Statutes of Liberty

What does USCIS's new approach to adjustment of status mean for green card applicants, and how does it reshape the choice between staying in the U.S. and processing abroad? In this episode of Statutes of Liberty, host and Senior Associate at Klasko Immigration Law Partners, Natalia Gouz, is joined by Partner Jessica DeNisi, who brings additional insight from her background with the U.S. Department...

Your organization enrolled in E-Verify to strengthen compliance, but could that same program now be the source of your next government audit? In the final episode of Klasko Immigration Law Partners' Worksite Compliance mini-series, host Nick Lowrey, Senior Associate in Klasko's Washington, D.C. office, is joined by John Fay, Director of Product Strategy at Equifax Workforce Solutions. With two dec...

What happens when Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) serves your company with an I-9 Notice of Inspection, and what should employers do in those critical first hours? In the third episode of our Worksite Compliance series, host Nick Lowrey is joined by John Connolly, Senior Managing Director at Guidepost Solutions and former Deputy Executive Associate Director of HSI. Drawing on decades of enf...

How can employers stay ahead of I-9 reverification deadlines and avoid risks associated with the use of electronic I-9 systems and E-Verify ? In  part two of the second episode of our worksite compliance series, host and Senior Associate at Klasko Immigration Law Partners, Natalia Gouz, continues her conversation with Partner and Co-Chair of the Corporate Immigration Practice Group, Elise Fia...

How can employers strengthen their I-9 practices before ICE comes knocking, and what are the biggest compliance risks companies overlook? In the first part of our next episode in our worksite compliance series, host and Senior Associate at Klasko Immigration Law Partners, Natalia Gouz sits down with Partner and Co-Chair of the Corporate Immigration Practice Group, Elise Fialkowski, to break down t...

What makes an employer a target for ICE enforcement, and what should you do if agents show up at your workplace? In the first episode of our worksite compliance series, host Nick Lowrey is joined by Klasko’s Partner-in-Charge of the DC office, Tim D’Arduini , to break down how ICE and Homeland Security Investigations identify employers for enforcement actions. They discuss high-risk in...

Worksite immigration enforcement is on the rise—and employers need to be ready. In this special relaunch episode of Statutes of Liberty , Klasko Immigration Law Partners introduces a new series focused on one of the most pressing issues facing organizations today: immigration compliance and enforcement preparedness. Across four focused episodes, Klasko attorneys and special guests will cover...

An EB-1B visa petition can be very intimidating, especially for scholars, professors, and researchers still early in their careers. However, the category’s ambiguous requirements can be used to the benefit of a foreign national early in their career. In this episode, Klasko EB-1 attorneys Anu Nair, Allie Dempsey, and Nigel James discuss how they would advise clients on strengthening their cases fo...

With a large wave of layoffs reported in November 2022, many H-1B visa holders worry about what their next steps should be. In this podcast episode, Anu Nair speaks with partner Bill Stock and senior associate Maria Mihaylova to discuss the potential impact of recent layoffs occurring in the different industries and how they affect H-1B employees. As concerns rise for H-1B employees, Klasko attorn...

Ron Klasko and Dan Lundy, both partners with Klasko Immigration Law Partners, talk with Anu Nair about a major litigation victory on which they were co-counsel. The litigation is significant because USCIS had put restrictions on the EB-5 regional center program that went beyond what Congress intended when it reinstated the program in March 2022, which would have killed the program for years. Anu N...

On Friday, June 24, 2022, a federal district court judge ordered a nationwide preliminary injunction, which has since reopened the EB-5 regional center program for regional centers. In this episode, Klasko EB-5 attorneys discuss the latest updates to the EB-5 regional center program and what that means for investors, developers, and brokers. They will also address what role they played in this lit...

Do you have an exceptional or extraordinary ability in science, medicine, arts, business, or in another common field? If so, the EB-1 visa may be for you. During this episode, Klasko’s EB-1 attorney team discusses the fundamentals of EB-1, gives an overview on how to prepare for a successful EB-1 petition, and covers ways to increase your chances of approval. Klasko’s EB-1 attorney team Anu Nair,...

