PRACTICE
Immigration and Naturalization
Overview
The Immigration Practice Group of Pierson Ferdinand offers sophisticated, personalized, and cost-effective representation for businesses, institutions, organizations, and individuals in connection with immigrant, non-immigrant, and naturalization matters, international workforce mobility and global staffing, and compliance issues.
We represent clients from all industries including individuals to Fortune 500 companies. We have significant experience with employers in the fields of technology, research and development, life sciences, education, financial services, healthcare, entertainment, athletics, and non-profit and human/religious services.
When clients partner with our team, they know that three core principles guide our approach. First, our clients receive white-glove service from attorneys who will perform the work. Second, we draw on our experiences living abroad and going through the immigration processes ourselves to guide you through complex, bureaucratic processes, to be culturally sensitive, and to respond to your questions and concerns with empathy and respect. Third, we understand that foreign talent is critical for the success of your operations because we have created or have managed organizations ourselves; therefore, we proactively and strategically will work with you to develop thoughtful, economical, and prospective immigration plans.
Experience
The Immigration Practice Group has decades of experience in the following:
Business Immigration & Temporary Work Visas
Advising businesses on immigration matters involving mergers, acquisitions, and other corporate transactions
Conducting due immigration diligence during corporate transactions and developing pragmatic and practical solutions to correct issues
Counseling businesses on the use of employers of record and global staffing companies, digital nomad visas, and creating a foreign presence
Advising employers and foreign workers on non-immigrant employment-based visas and representing them in connection with obtaining:
B-1/B-2 Visas for short-term business
E-1/E-2/E-3 Visas for treaty investors and traders
H-1B Visas for specialty occupation visas
H-1B Lottery Guidance
H1B1 Visas for Citizens of Singapore and Chile
J-1 and J-2 Visas for exchange program participants and dependents and waivers for Foreign National Physicians
L-1 Visa intra-company transferee and employees with specialized knowledge
O-1 Visas for foreign citizens with extraordinary ability
P-1 Visas for performers and professional athletes
R-1 Visas for religious workers
TN Visas for Professional Occupations for citizens of Canada and Mexico
Green Cards & Citizenship
Representing employers and foreign workers on immigrant visas and representing them in connection with obtaining:
EB-1 Visas for foreign citizens of extraordinary ability/multi-national executives
EB-2 Visas for foreign citizens with advanced degrees
National Interest Waivers
EB-3 Visas for foreign citizens that are professionals or skilled laborers
EB-4 Visas for religious workers
EB-5 Visas for foreign investors
Managing and supervising all aspects of the mandatory recruitment process for the permanent labor certification process (i.e., PERM)
Schedule A Green Cards Schedule I for Nurses and Therapists and Schedule II for exceptional ability in the sciences and arts
Naturalization (i.e., citizenship) and derivative status (e.g., J-2, H-4, etc.) for foreign citizens and their family members
Litigation & Advocacy
Responding to Requests for Evidence and Notices of Intent to Deny and persuading the USCIS to approve the challenged application or petition
Presenting parties before the DOL’s Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals, USCIS’s Board of Immigration Appeals, and the DOJ’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section
Preparing foreign workers for visa interviews at embassies or consulates and their interactions with Customs and Border Protection
Representing and defending employers in connection with I-9, Labor Condition Application, and Public Access File audits
Representing and defending employers with respect to immigration enforcement activity by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (i.e., raids)
Training & Compliance
Advising employers on E-Verify and the resolution of Tentative Non-confirmations
Training and advising employers on I-9 compliance
Performing internal I-9 audits and developing policies and protocols to ensure compliance