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Immigration

The new realities employers face in light of COVID-19 highlight the importance of effective immigration advocacy. Our attorneys help employers access the best global talent, ensure compliance with immigration-related requirements in the workplace and manage an increasingly diverse workforce.

Immigration

Overview

Working in tandem with our labor and employment attorneys, our Immigration team provides comprehensive services to address clients’ needs quickly and effectively in both the compliance and immigration benefits areas. We provide innovative and cost-effective immigration guidance to employers, including identifying creative visa options and strategies for the global migration of critical staff and hiring of foreign workers.

Our attorneys have a particular appreciation for the urgency required in obtaining visas for needed international personnel and in minimizing bureaucratic delay. We train management on non-discrimination and I-9 (IRCA) employment eligibility verification best practices, defend employers in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) civil and criminal workplace investigations, provide assistance with regulatory compliance, and identify the implications of state and local immigration laws. Our Immigration Practice Group also has experience representing key executives involved with immigration detention and removal proceedings. The depth of talent and collaborative culture within the group allows us to anticipate clients' needs and develop creative, efficient solutions for today's evolving business environment.

Some of the services we provide include:

COVID-19 Advice and Counsel

Our immigration attorneys help clients deal with the almost daily new immigration rules, policies and regulations that have been issued in response to COVID-19. As businesses begin to reopen after shutdowns, we help companies with the anticipated heightened scrutiny by the agencies involved in immigration matters. Beyond specific issues and problems, the COVID-19 environment presents challenges regarding immigration sponsorship and green card sponsorship policies. All companies, whether they employ foreign nationals or not, need to audit their I-9s. Employers with foreign national workers have other concerns as well. We help review return to work policies and provide guidance on how to bring foreign nationals into the country or back into the country due to current travel and entry bans. We  prepare waiver requests based on healthcare or economic interests.   

Non-Immigrant and Immigrant Visas

We assist employers in obtaining the visas and employment authorizations needed to transfer executives, managers, key personnel or new hires to the U.S. Our services include preparing and filing all types of non-immigrant and immigrant visa applications in virtually all visa categories. We pride ourselves on our ability to handle client issues quickly and efficiently, and we strive to provide innovative immigration solutions when standard immigration strategies are insufficient.

Assistance with Regulatory Compliance

Our attorneys provide regulatory compliance services to help clients navigate the various immigration-related regulations applicable to employers, particularly with respect to the requirements of Form I-9, Social Security No-Match Letters, the E-Verify system, and agency enforcement matters. Our services include assistance with I-9 compliance and employment eligibility verification training, I-9 corporate policy drafting, I-9 internal audits and compliance risk assessments, Social Security No-Match Letter guidance and policy drafting, counsel on the use of E-Verify, and representation in immigration investigations, civil I-9 audits and agency worksite enforcement actions. For more information, download our I-9 Compliance Services brochure.

Immigration Counsel for Corporate Transactions

We offer guidance on the immigration consequences of mergers, acquisitions, reductions-in-force and other corporate transactions, with the goal of reducing the risk of potential immigration-related liabilities.

Outbound Immigration and Consular Assistance

We coordinate the outbound transfers of U.S. employees to overseas worksites, often utilizing our strong and longstanding relationships with overseas law firms. We also partner with our International Employment Practice Group on cross-border human resource issues, such as expatriate assignment policies and agreements, global human resource polices, global business ethics policies, totalization agreements and data privacy compliance.

We also offer onsite assistance at overseas U.S. Consulate or Embassy for U.S. employees traveling abroad or for foreign employees entering the U.S., specifically representing employees and other applicants with security issues or visa application complications.

Immigration Policy Advocacy

Our firm maintains a robust Washington D.C. presence to foster open channels with government agency decision-makers, and to provide clients with government affairs support on immigration policy, laws and regulations in Congress and the Executive Branch. We keep clients abreast of potential changes in immigration policy, regulations and laws, and also help clients to be proactive in advocating for positive changes and against proposals harmful to employers within the Legislative or Executive Branches.

Additional Information

Processing Times

USCIS Service Centers and the National Benefits Center process applications and petitions from the different jurisdictional regions of the U.S.:

  • California Service Center
  • Nebraska Service Center
  • Texas Service Center
  • Vermont Service Center
  • National Benefits Center in Missouri

Depending on the number of applications or petitions filed with a particular Service Center, the processing times of the different Service Centers may vary. The USCIS issues periodic processing time reports for each Service Center. Follow the link below to access the most recent processing time reports:

Helpful Links

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS):

Department of Labor / Employment Issues:

Department of State / Consular Issues:

Miscellaneous / Research Sites:

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