Immigration

Immigration

The Immigration Practice Group at Gordon & Rees provides clients with a broad range of legal immigration services, with a focus on business-related and employment-based immigration.

In today's global marketplace, we understand the need for our business clients to maintain their competitive edge by bringing in the best personnel worldwide. Accordingly, our attorneys work closely with HR management, implementing creative strategies to employ foreign talent while complying with immigration regulations so as to limit potential employer liability.

Our attorneys are members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association ("AILA"). Through this and other programs, we constantly monitor the ever-changing procedures and regulations of the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, the U.S. Department of Labor, and related government agencies, thereby providing the most accurate and up-to-date advice and services to our clients.

As a part of Gordon & Rees' Business Transactions Group, our immigration attorneys advise clients on the immigration ramifications of corporate restructuring such as name changes, mergers, acquisitions or asset transfers. We also assist in the start-up and/or expansion of foreign companies in the United States, and make arrangements for the transfer of key personnel from offices abroad.

Range of Immigration Services

Non-Immigrant Visas

Our immigration attorneys are experienced in the preparation of a broad variety of non-immigrant visas, including:

• H1B - Specialty Occupation. This visa can be used to hire foreign professionals with at least a bachelor's degree or its equivalent work experience for positions that require theoretical or technical knowledge in a specialized field.
  
  
• H2B - Non-Agricultural Guest Workers. H2B visas are used by U.S. companies who need to employ temporary skilled or unskilled foreign nationals in nonagricultural positions for which there are not enough qualified, unemployed U.S. workers.
  
  
• L1 - Intra Company Transfers. L1 visas are available to executives, managers and specialized employees who are transferred from a foreign company abroad to work in one of its U.S. affiliate offices.
  
  
• TN - NAFTA Professionals. TN visas are available to nationals of Canada and Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement ("NAFTA") who fall under one of the professional classifications listed in Appendix 1603.D.1 of NAFTA.
  
  
• B - Visitors. B1 visas are for business visitors coming to the U.S. for brief visits to conduct business on behalf of their foreign employer. B2 visas are for foreign nationals who require a visa to enter the U.S. for pleasure travel.

Immigrant Visas

The attorneys in our Immigration Practice Group advise clients through every step of the process of obtaining immigrant visas, particularly employment-based immigrant visas, including:

• Labor Certification. Before a labor certification application (a "PERM" application) can be filed with the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL"), our attorneys work closely with our business clients in accurately drafting the job description and qualifications, obtaining a favorable prevailing wage determination, conducting recruitment, and preparing the required PERM Audit File, all in compliance with DOL regulations.
  
  
• Employment-Based Immigrant Petition. Depending on the job requirements, our attorneys will prepare the immigrant petition under one of five classifications ("EB1" to "EB5").
  
  
• Family-Based Immigrant Petition. Alternatively, our firm prepares immigrant petitions based on a familial relationship to a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident ("LPR").
  
  
• Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status ("Green Card" Application). Once an immigrant visa number becomes available, our immigration attorneys prepare this petition for the foreign employee and each family member wishing to apply for permanent residence, while advising them as to how to proceed through the required medical examinations, fingerprinting appointments and adjustment interviews.
  
  
• Applications for Employment Authorization and/or Travel Document. While awaiting a determination on their permanent residence applications, the employee and any dependent family members will be eligible to apply for employment authorization and/or travel documentation.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Our Immigration Practice group attorneys are experts in preparing clients for ICE Audits and verifying that they are in compliance with immigration laws and regulations, including:

• Drafting of Immigration Corporate Compliance Plan.  We work with clients to verify that they have a complete immigration compliance plan that is in accordance with the following immigration laws and regulations: Immigration and Nationality Act; Immigration and Reform Control Act of 1986 (IRCA); Illegal Immigration Reform & Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996; 8 United States Code; 8 Code of Federal Regulations; and Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.  These laws require the Corporate Compliance Plan to  include the company, subsidiaries and subcontractors.

• Internal Form I-9 Audit.  We work with the employer representative to provide training on how to properly complete a Form I-9. Training is provided on-site or via telephone or video conference. Our services include:

• Review and certify that each employee’s Form I-9 is in compliance with immigration laws and regulations.
• Conduct initial review and provide corrections summaries for errors/violations found on the Form I-9.
• Issue a certification when the form I-9 is in certifiable form.
• Review new hire Form I-9s and issue New Hire Certification forms for those in certifiable form.
• Train employer representatives on how to re-verify documentation, including re-verification of newly issued Employment Authorization Cards that give employees temporary work authorization.

• Preparation for ICE Audit.  We provide clients with instructions and written guidelines on how to handle an ICE Audit and/or ICE Raid.  We train clients on the standard procedures that are taken by ICE when conducting an ICE Audit/Raid, thus helping clients handle the Audit and/or Raid process more effectively and efficiently.