Steptoe's immigration practice delivers business immigration solutions customized to meet the needs of your organization. We are a nationally recognized immigration group, advising and assisting clients with the full spectrum of US immigration options. We work on behalf of large, multinational employers, emerging and midmarket companies, investors and start-up companies, NGOs and nonprofit organizations, individuals, and families. Through experience, leadership, and technology, our team solves complex immigration matters as well as assists with day-to-day immigration needs. We understand that inadequately managed immigration processes can disrupt business operations, damage corporate brands, and lead to the loss of key personnel. Corporations with significant multinational operations need immigration counsel with a broad range of experience and knowledge, rooted in practical business realities. Increasingly, global businesses with significant immigration portfolios are also benefitting from immigration-related services such as regulatory compliance, advocacy before the government, and related litigation matters.
Strong working relationships are the hallmark of Steptoe’s immigration practice. Our lawyers have built a reputation of honesty and trustworthiness in interactions with clients, government agencies, and key government personnel. They have a thorough understanding of the legal, political, and business contexts in which immigration concerns arise, and stay abreast of new developments and emerging trends needed to provide timely advice and forward-looking strategies to clients.
Steptoe’s immigration practice offers numerous advantages, including:
- Greater options based on a comprehensive understanding of the company, client, and their workforce needs
- Confidence that your organization is in compliance with rapidly changing rules and practices surrounding immigration in the United States
- Individual, custom, case preparation tailored to prevent avoidable delays and challenges
- High approval rates due to our lawyers’ knowledge, experience, and preemptive actions
- Competitive fees through advanced proficiency and efficient case management
- Case management options tuned to each client’s specific needs
Our Services
Steptoe counsels US and international companies and organizations with regard to all aspects of US business-related immigration matters – from complying with immigration laws, to sponsoring foreign national employees, to establishing processes and policies that can help manage compliance requirements. We offer vast experience across a full range of business immigration matters. Our lawyers frequently assist with obtaining temporary and permanent immigration status for executive, managerial, and professional employees, as well as a multitude of other immigration needs and case types.
As immigration enforcement has recently become an even higher priority, our practice has kept up with the demand for more regulatory analysis of corporate risks. We assist our corporate clients with immigration-related employment laws applicable to their workforce, most notably by assisting with Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 and E-verify requirements. We also assist companies with worksite investigations and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) audits. We counsel our clients on ways to minimize audit and compliance-related risks, and conduct due diligence and advise on immigration law in matters involving corporate changes, such as acquisitions, mergers, divestitures, and reorganizations.
Steptoe’s immigration lawyers have had the privilege of working with corporations and institutions for which employee global mobility is essential to their goals. Our clients include small and mid-size companies or start-ups venturing into the international market for the first time, as well as Fortune 500 companies with employees who regularly work and travel internationally. Our immigration lawyers assist employers in diverse industries, including automotive, manufacturing, telecommunications, information technology, engineering, banking and financial services, retail, education, healthcare, NGOs, and professional services. Our immigration practice regularly coordinates with Steptoe’s Private Client Group to serve high-net-worth individuals and family offices by providing mobility planning, visa preparation, and maintaining immigration compliance records.
Today, companies compete across regions and countries, and there is a fluid movement of business travelers, multinational executives, and short-term assignees. However, this movement across borders creates substantial complexities beyond immigration compliance in employment law, compensation and benefits structure, taxation, estate planning, anti-corruption, export controls, data privacy and security, and insurance issues. Our practice works in tandem with other Steptoe lawyers to prepare our clients with a foundation that can meet their needs comprehensively.
Steptoe’s immigration practice routinely provides corporate immigration services, including:
- Obtaining US nonimmigrant (temporary) and immigrant (permanent residence) visas
- Identifying eligibility for special category NAFTA visas on behalf of Mexican and Canadian nationals
- Developing processes for the transfer of employees from foreign companies to their respective US parent, subsidiary, affiliate, or branch
- Preparing applications and petitions for the temporary admission or permanent residence of foreign nationals
- Auditing employment documentation to ensure compliance with US immigration laws and regulations
- Auditing corporate records and due diligence documentation produced during M&A negotiations regarding workforce compliance
- Assisting US business entities with employment verification
- Representing US employers before Department of Labor (DOL), ICE, and related administrative agencies during enforcement proceedings
- Providing strategic counseling to foreign personnel to support multiyear US business commitments
- Preparing applications for extraordinary ability and outstanding professors/researchers
- Representing clients with criminal inadmissibility issues. Clients turn to Steptoe when other firms have failed and other avenues have been exhausted unsuccessfully. We assist individuals in overcoming inadmissibility concerns that have lingered at US consulates, making it impossible to travel to the United States.
- Assisting with planning, managing, and filing petitions in the EB-5 immigrant investor category
Our immigration practice helps clients operate successfully in a world in which business opportunities have no borders.
Noteworthy
- Legal 500 US, Labor and Employment: Immigration (2015-2017)
News & Publications
International Compliance Blog
H-1B Work Visa Cap Lottery Registration Opens March 1, 2022. Time for Employers to Prepare
February 7, 2022
International Compliance Blog
January 3, 2022
International Compliance Blog
US Immigration Announces Employment Eligibility Changes for H-4, L-2 and E Spouses
November 18, 2021
International Compliance Blog
Travel Suspensions Ending: Vaccinations to be Required for Entry to United States
September 21, 2021
International Compliance Blog
Client Alert: Biden Administration Reactivates Immigration Program for International Entrepreneurs
June 14, 2021
Publications
International Entrepreneur Start-Up Parole Option Reactivated: Requirements and Initial Planning
June 9, 2021
International Compliance Blog
President Suspends Travel from India Effective May 4 Due to COVID Risks
May 5, 2021
International Compliance Blog
Entry Suspension on Temporary Work Visa Categories Ended
April 5, 2021
International Compliance Blog
Biden Administration Revokes Order Suspending Entry into the United States by New Green Card Holders
February 25, 2021
International Compliance Blog
Client Alert: Biden Administration Clarifies Process for H-1B Work Visa Cap
February 10, 2021
Events
Resources
Client Alerts
Assessing the Impacts of Executive Order 13936 on Hong Kong's Status, One Month Later
August 25, 2020
By: Alexandra Baj, Ali Burney, Eric C. Emerson, Edward J. Krauland, Michelle L. Levin, Patrick F. Linehan, Meredith Rathbone, Wendy Wysong, Martin Willner, Jacob Nelson (International Trade Assistant)
Client Alerts
Public Charge Health Insurance Mandate and Self-Sufficiency Declarations Enjoined
November 8, 2019
Client Alerts
Travel Warning Updates: Dual Nationals and Executive Order Restrictions
February 3, 2017