Immigration
Contact: Jacqueline DeAndrus Bucar
Business Immigration and Nationality Law
Murtha Cullina's immigration practice group understands the importance of competing in a global market place and plays an essential part in assisting businesses in this endeavor. We assist multi-national companies to obtain the necessary key foreign employees to meet their business needs. Our immigration attorneys obtain visas for executives, managers and those with specialized knowledge as well as professionals, skilled workers, treaty investors or traders, business visitors and other employment based workers. Murtha Cullina has broad experience in obtaining the appropriate immigrant visa based on a particular occupation and has prepared petitions also for aliens of extraordinary ability. We have the expertise in obtaining waivers of the two-year foreign residence requirement of the J-1 visa and are proficient in obtaining certified labor certifications necessary for obtaining legal permanent residence in the United States, including information technology, engineering, and the medical field. We have also, where possible, achieved permanent residence for certain workers without the necessity for testing the labor market and obtaining a labor certification.
Immigration laws are closely interconnected with employment laws. Murtha Cullina's immigration practice group also has the experience of advising and assisting its clients in these two areas. We provide guidance to our corporate clients with respect to their immigration policy, potential unlawful immigration practices and compliance with the immigration laws concerning the authorized employment of non Americans in the United States. We have the expertise to review and advise regarding I-9 obligations and assist clients both before and during a labor department or government audit. We counsel our clients in order to avoid sanctions for employing unauthorized aliens or against charges of discrimination.
While our immigration practice is primarily focused on assisting multi-national businesses, we are a full service immigration practice. Often key employees transferred to or employed by U.S. businesses need assistance with their family's immigration needs. We prepare and assist family members to obtain the appropriate visa, change their non-immigrant status or seek permanent residence. We also help those seeking naturalization in that process.
In a time of global expansion and multi-national businesses, immigration law plays a greater and greater role in American companies' abilities to compete. We at Murtha Cullina can assist those companies in that endeavor.
Our attorneys identify the best options for clients to obtain work authorization, develop strategies to obtain temporary work authorization and permanent resident status, explain the requirements, and discuss the application processes. Typical immigration matters handled by the firm are the following:
- Intracompany transferee (L-1) visa petitions.
- Treaty trader/investor (E) visa processing.
- Advice to Canadian and Mexican nationals regarding immigration benefits and procedures available under the North American Free Trade Agreement (TN).
- Specialty occupation/professional (H-1B) visas, other temporary employment (H-2B/H-3) categories.
- Extraordinary ability in the sciences, business, education, athletics and the arts (O & P).
- Exchange visitors and nannies (J-1).
- Advice to tourists, business visitors (B-1/B-2) and students (F-1).
- Permanent resident ("Green Card") processing including labor certification, immigrant visa petitions for executives of multinational corporations, outstanding professors and researchers, people of extraordinary and exceptional ability, skilled and unskilled workers.
