Immigration Law

One of the key immigration law services we provide is to counsel corporate employers on the latest immigration laws and policies related to the temporary employment of professionals from the healthcare, legal, performing arts, science and engineering industries, among others. We provide individually-tailored solutions to meet each employer and corporate industry’s specific needs while staying abreast of fluctuations in employment-based immigration policy.

Assistance includes advising on immigration issues related to policy interpretation and compliance, corporate mergers, acquisitions, and restructuring, coordinating with appropriate government agencies, such as Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and preparing foreign nationals for interviews at various Ports of Entry located throughout North America. Our immigration attorneys also provide assistance with short-term non-immigrant labor petitions, labor certifications and immigrant visa petitions. Our attorneys are also recognized experts in providing unique solutions for various professional industries by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), which helps facilitate a smooth and efficient corporate hiring process for our clients.

One of our main areas of focus involves counseling foreign corporate investors on opportunities to contribute to U.S. economic growth and job creation. We assist these individuals from a ground-up approach where we advise on building the foundations for investing capital into local communities and eventually growing large enough to promote tangible growth. While many investors may only seek short-term solutions for their business needs, long-term immigrant visa options are also available for those who invest a significant amount of capital into USCIS’s designated regional centers.

Foreign-based corporations that have a presence in the U.S. often require employees and corporate executives to travel to U.S.-based worksites to meet with clients, contractors, and other business associates. We counsel these companies, including those involved with the energy, security, and finance industries, on the best possible routes for their employees to enter the U.S. business market. Whether it is to open a new office or utilize specialized knowledge and expertise in a particular field, we remain cognizant of the need to ensure the smooth transition to conducting business in the U.S., as well as compliance with complex immigration regulations affecting large corporate entities and their associated employees. We also guide employers of these companies interested in sponsoring and permanently maintaining foreign employers through the permanent residency process, which commonly involves filing PERM labor certifications or EB-1C applications.

Traditionally, employment-based immigration involves a U.S.-based company sponsoring a foreign national employee, whether employed with a foreign subsidiary, affiliate, or through active recruitment. Entrepreneurs, however, may face difficulty due to their unique absence of a sponsoring employer. We counsel entrepreneurs and other investors who wish to create employment opportunities in the U.S. through start-up companies and venture capital initiatives on business formation, capital investment and corporate immigration compliance. Through creative and uniquely-tailored immigration solutions, we help these individuals find successful pathways toward entering the U.S. economy and carrying out their career goals.

A unique aspect of our immigration practice involves counseling those with extraordinary ability in their field of endeavor on their options for continuing their work and contributions in the U.S. We frequently counsel high-caliber individuals who have excelled in the sciences, arts, athletics, business, and other fields and whose achievements have garnered both national and international acclaim. We also work closely with professional labor organizations responsible for overseeing an applicant’s respective field of endeavor to procure advisory opinion letters attesting to their large stature and widely-recognized success, as well as those sponsoring the applicant to properly highlight their achievements and contributions.

A common route to relocating to the U.S. is through sponsorship by a U.S. citizen or Permanent Resident relative. While there are many starting points for filing a family-based immigration petition, all begin with a qualifying relative with ties to the U.S. We counsel clients on the complexities involved with sponsoring a spouse, fiancée, child, parent, or sibling, including the associated financial requirements that each sponsor must meet and the annual numerical quotas for permanent resident applications. We also have extensive experience counseling clients with relatives living abroad through the consular interview process prior to obtaining an immigrant visa, including the process associated with filing a family-based petition directly through a consular post as opposed to USCIS. As each consular post carries unique documentary and interview-related requirements, we constantly coordinate with each individual embassy and the National Visa Center (NVC) to ensure each client’s compliance with family-based immigration policy.

We frequently counsel Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) on the necessary steps to obtain citizenship, the final leg in many clients’ immigration journeys. The citizenship process can often feel daunting due to implications of tax filings, good moral character, and knowledge of U.S. culture and history. After obtaining a green card, an LPR may also be subject to different timelines depending on the circumstances surrounding their green card application. We counsel clients on how to become naturalized U.S. citizens throughout their permanent resident status, while also ensuring their continued compliance with U.S. immigration laws and policy and that they are familiar with the requirements involved with naturalization. Specifically, we take a comprehensive approach and work closely with our clients to ensure that they have been continuously present in the U.S., demonstrated good moral character, and abided by the principles of the U.S. Constitution throughout their LPR status. The goal for our immigration attorneys is to ensure that each prospective U.S. citizen feels prepared prior to their citizenship interview and ready to achieve what many immigrants view as a life-long goal.

Many foreign nationals often encounter issues during travel into the U.S. that result in lengthy, and sometimes permanent, bars to future entry. Since 9/11, the U.S. border has narrowed and foreign citizens seeking entry to the U.S. are now faced with frequently inflexible border officers. We are AILA-recognized experts in a wide variety of complex inadmissibility issues for foreign nationals and frequently speak at national and international conferences on the subject. Specifically, our immigration lawyers provide unparalleled border advocacy and craft comprehensive strategic solutions for individuals who are denied admission for issues including fraud and misrepresentation, criminal convictions, overstays, and many more. We are constantly analyzing the ever-changing landscape of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy to ensure that each individual is able to successfully overcome their inadmissibility issues and obtain permission to attend business meetings, reunite with family members or travel to the U.S. for other reasons.

We assist a multitude of clients involved in the education system, including university professionals, students, teaching faculty, and professional exchange visitors. Specifically, students often require guidance on their post-graduate opportunities and their ability to obtain employment authorization. Through careful consideration of their educational background and qualifications, we craft solutions for students who are beginning their professional careers, as well as established professionals, to obtain TN, H-1B, and J-1 status, as well as Optional Practical Training (OPT) for STEM graduates, and contribute to the U.S. workforce. We also counsel university faculty on compliance with immigration regulations for students, including the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVIS) and the maintenance of required immigration-related paperwork on behalf of each student.

The U.S. has a long history of immigration partnership with Canada and Mexico as signatories of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), formerly the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). USMCA allows professionals employed in healthcare, science and technology, engineering and other fields whose duties correspond to particular employment categories obtain employment in the U.S. for a maximum of three years. While there are some differences in requirements for Mexican citizens as opposed to those from Canada, all have the benefit of obtaining temporary employment in the U.S. under TN status as treaty signatories. Our immigration attorneys are recognized experts on the subject of USMCA and frequently speak at national and international conferences on TN visa-related issues and changes in border policy. We also maintain a close line of communication with various Ports of Entry and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials to remain updated on the USMCA treaty implementation process and visa issuance trends.

We frequently counsel foreign nationals on their options for making short-term visits to the U.S. for a variety of reasons. Visitors can either apply for B-1 status to temporarily enter the U.S. for business matters, or B-2 status to make short-term pleasure and recreational visits. We create strategic solutions for our clients based on the purpose and intended length of their travel, as well as current global travel policy and compliance. Because Canadian citizens are visa-exempt individuals, we also counsel foreign nationals from around the world on the consular interview process and requirements for presenting themselves at a U.S. Port of Entry for inspection.

The different types of immigration support we provide requires an in-depth understanding of the immigrant and nonimmigrant visas that govern various aspects of U.S. immigration. Our immigration attorneys are skilled at utilizing these visas to craft unique immigration solutions for our clients.