Employment Law

Immigration

The world of global mobility and immigration is complex, and a wide variety of businesses are becoming increasingly reliant on foreign-born workers. Well-established multinational companies seek predictability in connection with their efforts to have senior executives and key employees enter the U.S. to support their business operations, client development activities, and employment. As foreign investors and high net-worth individuals explore business opportunities in the United States, they look for skilled legal partners to facilitate their involvement in those transactions.

When Preti Flaherty’s clients face challenging immigration issues, our Immigration Practice group provides them with responsive, practical guidance. From multinational corporations to tech start-ups, our immigration attorneys efficiently, meticulously, and effectively develop immigration solutions, coordinate visa applications, and facilitate global transfers.

Practical Guidance Supporting Client Goals

Our Immigration Practice Group goes beyond visa processing, providing advice and strategic counsel in the development of comprehensive corporate immigration strategies that support client goals. We advise our business clients on the best short- and long-term approaches based on their specific needs, including:

  • Employment-based sponsorships of employees through the H, L, E, O, TN, and J non-immigrant visa programs, along with consideration of those employees for potential immigrant visa (green card) sponsorship
  • Employment and family-based options for permanent residency, including labor certification, EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 employment-based immigrant visas (Form I-140s)
  • Applications for adjustment of status (Form I-485s)

Lead by an attorney with more than 20 years of experience, our Immigration Practice Group prides itself in thinking differently about our client’s challenges. Group members have successfully assisted clients in navigating all aspects of homeland security investigations, worked with foreign investors on compliance guidelines for setting up companies in the United States, and helped various clients identify and implement creative immigration strategies. Group members also work closely with Maine’s immigrant assistance programs, helping newly arrived immigrants improve their legal status and navigate citizenship matters.

Leveraging Connections to Solve Complex Problems

Immigration and naturalization law exists at the complex interchange of several key factors, including personal connections, strong intermediaries, and goal-focused representation. Our attorneys fiercely leverage their connections to find creatives solutions to complex problems. When necessary, we advocate for our clients before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the U.S. Department of Labor, and at U.S. Consulates.

Working closely with the members of our Business Law group, our immigration attorneys also offer clients guidance and support to facilitate complex deals with potentially significant immigration consequences including, mergers, acquisitions, and corporate spin-offs. We are frequently engaged to analyze purchase and sale agreements, conduct due-diligence assessments in anticipation of potential transactions, and coordinate the process of filing the visa paperwork necessary to protect the status of foreign nationals on behalf of their new corporate employers.

As business relationships become increasingly global in scope, immigration projects are becoming increasingly complex and time sensitive. By leveraging the full-force of Preti Flaherty’s suite of services, our immigration attorneys enable our clients to manage that complexity.

Firm Highlights

News

Preti Flaherty Announces Attorneys Kristy Abraham and Mariana Baron Promoted to Partner

Preti Flaherty is pleased to announce that the firm’s partnership has named two new partners: Kristy Abraham and Mariana Baron. Both attorneys stand out as distinguished practitioners in the field of corporate law and...

Publication

Changes Affecting Employment Authorization for L-2, E, and H-4 Dependent Spouses

On November 12, 2021, USCIS announced that L-2 and E dependent spouses are no longer required to apply for an EAD to work in the United States. Instead, L-2 and E dependent spouses are...

Publication

35,000 Additional H-2B Visas Now Available for the Second Half of Fiscal Year

On May 18, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a temporary rule authorizing the issuance of additional 35,000 H-2B visas for the second half of Fiscal...

Publication

Considerations When Terminating a Foreign Worker (H-1B, H-1B1, E-1/E-2, E-3, TN, L-1, O-1)

Terminating an employee is always a difficult decision. Terminating a foreign worker has additional challenges and consequences that must be considered, and employers must ensure they comply with state and federal law. An employer...

Publication

FY2024 H-1B Registration Fact Sheet for Employers

Registration Process To file H-1B petitions subject to the FY2024 cap for an employee, you must first electronically register and pay a $10 fee for each electronic registration. The electronic registration includes basic information about...

Publication

H-2B Temporary Visas: Additional 35,000 Coming in Second Half of FY 2022

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced the forthcoming publication of a joint temporary final rule to make available an additional 35,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas...

Publication

What Are My Options If My H-1B Registration Was Not Selected?

The H-1B nonimmigrant visa category allows employers to sponsor foreign nationals performing work in a “specialty occupation.” This typically requires an offer of employment in a job requiring at least a U.S. bachelor’s degree...