Contacts
Sandra A. Strempel Leigh Polk Cole
Our Immigration Group supports regulatory compliance and human resources management for employment of international personnel at colleges, universityies, primary and secondary schools, health care facilities, businesses and nonprofit emplyers. We also support international student and scholar services at colleges, universities and secondary schools.
Areas of Concentration
Education Immigration; Business Immigration
Education Immigration Practice Profile
Our Education Immigration Practice provides comprehensive, cost effective immigration representation to colleges, universities, secondary schools and professional schools.
The firm's concentration on colleges and universities in Vermont has allowed our firm to develop a practice focused on the specific needs of colleges and universities, including U.S. immigration requirements for faculty, students, scholars and professional staff. We offer a depth of knowledge and experience regarding immigration law matters affecting educational institutions. Our Education Immigration Practice supports in-house counsel and foreign student advisors at colleges and universities as well as outside counsel at firms that do not include immigration practice groups.
Our education immigration services include:
- - Advice and assistance relating to immigration matters for faculty, students, visiting scholars and professional staff;
- Immigration support for foreign student advisors as well as in-house counsel and outside counsel responsible for immigration applications, strategy and compliance;
- Preparation of H-1B petitions for faculty and staff;
- Preparation of applications for TN status for Canadians faculty and professional staff;
- Compliance matters for J-1/F-1 program sponsors;
- Lawful permanent residency applications for faculty, including labor certification, special handling for outstanding professors and researchers, and Schedule A professions;
- Visa status for international faculty and administrators who have risen to the very top of their field;
- Assistance with consular processing through US consular posts abroad;
- Analysis of issues relating to possible prior immigration violations or criminal convictions that may result in admissibility under US immigration law;
- Applications for US citizenship by naturalization for lawful permanent residents of the United States;
- Advice on strategies to control costs and delays in immigration matters, coordinate recruiting efforts with immigration requirements, maintain compliance with US immigration laws, and choose a method to achieve the client's hiring goals when several legal options are available;
- Representation of clients in administrative and judicial matters before the US Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Business Immigration Practice Profile
Our Business Immigration Practice provides comprehensive, cost-effective immigration representation to business and institutional clients including manufacturers, health care institutions, startup businesses, colleges and universities.
Our business immigration services include:
- - Advice and assistance relating to immigration matters for employees, executives, and investors;
- Immigration support for human resource professionals as well as in-house counsel responsible for immigration applications, strategy and complian
- Preparation of H-1B petitions for professionals in specialty occupations;
- Preparation of applications for TN status for Canadians in professions listed in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); - Lawful permanent residency applications, including labor certification;
- Visa status for internationals who have risen to the very top of their field;
- Assistance with consular processing through U.S. consular posts abroad;
- Analysis of issues relating to possible prior immigration violations or criminal convictions that my result in admissibility under US immigration law;
- Applications for US citizenship by naturalization for lawful permanent residents of the United States;
- Advice on strategies to control costs and delays in immigration matters, coordinate recruiting efforts with immigration requirements, maintain compliance with US immigration laws and choose a method to achieve the client's hiring goals when several legal options are available;
- Representation of clients in administrative and judicial matters before the US Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Client Resources
Our Immigration Practice has all the tools needed to analyze and resolve the range of immigration matters that arise in the business environment. Our paralegal staff has years of experience with immigration matters for business and institutional clients. Our state-of-the-art immigration software allows us to handle efficiently a large number of immigration cases at a given time. Our firm's law library contains an extensive immigration law collection, including treatises and electronic materials.
- Business Immigration Resources:
US Department of Homeland Security Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services
US Department of State (State Department)
US Department of State Visa Services
American Immigration Lawyers Association
National Association of College and University Attorneys
NAFSA: Association of International Educators