Immigration Paralegal I

Who we are: BAL is a team of brilliant people who change lives through elite immigration work and collaborative innovation. We pursue the exceptional in all that we do, but never at the expense of our values. There’s no denying our work is demanding, both in volume and pace, but we’re up for the challenge. We love the balance of hard work and fun – so, you’ll see us in jeans as we shatter glass ceilings and conventional stereotypes. BAL employees feel valued, rewarded, and respected. We seek opportunities to be of service to others and our communities. We are committed to your growth and development and want to set you up for success here at BAL and beyond.    

Who you are: You are looking for work that has a purpose. You aren’t afraid to roll up your sleeves and get stuff done. You learn quickly. You move fast. You embrace challenge and detail as well as creative thinking. You believe you have something unique to contribute and you aren’t afraid to raise your hand. You understand that powering human achievement is ultimately about impacting a real person. You are looking for a place to grow and an environment where everyone has a spot and is genuinely welcome.   

We’re better together: A bright, driven person like you and an industry-leading powerhouse like BAL? It’s a perfect combination! We truly want to see you succeed here and become an integral part of our mission to provide an experience that makes a positive difference in people’s lives. Come be a part of something special, where you can have an impact and be valued just for being you!    

OVERVIEW:  A Paralegal II is responsible for working with attorneys in the preparation, filing, and monitoring of various immigration and nationality law matters. Additionally, a Paralegal II should have a comprehensive knowledge of the immigration process, mastery of multiple case types, and increasing company-client interaction.    

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:    

•  Under the direction of a Senior Paralegal/Attorney, takes the lead in email/phone client communications.
• Provides guidance to assignees regarding proprietary systems and case processing.
• Increased understanding of client communication procedures and requirements.
• Inputs client services rendered and sends to Accounting for processing.
• Complete competence of case types previously handled and continually strives to advance and broaden knowledge base; demonstrates increasing levels of independence in case handling.
• Processes more advanced and varied corporate immigration cases.
• Evaluate cases, relay concerns, and proactively escalate to the appropriate BAL team members(s).
• Prepares forms, letters, documents, and correspondence for attorney review; adapts tools and resources for casework which deviates from templates; increases knowledge of BAL best practices.
• Manages the status of all filed applications and petitions and finalizes documents after attorney review.
• Utilizes document and data management systems to prepare, monitor, and record all aspects of client casework as per BAL policy.
• Prepares internal caseload reports for management.
• Shares process flow with assignees; Identifies problematic cases and discusses strategies and/or solutions with Attorney.
• Performs research to obtain information such as background on a company or industry, current wages, processing procedures, standard processing times, etc.
• Initiates contact with government agencies to obtain necessary information; alerts Senior Paralegal and/or attorney regarding potential process delays/problems.

QUALIFICATIONS:    

• Bachelor’s Degree; 1-year law-related experience under a licensed attorney; or, PL certificate from ABA approved program.
• Typically at least 2+ years of U.S. corporate immigration experience.
• Comfortable and able to thrive in an extremely high-volume environment.
• Demonstrates sound judgment.
• Ability to execute and work well with minimal supervision.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to catch errors and correct work and the work of others.
• Superior client service skills.
• Effectively able to prioritize cases, caseload, and other assigned tasks (i.e. projects, company management responsibilities, etc.).
• Ability to meet deadlines and goals.
• MS Office, Scan/Copy; learn, apply and effectively navigate daily use of propriety software. 
   

In accordance with New York City’s Wage Transparency Law, the expected salary range for this position in New York is between $61,100 and $64,900.

Actual pay will be adjusted based on experience, geographic location, and other job-related factors as permitted by law.

In addition to competitive pay, a discretionary annual bonus, and a supportive, team-oriented culture, we offer an outstanding benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance, sick time, unlimited vacation, and 401(k) with company match.

WORKING CONDITIONS: Able to sit and work at a computer keyboard for extended periods of time. Able to stoop, kneel, bend at the waist and reach on a daily basis. Able to perform general office administrative activities: copying, filing, delivering and using the telephone. Able to lift and move up to 25 pounds occasionally. Regular and on-time attendance. Must be able to prioritized, schedule and complete testing required for multiple applications with overlapping schedules. A certain degree of creativity and flexibility is required. Hours may exceed 40 hours per week. Occasional travel by conventional means including aircraft, motor vehicle and the like within the region and to other locations as required.

Note: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required and are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities or qualifications associated with this job.

Berry Appleman & Leiden is an Equal Opportunity Employer. It is the policy of BAL to ensure an equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, age, disability, alienage or citizenship status, marital status, creed, genetic predisposition or carrier status, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by law. BAL prohibits and will not tolerate any such discrimination or harassment.

BAL does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters or employment agencies. BAL is under no obligation to pay any referral compensation or recruiter fee in the absence of a current executed Recruitment Services Agreement. In the event a recruiter or agency submits an unsolicited resume or candidate without an agreement, BAL reserves the right to pursue and hire said candidate(s) without any financial obligation to the recruiter or agency. Any unsolicited resumes, including those submitted to hiring managers, shall be deemed the property of BAL. If your agency would like to be considered as a potential recruiting partner, please forward your contact information to [email protected].