Immigration

Employers seeking to hire global talent in the United States face an increasingly complex and dynamic tapestry of laws, regulations, executive orders, and treaties. With a diverse workforce, unexpected travel and visa-related restrictions, the ongoing need for litigation due to unpredictable adjudications, and ever-changing immigration policies, our immigration group offers deep bench strength developed over more than 30 years. We use technology to deliver pragmatic, effective solutions and innovative strategies for our clients.

As a full-service law firm with offices and immigration lawyers across the U.S. and Canada, along with a strong presence on the southern U.S. border, our immigration practice works seamlessly across borders to help our clients’ businesses remain operational as they navigate the immigration system. Working closely with lawyers in the firm’s other practice areas, we provide representation on a wide range of immigration concerns for domestic and foreign-based businesses, including tax, employee benefits, government audits, and entertainment law. We also provide immigration-related assistance to our dedicated Japanese, Indian, Chinese, South Korean, and USMCA international practice groups within the firm.

Our Team

Some of our most seasoned immigration lawyers have practiced immigration law for more than 30 years and frequently speak on business immigration topics to legal, human resources, and technology industry organizations, including the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the Practising Law Institute, the American Society of Employers (ASE), the American Payroll Association, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and various state bar organizations.

Our team has also written or co-written articles on a range of immigration topics for publications including state bar journals, Immigration Briefings, and AILA’s NAFTA handbooks. All of our immigration lawyers are members of AILA, and many have held leadership positions within the organization. The team includes a former national president and general counsel of AILA. Our lawyers remain current on developments in immigration law and policy through a variety of professional activities, including work involving policy changes. We tailor updates to our clients’ preferences through client alerts, seminars, webinars, and posts on our Immigration Insights and Issues Blog.

Awards and Recognitions

Members of our immigration team have been recognized for their work in immigration law by Chambers Global®, Chambers USA®, Super Lawyers®, Best Lawyers®, the National Law Journal, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Leading Lawyers, Arizona Business Magazine, DBusiness Magazine, Texas Lawyer, Who’s Who Legal: Corporate Immigration, Manage HR, and HOUR Detroit Magazine. In addition to maintaining current knowledge of immigration law and policy, members of the team work behind the scenes on immigration legislation and policy.

Our Services

Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visas

We regularly assist businesses and their new hires in obtaining a variety of immigrant and nonimmigrant visas, in addition to helping individuals pursue permanent residence, U.S. citizenship, and naturalization. We advise clients on the visa classifications that best serve their needs in connection with foreign and domestic operations, mergers, acquisitions, corporate restructurings, divestitures, and the maintenance of work authorization for foreign nationals.

We prepare petitions and applications on behalf of clients and develop strategies addressing the various components of admission to the United States, including consular processing, ports of entry, status upon admission, and paths to permanent residence when desired. Common nonimmigrant classifications include:

• B-1 business visitors
• E-1 and E-2 treaty traders and investors
• E-3 specialty occupation workers from Australia
• F-1 students, including study and employment options
• J-1 exchange visitors, including foreign medical graduates
• H-1B, H-1B1, H-2A, H-2B, and H-3 workers and trainees
• K-1 fiancés and fiancées
• L-1A and L-1B intracompany transferees, including multinational managers and executives
• O-1A and O-1B individuals of extraordinary ability, including entertainers, artists, and athletes
• O-2 support personnel
• P-1 athletes and entertainment groups
• Q-1 international cultural exchange visitors
• R-1 religious workers
• TN professionals under the USMCA

For permanent residence, we address strategies involving a test of the U.S. labor market through the PERM process, as well as more direct alternatives based on the position and the individual’s qualifications. Our experience encompasses employment- and family-based immigrant visa options.

Our team also assists with waivers, grounds of inadmissibility, consular processing, administrative processing issues, frequent traveler program qualifications, and port-of-entry matters.

Workplace Compliance

We provide proactive guidance to help clients comply with immigration laws and regulations. Our lawyers conduct risk assessments and compliance reviews of immigration-related policies and procedures to help limit exposure before a merger or acquisition. We also help clients respond to Form I-9 inspections and penalty determinations. Our work includes:

• Document retention related to H-1B employment and labor certification recruitment
• Company compliance manuals and policies
• Documentation of employment eligibility
• Preparation for unannounced immigration verification and visa petition compliance visits
• Appeals of penalty determinations
• E-Verify compliance and participation in the IMAGE program
• Form I-9 considerations arising from mergers and acquisitions

Our lawyers provide training to human resources professionals and legal departments to help them understand immigration processes, address compliance concerns, and develop internal compliance programs. We also keep clients informed of changes in immigration laws and the practical effects of those changes on their daily operations.

Federal Investigations

When clients face government action or investigation, we advise and represent them at every stage through final resolution. Our lawyers represent companies in federal and state courts, before the Board of Immigration Appeals, and in matters involving the U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Department of State consular posts worldwide, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

We also address worksite enforcement matters involving Homeland Security Investigations, the Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate of USCIS, and the U.S. Department of Justice. When needed, the firm’s White Collar Defense practice supports clients of our immigration team.

Representative Matters

• Advised on and assisted with immigration requirements applicable to intracompany transferees, investors, foreign nationals of extraordinary ability, trainees, foreign nationals with advanced degrees, and skilled workers.
• Advised on visa classifications suited to clients’ foreign and domestic operations, mergers, acquisitions, corporate restructurings, divestitures, and post-transaction work authorization needs.
• Advised entertainers, artists, athletes, and other individuals in the arts and entertainment industry outside the United States on the requirements, classifications, and processes for obtaining O and P visas.
• Coordinated global immigration strategies and guided clients through applications for nonimmigrant visas, permanent residence, and employment-based immigrant visas for multinational executives, managers, critical foreign employees, and their family members.
• Represented foreign nationals seeking U.S. citizenship through administrative proceedings and federal court litigation.
• Represented foreign national investors seeking permanent residence through EB-5 investments in new commercial enterprises or regional centers.
• Counseled major corporations encountering resistance at U.S. Department of State consular posts to the issuance of E, L, H, and other work-authorized visas.
• Counseled major corporations seeking entry for specialized-knowledge, managerial, and executive-level foreign personnel.
• Represented employers in Form I-9 inspections and other worksite enforcement actions by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, as well as related litigation before the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer.
• Advised employers regarding Form I-9 compliance and E-Verify.
• Represented clients in federal mandamus and declaratory judgment actions involving immigration laws and regulations.
• Represented employers charged with violating the Arizona Legal Workers Act.
• Assisted with waivers, grounds of inadmissibility, consular processing, administrative processing issues, frequent traveler program qualifications, and port-of-entry matters.
• Represented clients in Department of Labor audits involving H-1B labor condition applications and PERM labor certification applications.
• Assisted clients with seasonal staffing needs through the H-2B visa program.