Overview
Immigration law is an increasingly complex and fast-changing field because there are multiple government agencies involved and a myriad of laws, regulations, governmental agency-driven rules, and guidance documents. There are numerous critical deadlines to meet, documents to prepare and file, government fees to pay – and non-compliance can create costly risks for both employers and foreign nationals. Lack of familiarity with immigration law and procedures and political brouhaha should however not deter you from tapping into the skills of international workers. Recruiting foreign nationals should be part of your comprehensive strategy to build and maintain a qualified, diversified, and engaged workforce.
McDonald Hopkins can help your business navigate the complexities of immigration law and its interdependence with labor and employment laws at the state and federal level. Our firm combines extensive legal experience and expertise with a keen understanding of operations, business needs, market trends, and economics to help businesses avoid common pitfalls when it comes to immigration law. We work with a wide variety of clients (employers and foreign-born professionals) during the complete immigration journey from work authorization, to permanent residence, and to citizenship. Our firm has over 20 years of legal and industry experience when it comes to business and family immigration matters, including attorneys with first-hand experience going through the immigration process and linguistic skills.
We can provide counseling and assistance in the following areas:
- L-1A non-immigrant visas for corporate executive and manager transferring to the U.S. temporarily from overseas
- L-1B non-immigration visa for skilled professional transferring to the U.S. temporarily from overseas
- L-2 dependent non-immigrant visas and employment authorization documents (EAD/Form I-765)
- H-1B non-immigrant visas for skilled professionals, including physicians, engineers, etc.
- H-4 dependent applications (Form I-539) and employment authorization documents (EAD/Form I-765)
- International Medical Graduate J-1 waivers of foreign residency requirements
- O-1 non-immigrant visas for individuals with extraordinary ability
- Green card applications (lawful permanent residence) - EB-1, EB2, etc.
- PERM labor certifications
- Permanent Residence Petitions (Form I-140)
- Adjustment of Status applications (Form I-485)
- Employment authorizations (I-765)
- Authorization to Travel/advance parole applications (Form I-131)
- Green card renewal or replacement applications (Form I-90)
- U.S. naturalization/citizenship applications (Form N-400), including interview preparation
- Certificate of Citizenship (Form N-600)
- HR compliance training, including Form I-9
- Drafting employment agreements, personnel policies and procedures to comply with immigration laws and regulations respecting the hiring, retention and termination of employees
- Separation and general release agreements
- Corporate formation and subsidiary formation with a view toward qualifying business owners or key technical personnel for appropriate visa categories
- Export and international license regulations
- Assistance with consular post issues
- Immigration issues affecting scientific researchers, university faculty, engineers, software developers and programmers, physicians, nurses, highly skilled but non-degreed technical personnel, entrepreneurs, religious workers, athletes and musical groups
- Analysis of potential immigration consequences of criminal proceedings, in conjunction with criminal defense counsel
- Assisting with mergers and acquisitions, and related due diligence inquiries, when acquiring businesses with temporary foreign workers
Our clients include businesses in a wide variety of industries, including:
- Healthcare
- Aerospace
- Transportation
- Automotive
- Chemical
- Manufacturing
- Higher education