Immigration Law 101

Deirdre D. Nero | NERO Immigration Law

Deirdre started her own Immigration & Nationality Law Practice, NERO Immigration Law, in 2009 after having practiced in two large law firms for several years. Ms. Nero previously served as the attorney in charge of the Individual and Small/Medium Company division at the Coral Gables, Florida office of a major international immigration law firm; and prior to that as an attorney in the International and Immigration and Nationality Law Groups for a domestic and international commercial law firm in Florida. She led that firm’s immigration practice from 2006-2008. With 18+ years of experience under her belt, Ms. Nero has helped hundreds of clients from all over the globe navigate the complicated world of Immigration Law.

Ms. Nero’s practice focuses on all types of business immigration including employment-based immigrant (permanent residency) and nonimmigrant (temporary) visa petitions, and related business immigration matters. She has extensive experience with PERM Labor Certification applications, and also routinely handles family immigration matters and naturalizations. She frequently works with companies to ensure they are compliant with Immigration laws relating to Form I-9, E-Verify, and Immigration Related Discrimination.

Ms. Nero works closely with companies and individual clients to personally coordinate and execute all aspects of the client’s Immigration strategy and represent them in front of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the U.S. Department of State. She represents clients in all 50 States and from countries around the globe and takes pride in providing individualized service and maintaining a very high success rate.

Ms. Nero is the Former Chair of the South Florida Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Business & Investment Committee, and a seasoned speaker and writer on Immigration Law topics. She currently sits on the Board of Directors for the South Florida Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). She holds an AV® Preeminent™ Rating since 2014, showing she is well-respected by her peers, and was honored to be chosen as one of Florida Trend’s Florida Legal Elite in both 2019 and 2021.

Patricia Hernandez | Rotella & Hernandez

Patricia Hernandez is a founding partner of Rotella & Hernandez, a full-service immigration and family law firm. Ms. Hernandez focuses her practice exclusively to the area of Immigration and Nationality Law.

Throughout her career, Ms. Hernandez has represented countless individuals nationwide in removal proceedings, including immigrants with criminal histories. Ms. Hernandez has spoken extensively on Immigration as it relates to Same-Sex marriage, on How Transgender Identity Influences an Individual’s Immigration Experience, on Collaborating with Criminal Counsel in Immigration Removal Defense Cases, on Immigration Relief through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and has conducted several know your rights presentations.

In 2020, Ms. Hernandez was voted by her peers as one of Florida’s Legal Elite in the area of Immigration and Nationality Law. Ms. Hernandez has also been recognized by the community for her advocacy of immigrant and LGBTQ rights. She received the Visionary Award from the Miami-Dade County Bar Association, the Community Champion Award from the Miami-Dade County Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board, and the People’s Luminary Award from SAVE, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and advocating for the LGBTQ community.

Ms. Hernandez is a member in good standing of the Florida Bar and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. She is the Vice-Chair of the Miami-Dade County LGBTQ Advisory Board, Second Vice-President and executive board member for the American Immigration Lawyers Association South Florida Chapter, and an active member of the Miami-Dade Gay and Lesbian Lawyers Association (GALLA).

Richard Jurgens | CANDELA EIG JURGENS, LLC

Richard Jurgens is a founding partner of CANDELA EIG JURGENS, LLC. He is a former Assistant Chief Counsel who spent 13 years as a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Mr. Jurgens represented the United States government in removal proceedings including political asylum, adjustment of status, cancellation of removal, human smuggling, terrorism, persecutors, Russian organized crime, sexual predators, drug traffickers, and other special interest cases.

Mr. Jurgens clerked at Florida Legal Services in Miami, Florida and also at the headquarters of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service in Washington, D.C. Mr. Jurgens focuses his practice on family-based visa petitions, adjustment of status, naturalization, and immigration appeals. He specializes in complex litigation, deportation defense, and troubled cases.

Mr. Jurgens graduated cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law in 2003. While in law school he was an editor for the International and Comparative Law Review, the Vice President of the Honour Council, a member of the Moot court Board, the International Moot court Board, and on the championship team of the national Moot Court competition. He was also known to be in the Bar and Gavel society. Prior to law school, Mr. Jurgens studied and conducted research in Morocco as a Fulbright Scholar and participated in a volunteer service program in Xian, China.

Mr. Jurgens graduated summa cum laude from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota with a double major in French and Spanish (1999). He was the first university exchange student at the Universidad Americana in Managua, Nicaragua and also studied abroad at the University de Haute Bretagne Rennes II in Rennes, France. Mr. Jurgens is a member of the Florida Bar and the American Immigration Lawyer’s Association. Mr. Jurgens is proficient in French and Spanish and can speak basic conversational Arabic.

I. Broad Introduction, Resources, and Important Terms | 10:00-10:30
II. Non-Immigrant Visas | 10:30-11:00

III. Break | 11:00-11:10

IV. Employment-Based Immigrant Visas and Employer Immigration Enforcement | 11:10-11:40
V. Consular Processing and Procedures | 11:40-12:10

VI. Break | 12:10-12:20

VII. Family-Based Immigrant Visas | 12:20-12:50
VIII. Temporary Protected Status | 12:50-1:20

IX. Break | 1:20-1:30

X. Removal, Relief, and Bonds | 1:30-2:00
XI. Bars to Admissibility and Waivers | 2:00-2:30

XII. Break | 2:30-2:40

XIII. Motions and Review | 2:40-3:10
XIV. Naturalization and Citizenship | 3:10-3:40

XV. Break | 3:40-3:50

XVI. Refugees and Asylum | 3:50-4:20
XVII. Recent concerns- US and World politics, COVID-19, etc. | 4:20-4:50