William (Bill) Stock, Michele Madera, and Andrew (Drew) Zeltner sit down and discuss common questions and scenarios foreign nationals in the U.S. encounter about which side hustles might cause issues with status violations. This is an updated version of an episode published in February 2019 (Episode 12:  Avoiding Status Violations in the Side Gig Economy.) In this episode, the Klasko attorney...

What does it take to qualify for an EB-1 visa? The Klasko EB-1 team discusses the criteria that might qualify the fictional main character from Netflix’s hit miniseries The Queen’s Gambit , Beth Harmon. The series follows Beth as she rises to the top of the competitive chess field. EB-1 attorney Allie Dempsey and EB-1 team editor Steve Miller, with EB-1 practice partner Anu Nair, discu...

The Biden Administration brought an Obama-era program back to life that was nearly another casualty of Trump’s restrictive immigration actions. Biden reversed Trump’s elimination of the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER - also known as International Entrepreneur Parole or the “Startup Visa”) in May 2021 in the hopes of fostering economic development and job growth in the...

The third and final episode in a three-part series about problems in the EB-5 investor program and how we assist our clients in resolving the problems, this episode covers litigation options. If we are not able to resolve investors’ problems, project problems or regional center issues, judicial review in federal court might be the answer. The Klasko EB-5 team is a recognized leader in succes...

The second in a three-part series about problems in the EB-5 immigrant investor program and how we assist our clients in resolving the problems, this episode covers issues relating to regional centers. When the USCIS attempts to terminate a regional center, there are methods to defend against those actions. The Klasko EB-5 team is adept at successfully resolving complicated issues the regional cen...

The first in a three-part series about problems in the EB-5 immigrant investor program and how we assist our clients in resolving the problems, this episode covers issues specifically related to investment projects. Between COVID, the slow economy, delays and fraud in the program, many projects have encountered problems that affect immigrant investors. The Klasko EB-5 team is adept at successfully...

Nearly one year into the COVID-19 pandemic and many US green card holders are facing a difficult dilemma: risk losing their permanent resident status (and green card) or defy travel restrictions and put their and others’ health at risk. There are options to re-enter the US to maintain permanent resident status, of course with many considerations for specific situations. Klasko employment-bas...

COVID-19 has impacted U.S. immigration significantly in 2020 and will continue to affect immigration well into 2021. In addition, a new presidential administration is moving into the White House in less than two weeks. In this episode, Anu, Ron, and Karuna discuss how EB-5 has been affected by the pandemic and the administration’s restrictions, and what might be expected from Biden’s a...

The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over, with many countries implementing second or third lockdowns to contain virus surges. The holiday season often means people travel all over the world to visit family abroad. Not only is spreading the virus a concern but what travel challenges will there be from an immigration perspective? Karuna Simbeck sits down with Elise Fialkowski and Jessica DeNisi to dis...

Now that the 2020 presidential election is over, we have a new administration coming to the White House in January 2021. President-elect Biden has a lot on his plate on day one. With a raging pandemic, and a divided country, where does immigration policy fall on his list of priorities? What can he do to unwind Trump’s four years of restrictive actions? What can we expect Biden to implement i...

In this second episode of a two-part series, Ron, Anu, and Drew dive deeper into the different ways the Trump administration has waged a coordinated attack on the legal immigration system. In part one ( Episode 14: What is Legal Immigration? ), they covered the different legal pathways for immigration, focusing on the employment-based options. Over the last four years, the administration has set a...

Since COVID-19, most immigrant and nonimmigrant U.S. visas have been suspended, however, E-2 visas are NOT included in the bans, which make them a very lucrative option for many foreign national investors. In late 2017, Ron Klasko pioneered an innovative solution to help Chinese investors deal with the growing EB-5 quota backlog: an E-2 visa with a citizenship-by-investment in a 3rd qualifying cou...

The president’s proclamation in June 2020 banned much of immigration-related travel and many visas during the COVID-19 pandemic. Are all of these bans necessary to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus? Who can actually travel to the U.S. right now? What visas are banned, and what are the exemptions to the ban? Klasko Immigration Law Partners Michele Madera and Bill Stock answer these que...