Immigration

We provide assistance to individuals, business professionals, domestic and foreign businesses and investors on all matters relating to immigration. Our immigration services are commonly provided in combination with tax and estate planning services for persons receiving significant foreign-source income or for business executives.

Our large global network of distinguished law firms guides us in supporting our clients while providing expertise on the law in the client’s country of origin. We assist our clients in the application process for all visas from categories such as:

Business and Employment-Based Immigration

• EB–1 Foreign Nationals of Extraordinary Ability, Outstanding Professors and Researchers, and Multinational Executives and Managers:

  Persons with demonstrated extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics may apply for an EB-1 visa. A successful applicant will have extensive documentation showing sustained national or international achievement and recognition in their field of expertise. Such applicants are not required to have specific job offers outstanding, so long as they will continue to work in the fields in which they have extraordinary ability upon entering the U.S.

  Outstanding professors and researchers with at least three years of experience in teaching or research, who are recognized internationally may apply for an EB-1 visa if they are coming to the U.S. to pursue tenure, tenure track teaching, or a comparable research position at a university or other institution of higher education. The prospective employer must provide a job offer and file an Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker.

  Multinational managers or executives who have been employed for at least one of the three preceding years by the overseas affiliate, parent, subsidiary, or branch of the U.S. employer may also apply for an EB-1 visa provided that the applicant’s employment outside of the U.S. was in a managerial or executive capacity, and the applicant is coming to work in a managerial or executive capacity. The prospective employer must provide a job offer and file an Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker.

• EB–2 Workers with Advanced Degrees or Exceptional Ability in the Sciences, Arts or Business:

  This visa category generally requires that applicants have a labor certification approved by the Department of Labor and an outstanding job offer from a U.S. employer. The following professionals may be eligible:

  — professionals holding an advanced degree (beyond a baccalaureate degree), or a baccalaureate degree and at least five years progressive experience in the profession.

  — persons with exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business. Those persons considered to have exceptional ability have a degree of expertise significantly higher than that ordinarily encountered in the sciences, arts, or business.

  National Interest Waiver – It is possible that the Labor Certification be waived upon request if it is in the interest of the United States. Though there is no statutory definition of qualifying jobs, national interest waivers are generally granted to individuals with exceptional ability (see above) and whose employment in the United States would be of significant benefit to the country. Those seeking a national interest waiver are not required to be sponsored by their employer. They may file their labor certification directly with USCIS along with their Petition for Alien Worker.

• EB–3 Skilled Workers and Professionals:

  This category of visa generally requires an applicant to have a standing job offer from an employer inside the United States and a labor certification approved by the Department of Labor.

  — skilled workers are persons whose jobs require a minimum of two years training or work experience that is not temporary or seasonal.

  — professionals are members of the professions whose jobs require at least a baccalaureate degree from a U.S. university or college or its foreign equivalent degree.

  — unskilled workers (other workers) are persons capable of filling positions that require fewer than two years of training or experience that are not temporary or seasonal.

• EB–4 Special Immigrant Visas for Religious Workers:

  To qualify as an immigrant religious worker under this category of visa, for at least two years before a petition may be filed on your behalf, you must:

  — have been a member of the religious denomination having a bona fide nonprofit, religious organization in the United States for which you are coming to work;

  — have been continuously carrying out the religious vocation or occupation that you intend to carry out in the United States.

• EB–5 Investor/Employment Creation Visa:

  Available for a foreign national who invests the following minimum qualifying capital dollar amounts in a qualifying commercial enterprise: $1,800,000; or $900,000 in a high-unemployment or rural area, considered a targeted employment area. A qualifying investment must, within two years, create full-time jobs for at least ten U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, or other immigrants authorized to work in the United States, not including the investor and the investor’s spouse, sons, or daughters.

Business and Employment-Based Non-Immigrant Visas

• E–1 Treaty traders visa:

  An individual may obtain an E-1 Treaty traders visa to continue engaging in substantial trade, including trade in services or technology, in qualifying activities, principally between the United States and a country with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation.

