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Rosanna Berardi on Employment Visas – Buffalo Law Journal Oct. 11, 2012

Buffalo Law Journal recently interviewed our Managing Partner, Rosanna Berardi, regarding a hot topic in today’s economy: grim employment figures and a conflicting shortage of skilled workers in the science, medical and IT fields.
In an article published on Thursday, October 11, several Buffalo attorneys commented on a “system that is short-serving the region and hurting foreign nationals as well as businesses.” It discussed how local companies are in need of workers with specific skill sets that are lacking in the U.S.
“There is still a huge need for foreign workers in the U.S.; there just aren’t enough qualified workers in certain industries,” Rosanna stated.
Such companies are forced to recruit internationally to fill these voids, a process that is extremely expensive, time-consuming, and becoming increasingly difficult.
“They would absolutely prefer to hire American workers to fill these jobs, if that were an option,” Rosanna said. “It’s cheaper, it’s faster, but right now, for many of these employers, it doesn’t exist.”
Rosanna stated that the process of securing documentation for a single worker can cost in excess of $5,000 between filing costs and legal fees – and that there is not an absolute guarantee the worker will be successful in obtaining a visa.
“The government is really picky right now about who they will let in,” she said, noting that she has seen applicants face even greater scrutiny within the past 18 months. “They are looking microscopically at the sponsor of the applicant to make sure it is a legitimate employer, doing all kinds of background checks and making sure it is a legitimate job offer.”
View the entire article by clicking here.
Published since 1929, the Buffalo Law Journal is a newspaper of general circulation serving Western New York and is a leading source for public record, legal job listings and stories about law and business in Buffalo and beyond.