The firm's U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Law Group currently consists of three attorneys and an experienced, highly motivated, professional team of paralegals and internationally-trained attorneys. The Immigration Law Group's heads, Anthony Siliato and of counsel Jerard Gonzalez, are both highly experienced within their respective fields of specialization and enjoy extremely positive and well-earned reputations. Both are well-known for handling complex corporate and litigation-related matters.
Immigration Attorney Anthony F. Siliato, the founder of Meyner and Landis' Immigration Law Group, has been practicing Immigration Law for more than 25 years. He is chiefly responsible for the firm's business and corporate-related immigration matters which involve the recruitment, hiring, transfer and retention of international personnel worldwide. In addition, Mr. Siliato counsels business clients in the areas of immigration-related compliance, investigations and immigration due diligence for corporate mergers and acquisitions.
In servicing the immigration-related needs of employers in a full spectrum of industries including, hospitality, pharmaceutical, health care, travel, manufacturing, multi-media and technology, Mr. Siliato either partners with in-house counsel or human resource personnel, or manages their foreign national personnel program entirely, in obtaining temporary and permanent (green card) visas for business, scientific, managerial and executive personnel. Through his substantial experience with all work-related visa classifications (H-1B, H-2B, H-3, L-1A, L-1B, E-1, E-2, TN, O, P), he is able to provide both short-term and long-term strategic guidance in the employer/employee relationship. His representation also includes that of outstanding researchers, extraordinary ability foreign nationals and those seeking national interest waivers. For more information on temporary and permanent visas for business, please contact us by way of email at immigrationinfo@meyner.com.
In addition to securing visas, Mr. Siliato advises clients on corporate regulatory compliance. Recent developments show that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Department of Labor have stepped up their efforts in worksite enforcement. These efforts include increased audits of I-9 files and H-1B Public Access files. Such audits, at times, result in employer sanctions for I-9 and other employment-related violations. In extreme circumstances, criminal penalties have been imposed on corporate officers with control over the activities which form the basis for the employer's liability. Mr. Siliato consults corporate and business clients on I-9 compliance, record-keeping, and electronic (including E-verify) verification requirements to remain compliant with the law. Mr. Siliato also advises clients on safe harbor procedures for employers which receive social security mismatch letters. By taking certain steps in a timely fashion, an employer may avoid sanctions from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for employing individuals unauthorized to work in the U.S. For more information on immigration and corporate regulatory compliance, please contact us by way of email at immigrationinfo@meyner.com.
In addition to his inbound visa practice, Mr. Siliato regularly provides guidance on global immigration issues worldwide. In that connection, the firm's Global Immigration Law Group is progressively developing an international network of immigration specialists who regularly assist in providing information, guidance and assistance to our clients on the full spectrum of immigration law matters worldwide. In such relationships, Mr. Siliato maintains direct contact with the foreign nationals and their respective multinational employers, as well as maintaining a careful oversight of all such transactions. At present, our firm has developed (or is in the process of developing) relationships with affiliated counsel in the following countries: United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Ireland, Mexico, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Germany, China, Singapore, India, Hong Kong, Dubai, Egypt, Uruguay, Chile and Brazil. For more information on global immigration, please contact us by way of email at immigrationinfo@meyner.com.
A past chair of the New Jersey Chapter of the American immigration lawyers Association (AILA), Mr. Siliato remains an active member of AILA, serving as a mentor in employment-related immigration matters. He is a frequent speaker on employment-related immigration and has developed and performed numerous in-house training programs for clients and human resource personnel on many topics, including The Most Commonly Used Working Visa Classifications, The Road to the Green Card through PERM and I-9 Compliance. His authored works include Strategies To Expedite Employment of Foreign Nationals, and Common Pitfalls that Delay or Interrupt Employment, Seminar Material, National Business Institute, October 2006.
Mr. Siliato currently serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the International Institute of New Jersey, a non-profit organization whose mission statement is to help immigrants and refugees build full and productive lives in the United States and work to ensure their fair and equitable treatment. He was selected as a Super Lawyer in the area of Immigration Law by New Jersey Monthly Magazine (2008).
Specifically, Mr. Siliato handles matters dealing with the following issues:
- Immigration and Naturalization
- Business and Corporate
- Employment-Based (E-1, E-2, H, L, TN, O, P visas)
- Consular Processing
- Labor Certifications (PERM)
- Extraordinary Ability / National Interest Waivers / Outstanding Researchers
- Adjustment of Status
- I-9/E-Verify Compliance
- Employer Sanctions
- Family / Fiancé
- General
- Investor
- Medical
- Naturalization
- Outbound Immigration to Countries Abroad
Jerard A. Gonzalez, of counsel, is chiefly responsible for the firm's immigration practice before the Immigration and Federal Courts. Mr. Gonzalez is the past Chair of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association ("AILA"). He is a former Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor and a former Assistant District Counsel with the United States Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service in Newark, NJ. As Assistant District Counsel, Mr. Gonzalez handled asylum cases, criminal alien cases and complex cases of national security before the Executive Office For Immigration Review.
In addition to his corporate immigration practice, Mr. Gonzalez' practice has a special emphasis in providing defense in removal proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the Board of Immigration Appeals and Federal Court, as well as providing advice on the immigration consequences of criminal pleas. In addition to handling his own criminal cases, Mr. Gonzalez has successfully worked with other defense counsel in negotiating pleas in criminal court that would permit the respective foreign national client to legally remain in the United States. Mr. Gonzalez has also successfully vacated convictions for foreign nationals who were not properly apprised of the immigration consequences of their guilty pleas. Mr. Gonzalez has lectured on the immigration consequences of criminal activities on behalf of the Federal Bar Association, the Institute for Continuing Legal Education ("ICLE") and the Bergen County Bar Association. Specifically, Mr. Gonzalez handles the following issues:
- Federal Court Litigation (Habeas Corpus and Petitions for Review)
- Criminal Defense (State and Federal)
- Deportation/Removal
- Employment Based (E-1, E-2, H, L, TN, O, P visas)
- Labor Certifications
- Extraordinary Ability / National Interest Waivers / Outstanding Researchers
- Adjustment of Status
- Family / Fiancé / Battered Spouse
- Political Asylum
- General
- Medical
- Naturalization
Scott R. Malyk is a senior associate with the firm's Global Immigration Law Group specializing in all aspects of corporate and business-related immigration law. Mr. Malyk is a graduate of Lafayette College and Seton Hall University School of Law. Mr. Malyk is licensed to practice in New Jersey and New York and was recently named one of the "Top Young Lawyers In New Jersey" by New Jersey Monthly Magazine.
The immigration attorneys at Meyner and Landis LLP-Anthony F. Siliato, Jerard A. Gonzalez and Scott R. Malyk are prepared to handle the most complex immigration case or concern, including providing a criminal defense for people facing charges in criminal immigration proceedings and immigration deportation law, including removal proceedings.
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The firm offers fixed fees for most applications or petitions. Our fees on complex immigration matters are generally based on our usual time charges for attorneys and paralegals involved.
For a free evaluation and estimate of your case, please complete our Immigration Intake Form.
With offices in Newark and Hackensack, New Jersey, Meyner and Landis LLP is ideally situated for providing immigration services for businesses and individuals throughout the state of New Jersey. However, as U.S. Immigration is, of course, federal in scope, with most adjudications resulting from petitions and applications submitted to the appropriate USCIS or DOL office with jurisdiction over the work site of the employee, our U.S. Immigration Practice is in no way limited to the representation of New Jersey-based employers and employees. Rather, it is national in scope representing multinational employers throughout the country.