• E–2 Treaty investors visa:

  An individual may obtain an E-2 Treaty investors visa to develop and direct the operations of an enterprise in which you have invested a substantial amount of capital.

• L–1 Intra-company Transfer Visas:

  An applicant may obtain an L-1 Intra-company Transfer visa to work at a branch, parent, affiliate, or subsidiary of his or her current employer in a managerial or executive capacity, or in a position requiring specialized knowledge. Individual must have been employed by the same employer abroad continuously for a minimum of one year within three years preceding the application.

• H–1B Specialty Occupation (Professional) visas:

  An application may obtain an H-1B Specialty Occupation Visa to work in a specialty occupation. A specialty occupation requires a higher education degree or its equivalent.

• J–1 Trainee and intern visa:

  Exchange visitor visas are nonimmigrant visas for individuals approved to participate in exchange visitor programs in the United States (e.g. intern, trainee, teacher, summer work travel, camp counselor etc.).

• Q–1 Participant in an International Cultural Exchange Program:

  Q-1 visas may be obtained for practical training and employment and for sharing of the history, culture, and traditions of your home country through participation in an international cultural exchange program.

• O–1 Extraordinary Ability Worker Visas

  Extraordinary Ability Worker Visas may be applied for by persons with extraordinary ability or achievement in the sciences, arts, education, business, athletics, or extraordinary recognized achievements in the motion picture and television fields. This extraordinary ability must be demonstrated by sustained national or international acclaim, for work in their field of expertise. Visas of this kind may include persons providing essential services in support of the above individual.

• P–1 Artist and Athlete Visas:

  Artist and Athlete visas may be obtained to perform at a specific athletic competition as an athlete or as a member of an entertainment group. This category requires that the athlete or artist achieve an internationally recognized level of sustained performance and may include persons providing essential services in support of the above individual.

• R–1 Religious Worker Visas:

  Temporary religious worker visas are designed for persons who seek entry into the United States to work temporarily in religious capacities.

• TN TN Status Under the North American Free Trade Agreement:

  Canadians and Mexicans may be eligible to work in the United States as NAFTA professionals under certain conditions.

Other Temporary or Non-Immigrant Visas

• A Visa A Diplomatic Visa:

  This visa category is for foreign government diplomats, officials and their immediate family members.

• B-1/B-2 Visitor visas are nonimmigrant visas for those who want to enter the United States temporarily for business (visa category B-1), for tourism (visa category B-2), or for a combination of both purposes (B-1/B-2).

• C Visa C transit Visas

  Transit visas are nonimmigrant visas for those traveling in immediate and continuous transit through the United States while en route to another country, with few exceptions.

• D Visa D Crewmen’s Visa:

  Crewmember visas are nonimmigrant visas for those people who are working on board commercial sea vessels or international airlines in the United States and are providing services required for such vessel or aircraft’s normal operation and intending to depart the United States on the same vessel or any other vessel within 29 days.

• F–1 Student visa

  Available to qualified students pursuing full-time, non-vocational academic programs at post-secondary institutions.

• G visas International organization officials and employees and their immediate family members.

• I–1 Journalist/Representatives of Media Visas:

  Media visas are for representatives of the foreign media, including members of the press, radio, film, and print industries, traveling temporarily to the United States to work in their profession engaged in informational or educational media activities, essential to the foreign media function. Activities in the United States while on a media (I) visa must be for a media organization having its home office in a foreign country. Activities in the United States must be informational in nature and generally associated with the news gathering process and reporting on current events.

• M–1 Vocational Student Visas:

  M-1 Vocational Student Visas are for students attending vocational or other recognized nonacademic institution inside the U.S., other than a language training program (e.g. Sailing school, cooking school).

• N Visa Available to parents and children of G-4s (designated international organization) and NATO employees afforded special immigrant status under INA §101(a)(27)(I) or (L) if the child is granted the visa before s/he has reached age 21.

• S Visa S visas are available for those who are in possession of critical reliable information concerning a criminal organization or enterprise and who is willing to supply or has supplied such information to law enforcement authorities or court.

• T Visa Available for trafficking victims.

• U Visa Available for victims of qualified criminal activities when the victim cooperates with law enforcement authorities.