International: Immigration

Overview

The Arent Fox immigration team provides comprehensive immigration and consular law services to our clients, taking a conservative approach to ensure full compliance with applicable laws and regulations. We have built a reputation for professional excellence and integrity through prompt feedbacks, efficient delivery of services, and individualized solutions to immigration issues faced by our clients and their foreign employees. Over the years, our staff has established contacts within U.S. governmental agencies and consulates abroad to facilitate the visa application process.

Industry Served

The Arent Fox immigration team serves as outside counsel to a broad range of U.S. and foreign-based multinational companies in a number of vertical industry sectors that include automotive, engineering, financial services, healthcare, information technology, law firms, management consulting, academic and non-profit organizations.

Services Offered

Arent Fox provides two basic levels of immigration-related services to our clients.

First, we provide a comprehensive set of international visa services for key personnel, which includes obtaining various employment-authorized nonimmigrant visas or permanent residence for employees and their qualifying dependents. We have assisted employers in the following areas:

• H-1B specialty occupation or professional worker visa;
• L-1 intra-company transferee visas, including blanket L visa programs;
• O and P visas for accomplished scientists, scholars, and business persons;
• E-1/E-2 treaty trader and treaty investor visas for international personnel; and
• TN visa status for Canadian and Mexican professionals qualifying under the North American Free Trade Agreement.

In addition, we have extensive experience in assisting clients with the permanent residence process through the following:

• labor certification application filed under the reduction in recruitment or standard process;
• extraordinary ability alien and national interest waiver petitions for individuals with outstanding background; and
• priority worker petitions for multinational executives and managers.

Second, we provide general immigration advice and representation on questions related to U.S. immigration and nationality law and procedure, including:

• preparing formal advisory opinions and counseling on recent developments in immigration law and policy affecting our clients;
• planning and assisting clients in implementing Immigration Reform and Control Act (“IRCA”) or I-9 compliance programs, including internal review, staff training, and/or defense strategies;
• advising clients regarding the effect of corporate changes on nonimmigrant and immigrant visas; and
• conducting due diligence audits in the context of mergers and acquisitions.

Firm Resources

We often work with lawyers in our international and business practice groups to provide the kind of relocation resources needed for successful introduction or transfer to the U.S. market for established, expanding, or start-up multinational companies and their key employees. This may involve complex legal services, such as business formation, real estate leasing, corporate or individual tax counsel, employee benefits programs, or export control and licensing representation. We also provide assistance in such simple day-to-day matters as obtaining social security numbers and drivers’ licenses to make the employees’ transition to the U.S. work environment as efficient as possible.

Relocation Assistance

We also provide American companies with relocation assistance for key personnel transferring outside the United States. Working closely with select local counsel in other countries, we assist clients in obtaining work permits and visas for American employees assigned abroad. Typically, we play an important role in coordinating communication and preparing documents that facilitate these critical transfers, working with local counsels in other countries.

Communicating with Clients

Our team is known for our efficient and responsive strategies to meet our client’s unique needs. Understanding that our clients need to be as fully informed as possible, our team strives to provide up-to-the-minute information that is relevant and timely, using cutting-edge technology. To this end, we utilize a case management system that is customized to meet the unique needs of our clients.

Our case management system includes comprehensive tracking of case progress from preparation to filing and follow up. In addition, our clients can access our extranet web-based reporting module that shows real time case status information on a 24/7 basis. Managers, HR representatives and employees can log in to check ongoing activity and the current status of their visa petitions and applications.

We work closely with our clients in each matter entrusted to our care to ensure that we understand and accommodate their staffing and individual requirements while making every effort to remain within reliable budgets.

We welcome the opportunity to assist you and your company in navigating the complex immigration process.