Berardi Blog

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. […]

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has recently released a series of promotional materials as part of the Citizenship Public Education and Awareness Initiative. This media campaign builds on a similar effort from 2011 and is being launched under the Task Force on New Americans. The initiative to “promote the naturalization process” was also […]

Over the last six weeks, BIL has met an impressive 34 clients at the Peace Bridge port of entry in Buffalo, N.Y., to present applications for temporary employment and admission into the U.S. A majority of these individuals were Canadian clients who were applying for TN and L-1 status to temporarily work and reside in […]

Gabriella Agostinelli is an Associate Attorney here at Berardi Immigration Law. Ms. Agostinelli has a particular expertise in work visa categories (including TN, L-1 and H-1B visas), employment-based and family-based green card applications, and criminal admissibility issues. Ms. Agostinelli also frequently accompanies our clients to present their applications to Customs and Border Protection at the […]

On Tuesday, USCIS issued final guidance on a recent decision requiring new H-1B petitions for workers who change job sites, stating the agency will generally not punish employers that don’t file new petitions based on location changes that occurred before April 9. According to the new guidance, if an H-1B employee was moved to a […]

Jennifer Behm, Esq., is a partner at Berardi Immigration Law. Ms. Behm advises multinational companies and individual clients in all aspects of U.S. immigration law, including nonimmigrant visas, employment and family based green cards, criminal waivers and NAFTA matters, among others. Ms. Behm also frequently accompanies our clients to the Peace Bridge Port-of-Entry in Buffalo, […]

Welcome to Berardi Immigration Law! This year, Berardi Immigration Law celebrates its 10-year anniversary. Managing Partner Rosanna Berardi founded the firm in 2005 with a vision to create a premier U.S. immigration legal services team. Her vision was realized, as Berardi Immigration Law is now a respected firm across the globe known for its knowledge, […]

On May 26, 2015, USCIS temporarily suspended its 15-day premium processing service for Form I-129 H-1B extension of stay petitions. The purpose of this suspension was to allow the agency to implement its final rule regarding employment authorization for certain H-4 spouses. While USCIS originally suspended the premium processing service until July 27, 2015, the […]

President Barack Obama recently announced that the United States and Cuba will soon reopen embassies in each other’s countries. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Cuba later this summer to take part in re-establishing the embassy there. While diplomatic relations are set to be re-established on July 20, there is not a […]

Recently, one of Berardi Immigration Law’s longtime clients expressed interest in obtaining his Green Card. Our client, a Canadian citizen and L-1 status holder, had just married his U.S. citizen partner of more than five years. As there are different pathways to obtaining a Green Card, Managing Partner Rosanna Berardi discussed the client’s options with […]

USCIS recently released a statement warning about fraudulent phone calls from individuals posing as USCIS officials. Using a technique called “Caller ID spoofing,” sophisticated scammers have been making calls using Caller ID aliases that display misleading or inaccurate phone numbers. During these phone calls, the scammers have been requesting personal information and identifying “issues” in […]