Rambana & Ricci, P.L.L.C. Immigration Attorneys

09/02/2026

Did you know that Immigration Attorney Elizabeth Ricci provides services to members of Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association through its Legal Connect benefit program? If you are a restaurant or hotel that is considering porting an H-1B for a manager, filing a Labor Certification for a cook, want to file an O-1 for a theme park ride designer, or have I-9 questions, part of your FRLA membership includes a free consultation with her!

08/27/2026

Most employers hesitate on PERM for one reason: they have to pay for all of it.

That isn't a preference or a negotiating position. Under 20 CFR 656.12(b), the employer must bear every cost of labor certification — the recruitment, the advertising, the attorney fees. The sponsored employee cannot pay any part of it and cannot reimburse the employer later. Arrangements that shift the cost, even by agreement, put the certification at risk.

So when an employer asks what PERM costs, they aren't asking out of curiosity. They're asking what's coming out of their budget.

Here's our answer for September, in writing.

Labor certification representation at a flat attorney fee of $2,999. That covers:

• Prevailing wage determination filing
• Recruitment coordination and review
• ETA Form 9089 preparation and filing

Recruitment and advertising costs are separate, as are audit responses and appeals. We quote those up front rather than at the end.

If you've been putting off sponsorship for a key hire because the number was a question mark, it isn't anymore.

Employers can book a consultation at rambana.com.

Rambana & Ricci, P.L.L.C. | Tallahassee, Florida
Offer valid for engagements signed September 1–30, 2026.

08/25/2026

Congrats to our own Elizabeth Ricci who was quoted in Fortune today. She discussed how DHS's shift to notice-and-comment rulemaking gives the proposed $103,000 H-1B fee a stronger legal footing than last year's proclamation and that the agency's math contradicts itself.

The extra charge on H-1B visas is an effort to get companies to hire more Americans—but a Wharton economist says it could push jobs overseas instead

08/19/2026

Congratulations to Immigration Attorney Elizabeth Ricci for being a guest on Florida News Service's inaugural podcast "Unwired" discussing denaturalization. "Citizenship is not a tool the government may use to express displeasure with conduct." Trop v. Dulles (1958) You can listen here: https://lnkd.in/e_mMRk5T

08/06/2026

We're excited to share that the AILA Law Journal's Editorial Board has selected Immigration Attorney Elizabeth Ricci's article "Conscience Beyond the Catch-All: Modified-Oath Naturalization for Amish, Mennonite, Quaker, Buddhist, and Muslim Applicants Under PM-602-0188" for the Fall 2026 issue. (Her companion piece on Jehovah's Witness applicants is also forthcoming.)

08/06/2026

A travel warning for U.S. noncitizens:

Over the past week, there has been a sharp increase in immigrants being detained by DHS at U.S. airports while traveling DOMESTICALLY (not international arrivals but flights within the country). These reports span California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, New Jersey, Texas, and Virginia.

What concerns us most is who is being detained. These are not people with criminal records. Reports include individuals with valid employment authorization, individuals holding advance parole, and individuals whose underlying status lapsed but who timely filed adjustment of status or asylum applications — people who are in a period of authorized stay.

For years, the working assumption was that domestic air travel carried meaningfully less risk than crossing a border. That assumption no longer holds even with TSA-compliant ID.

If your status is pending, talk to your immigration attorney BEFORE you book a domestic flight. Not after. The analysis is fact-specific — your documents, your filing history, your route, and your alternatives all matter, and no one should be making that call from a Facebook group or a TikTok.

08/05/2026

Today USCIS issued Policy Alert PA-2026-05 entitled "Evidence, Requests for Evidence, and Notices of Intent to Deny" making every immigration filing a "one-shot" filing.

Effective today, adjudicators have full discretion to deny a benefit request outright — no Request for Evidence, no Notice of Intent to Deny — if the initial filing doesn't establish eligibility or omits required initial evidence. The agency's position: form instructions already tell you what's required.

This applies to cases pending right now, not just new filings.

What that means in practice:

• The record you file is the record you get. There may be no second bite.
• Initial evidence checklists are no longer a formality. They are the case.
• Anything sitting at a service center on a thin record is exposed as of today.
• Employment-based petitions and waivers, where the documentation is the argument, carry the most risk.
If you have a petition pending, this is the week to review what actually went in the box.

07/27/2026

“Termination is likely coming for everyone, not for a subset,” Ricci said in an email to POLITICO. “Let the scrambling begin.” https://www.politico.com/newsletters/florida-playbook/2026/07/27/nixons-progressive-bet-01012502

07/22/2026

💥Breaking: Court hits pause on 2 major immigration measures💥

Yesterday, July 21, a federal judge issued an emergency order blocking the administration from (1) imposing new hurdles and fees on asylum applications and (2) revoking work authorization for TPS beneficiaries. The order holds until August 5, when the court will decide whether to extend relief.

This means:
→ Asylum seekers with pending cases won't lose work authorization — or face expedited removal — simply for not yet paying the new $100 annual fee. They now have breathing room to pay and keep their cases moving.
→ Haitian TPS holders who faced losing work permits on July 24 can keep them through November 2026, when the current designation expires.
→ A limited group of Venezuelan TPS holders — those who filed to renew before February 5, 2025, with permits valid through October 2026 — also benefit.

The order stems from a challenge to immigration provisions in last year's budget legislation. It's temporary, and it's narrow. But for families weighing whether they can keep working next week, temporary relief is still relief.

A few things I'll be watching:
Whether the August 5 hearing extends or dissolves the order; how USCIS operationalizes this for EADs already flagged for termination; the broader pattern — lower courts pushing back while the Supreme Court has often sided with the administration on emergency immigration matters.

If you're an employer or an affected worker trying to make sense of your status this week, don't guess. Get advice specific to your case.

06/30/2026

Watch Attorney Elizabeth Ricci discuss this major Supreme Court ruling.

On the last day of the U.S. Supreme Court, the court a 6-2 decision...