different look and feel. We wanted to be sure our website was as easy to navigate as possible and was also a source of information for our clients. We invite you to spend some time on our new website and check out […]
    Read More
  • Privacy at the Border

    Our lives are extensively documented on phones, laptops and in the cloud. These devices carry records of private conversations, photos, medical documents, banking information, travel history, internet browsing history and much more. Some of this information is very personal and it can be sensitive to many travelers entering the United States. With the number of […]
    Read More
  • President Trump Endorses New Immigration Bill Calling for Merit-based System

    President Trump has endorsed a new bill that will cut current immigration levels by 50 percent over a 10-year period. The Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment Act (RAISE Act) was introduced by Senators Tom Cotton (Ark.) and David Perdue (Ga.). It is a modified version of a bill introduced in April that sought to […]
    Read More
  • Consequences of Withdrawing Marriage-based Green Card Applications

    One of the underlying rationales driving immigration policy in the United States is family unity. The law allows U.S. citizens to petition for certain qualified relatives. If approved, this petition would permit a spouse, unmarried child under the age of 21 or a parent to come and live permanently in the U.S. These immediate relatives […]
    Read More
  • Premium Processing Resumed for Certain Cap-Exempt Petitions

    Premium processing has been suspended for all H-1B petitions since April 3, 2017. The program was put on hold in an effort to reduce overall H-1B processing times. A high volume of premium processing requests over the past few years put a strain on USCIS making it difficult to process long-pending petitions and to prioritize […]
    Read More
  • U.S. Lifts Laptop Ban on Inbound Flights

    Back in March, the United States banned passengers from carrying laptops onboard U.S.-bound flights from certain airports in the Middle East and North Africa. Four months later, the controversial travel restrictions have been lifted. Why did the Trump Administration impose the laptop ban? The United States was not the only country to place specific travel […]
    Read More
  • Travel Ban Update: New Compromise

    The Supreme Court has announced a new compromise over President Trump’s travel ban. The government may enforce tight restrictions on refugees, but it must also adhere to the expanded definition of close familial relationship, which was handed down by Hawaii District Court Judge Derrick Watson last week. What has happened since the Supreme Court got […]
    Read More
  • Travel Ban’s Definition of ‘Close Familial Relationship’ Expanded

    On June 26, President Trump’s travel ban was reinstated, in part. The Supreme Court granted the government’s request to stay lower court injunctions, but it added an important detail. According to the Court, the travel ban may not be enforced against foreign nationals who have a credible claim of a bona fide relationship to a […]
    Read More
  • Global Entry Expanded to Citizens of India

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced the expansion of Global Entry eligibility to citizens of India, making it the 11th country overall with which CBP has a trusted traveler arrangement. Other participating countries include Argentina, Colombia, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Panama, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Canada. What […]
    Read More
  • Converting an E-2 Visa into a Green Card

    E-2 Visa Background The E-2 visa category is reserved for foreign investors. It enables a national of a treaty country to be admitted to the U.S. when investing a substantial amount of capital in a U.S. business. To qualify, the treaty investor must meet a few basic requirements: The investor must be a national of […]
    Read More
  • The PERM Process: Lawfully Rejecting U.S. Workers

    PERM Labor Certification Process The EB-2 (with the exception of National Interest Waivers) and EB-3 visa categories require a U.S. employer to obtain a labor certification. This is done through Program Electronic Review Management (PERM). Under PERM regulations, a petitioning employer must first conduct a series of recruitment activities to test the labor market. If […]
    Read More
  • What to Keep in Mind During NAFTA Renegotiations

    One of the critical debates surrounding the original NAFTA negotiations was the impact the treaty would have on U.S. labor markets. Many feared that millions of U.S. jobs would be lost to competition. Labor costs are cheaper in Mexico, so U.S. companies move factories there to take advantage. This idea is what fueled President Trump’s […]
    Read More

Do you have questions?

Want to know if our team is a good fit for your needs?

Contact Us

Recent Blog Posts

Our Services