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Berardi Blog

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

  • Pilot Program on Employer Preapprovals to Speed up Visa Process

    In an effort to improve the efficiency of the employment-based visa process, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has unveiled a “known employer” pilot program to test a preapproval process for companies seeking to bring foreign workers into the U.S. Under the pilot, nine companies will be preselected to file applications with USCIS requesting a […]
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  • Employee Spotlight: NAFTA Paralegal Sam Tiranno

    Bringing decades of immigration experience to the team, we are proud to have Samuel J. Tiranno as our NAFTA Paralegal at Berardi Immigration Law. Sam joined the firm about five years ago after an exceptional career in the Immigration Service. After serving as an Immigration Inspector at the Peace Bridge, Sam is now on the […]
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  • Work Period Extended for Foreign STEM Students

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has announced a new rule that will allow certain foreign students with science and technology degrees to extend their optional practical training period by 24 months. The official version of the new regulation was published in the Federal Register on Friday, March 11, 2016 and is predicted to affect […]
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  • New U.S. Embassy in Nine Elms, London

    Slated for completion in late 2016, the new U.S. Embassy in the Nine Elms area of Wandsworth is a current project that will produce a modern, welcoming, safe, and energy efficient embassy for the 21st century. The design of the new facility was opened up to competition and Philadelphia-based architects, Kieran Timberlake, earned the winning […]
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  • E–Visa Processing Changes in Canada

    As of March 1, 2016, Canadian companies seeking to move employees to the U.S. on E-1 and E-2 (Treaty Trade and Investor) visas will benefit from streamlined registration at the U.S. Consulate General in Toronto and additional processing locations across Canada. The improved process will benefit employees of companies with valid registrations and their dependents, […]
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  • Enhancements to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization

    Last month, the U.S. began implementing changes to the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) under the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015. As a result, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have announced enhancements to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) to accommodate these updates. The updated ESTA application form […]
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  • Don’t Delay! H-1B Season is Here!

    H-1B season is once again upon us – H-1B petitions should be filed by April 1, 2016, so don’t delay! Berardi Immigration Law assists numerous clients each year with the preparation and filing of these petitions, and we are now accepting H-1B cases. Each year, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services allots 65,000 regular H-1B cap […]
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  • Further Travel Restrictions for the Visa Waiver Program

    After careful consideration and consultation with the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of State, the Department of Homeland Security has announced that Libya, Somalia, and Yemen will be included as countries of concern, limiting Visa Waiver Program travel for certain individuals who have traveled to these countries since March 1, 2011. For now, […]
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  • FAQ: Continuation of Employment and the 240 Day Rule

    If you are applying for an extension to nonimmigrant, employment status and you file on time, you may be allowed to continue to work while your extension application is pending for a period of up to 240 days. Q: Dear Berardi Immigration Law, My TN status expired on February 1st, 2016. Before that on August 15th, […]
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  • Associate Attorney Gabriella Agostinelli Interviewed by WBFO 88.7 in Segment, “You & the Law: Immigration and Marriage”

    Associate Attorney Gabriella Agostinelli was the featured interview during the All Things Considered Newscast with Mike Desmond last Friday, February 12th in a segment titled, “You & the Law: Immigration and Marriage.” The interview aired on radio station WBFO 88.7 at 5:45 p.m. To listen to the full interview please click here. In the interview, […]
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  • Associate Attorney Gabriella Agostinelli Interviewed by WBFO 88.7 in Segment, “You & the Law: Immigration and Marriage”

    Associate Attorney Gabriella Agostinelli was the featured interview during the All Things Considered Newscast with Mike Desmond last Friday, February 12th in a segment titled, “You & the Law: Immigration and Marriage.” The interview aired on radio station WBFO 88.7 at 5:45 p.m. To listen to the full interview please click here. In the interview, […]
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  • H1-B Visa Portability

    The American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act, (AC21) provides that a non-immigrant with H-1B non-immigrant status may begin working for a new H-1B employer as soon as the new employer files a “non frivolous” H-1B petition on the non-immigrant’s behalf. A “non frivolous” petition is one that is factually or lawfully based. Portability provisions: […]
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  • Renew Expiring U.S. Passports Now!

    The State Department is anticipating a surge in passport demand this year and officials hope to avoid delays for Americans who may not get their passports renewed in time for upcoming travel. The department is expecting more than 17 million new passports and renewals this year, about 1.5 million more than 2015. The Department plans […]
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  • USCIS Proposes New Guidance for Extraordinary Ability Visas

    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services have released draft guidance on how it will consider evidence supporting O-1 immigration applicants, which cover people with extraordinary abilities in science, education, business, athletics, and the arts, by clarifying how it will weigh supporting information for an application. The new guidelines should eliminate some ambiguity on O-1 applications by […]
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  • Congressionally Mandated Changes to the Visa Waiver Program

    The Visa Waiver Program (“VWP”), created to allow individuals of certain pre-approved countries to enter the U.S. without first obtaining a visitor visa, was amended by Congress on December 18, 2015 as a part of the overall omnibus spending bill, H.R.2029. In response to the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, a portion of the […]
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  • Employee Spotlight: Visa Services Coordinator Yvonne Grist

    Yvonne Grist currently holds the position of Visa Services Coordinator with Berardi Immigration Law.  She originally joined the firm in 2010 as Administrative Assistant, and was quickly promoted to Office Administrator.  Her attention to detail and the individual needs of our clients made her an obvious choice to fill this quickly growing area of our […]
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  • Obama Immigration Case in the U.S. Supreme Court

    The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to hear an argument on President Obama’s recent executive action on immigration. Twenty-six states secured a preliminary injunction against the President’s initiatives from a Texas judge in November, putting a halt on the program. The Obama administration then appealed, petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court on November 20th for […]
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  • H-1B Basics: Public Access File

    Maintaining a public access file is an integral part of complying with H-1B laws. The purpose of a public access file is to create a singular file in the employer’s place of business that contains documents that prove the employer is satisfying the minimum legal H-1B requirements. Once a public access file compliance system is […]
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  • Brazil Temporarily Waives Visa Requirements for Travelers

    In the hopes of drawing people to the country for the 2016 Summer Olympics, Brazil is temporarily waiving visa requirements for certain travelers from June 1 to September 18. U.S. tourists, as well as Japanese, Australian, and Canadian passport holders, will be allowed to enter the country for up to 90 days without a visa. […]
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  • H-1B Basics

    “H-1B” is a term you’ll be hearing frequently in the coming months. If you’re a novice on the H-1B, we hope that we can provide you with some helpful tips on this complicated nonimmigrant visa category. Foreign workers may enter the United States through several different kinds of nonimmigrant (temporary) employment-based visas. If a foreign […]
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