Attorney Referral List

Immigration

Thelen LLP counsels and represents domestic and international companies and individuals in all areas of business immigration law. We counsel on compliance with immigration posting and work authorization verification requirements. Thelen's team assists companies in securing temporary work visas and permanent residence for their executive, managerial, professional, and technical personnel. We provide this assistance to employers, founders, investors, and employees in all aspects of hiring and transferring key foreign professionals in the energy, software, biomedical, telecommunications, manufacturing, airline, publishing, entertainment, consumer products, food and beverage, education, and import/export industries.

Hiring Foreign Workers
Changes in the law have made it increasingly difficult to secure visas quickly and cost-effectively.  Immigration issues that are not resolved prior to extending job offers can open companies up to a myriad of legal concerns. A visa petition is not enough; employers must understand state and federal laws on required wages, eligibility for Social Security cards and drivers’ licenses, record retention, citizenship, and taxation.

Thelen assists clients with the following challenges:

  • Obtaining suitable non-immigrant or immigrant visas to enable corporations to hire foreign nationals or transfer personnel between nations

  • Complying with, and defending, anti-discrimination and unlawful immigration practices

  • Adjusting to mergers and acquisitions and other changes in corporate ownership that affect employment-based visa petitions

  • Confronting special circumstance matters such as asylum claims and removal proceedings

  • Coping with applicants who must go through "Technology Alert List" clearances

  • Developing comprehensive strategies for transitioning foreign-born employees from temporary to permanent work-authorized U.S. status

  • Developing hiring plans utilizing multiple visa types to avoid dependence on any one visa category

Thelen's attorneys have practical experience in the following areas:

  • Professional visas (H-1 visa)

  • Intra-company transferee visas (L-1 visa)

  • Treaty Visas (E-1, E-2, E-3)

  • Student and Trainee Visas (F, J, H-3 visas)

  • Extraordinary Ability Visas (O visas)

  • Outstanding Athletes and Artists (P visas)

  • Business Visitors (B visa)

  • North American Free Trade Agreement (TN status)

  • Visa processing at U.S. Consulates abroad

  • Visa re-issuance by the U.S. Department of State

  • "PERM" labor certification

  • Employment-based lawful permanent residence

  • Extraordinary alien lawful permanent residence

  • Outstanding researcher lawful permanent residence

  • Multinational executive or managerial transferee lawful permanent residence

Thelen's clients are privy to expert representation at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) offices throughout the United States, the U.S. Department of Labor and state labor offices, the U.S. Department of State, and U.S. consular offices throughout the world.

Each attorney in the group is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and lectures and publishes in the area of U.S. immigration law.

To learn more about Thelen's Immigration practice, please contact the following:

JoAnne C. Adlerstein
New York
Tel: 212.603.2388
jadlerstein@thelen.com