Employer counsel · Pennsylvania · Nationwide
Global talent needs an operating plan—not just a petition.
Business immigration counsel for employers, HR teams, in-house counsel, and founders hiring, transferring, and retaining international professionals.
We connect category strategy, filing deadlines, work authorization, onboarding, compliance, and long-term retention—so the legal plan works inside the business.
Start with the business need
One hire, a growing program, or a change already in motion.
The right engagement depends on what the organization is trying to accomplish. We define the immediate decision, identify the responsible stakeholders, and build a sequence that can be implemented by HR and leadership.
Can this person start when the business needs them?
We assess the role, credentials, current status, worksite, salary, company facts, and desired start date before selecting and sequencing a category.
Review sponsorship servicesCan every case follow a reliable internal workflow?
We help define sponsorship criteria, intake ownership, document controls, escalation points, employee communications, renewal calendars, and permanent-residence planning.
See the employer workflowShould HR pause before implementing the change?
Promotions, relocations, remote work, salary or hours changes, reorganizations, mergers, leaves, layoffs, and terminations may require immigration review before the effective date.
Review change triggersA useful rule: Before HR changes the employee's employer, entity, duties, title, salary, hours, worksite, remote-work pattern, or end date, route the change for immigration review.
Employer immigration services
Counsel for the filing—and the decisions around it.
A strong employer program coordinates the petition, the employee's status, the business record, HR implementation, and the next milestone. We provide focused representation for individual matters and practical counsel for recurring needs.
Professional work classifications
H-1B, E-3, H-1B1, and related strategy involving the role, degree fit, wage, worksite, cap or cap-exempt path, employer evidence, and start-work rules.
Transfers and treaty professionals
L-1 and TN planning based on the corporate relationship, employment abroad, U.S. role, listed profession, credentials, nationality, timing, and port or consular process.
O-1 and evidence-intensive matters
Record development for accomplished professionals, founders, researchers, artists, and other candidates whose category depends on sustained achievement and carefully organized evidence.
PERM and employer-sponsored residence
Permanent-position design, prevailing wage, recruitment and notice controls, PERM filing, I-140 evidence, priority-date planning, and coordination with adjustment or consular processing.
Ongoing HR immigration advice
Review of onboarding, travel, extensions, promotions, worksite or remote-work changes, leaves, corporate transactions, layoffs, termination, and dependent-family timing.
I-9, E-Verify, and LCA support
Policy guidance, internal reviews, document-retention practices, anti-discrimination guardrails, public-access-file controls, and preparation for government inquiries.
A workable employer process
Give every stakeholder the next decision.
The legal work is stronger when HR, the hiring manager, finance, the employee, and counsel know what they own, what may change, and which date controls the next step.
Frame the decision
Identify the business objective, actual position, worksite, salary, desired date, decision-maker, budget, and whether the need is temporary, permanent, or both.
Screen the company and candidate
Review the organization, proposed role, credentials, nationality, current status, immigration history, foreign employment, family needs, travel, and long-term retention goal.
Build one accurate record
Align the job description, organizational chart, wage data, corporate records, forms, support letter, employee documents, and public-facing company information before filing.
Implement and monitor
Confirm when work may begin, complete onboarding, preserve required records, calendar expirations, review business changes, communicate travel rules, and begin the next retention stage early.
The HR pause points
Review the immigration effect before the business change.
A sponsored employee's approval reflects specific facts. When the employer, work, location, compensation, or company changes, the filing and compliance record may need to change too.
Create an internal escalation rule.
Ask managers and HR partners to route material changes to the immigration owner before they promise a start date, issue a transfer letter, move a worksite, change pay, or end employment.
- Recruiting or offer stage: category fit, sponsorship policy, export-control or licensing questions, realistic start date, and who may make immigration promises
- Employment changes: duties, title, salary, hours, supervisor, worksite, remote-work pattern, leave, or employing entity
- Company changes: ownership, funding, layoffs, reorganization, merger, acquisition, successor status, office opening, or closure
- Employee events: travel, visa appointment, I-94 or document expiration, dependent change, adjustment filing, promotion, relocation, resignation, or termination
Program infrastructure
Four controls that make sponsorship easier to manage.
A useful program is not a binder that no one opens. It is a simple operating system that helps the right people spot a legal issue before a business decision becomes difficult to reverse.
A sponsorship policy
Define who the organization may sponsor, who approves exceptions, which costs it covers, when permanent sponsorship may begin, and what the company will and will not promise.
A matter inventory
Track each employee's classification, petition and I-94 dates, worksite, title, salary, manager, pending cases, dependents, travel, next filing window, and responsible internal owner.
A change-review channel
Give recruiters, HR partners, managers, payroll, and mobility teams one place to ask about starts, promotions, relocations, remote work, leaves, travel, reorganizations, and separations.
A compliance calendar
Calendar petition expirations, I-94 dates, LCA and public-access-file duties, I-9 reverification when required, PERM recruitment windows, travel reviews, and long-term retention milestones.
Two-minute employer readiness guide
Where should your team begin?
Choose the answers that best fit the organization. The guide identifies an operational first focus—not a visa recommendation, audit, or legal eligibility decision—and sends nothing to our office.
Employer desk references
Official guidance belongs in the workflow.
Forms, document rules, filing windows, program instructions, and agency practices change. These primary sources are useful starting points for HR teams; case-specific decisions still require analysis of the actual facts.
Common questions
Business immigration questions from employers.
These answers offer a practical framework. The correct filing, work-authorization rule, compliance step, and timing depend on the organization, position, employee, and current government guidance.
When should an employer begin immigration planning for a hire?
Begin during recruiting or before the offer is finalized when possible. The category may involve a cap, labor-condition or wage step, government filing, consular process, travel, licensing, or a rule about when work may begin. The desired start date should be tested against the actual path before it is promised.
Can a startup or small business sponsor an employee?
Potentially. Size alone does not decide every category. The business may need to document a real operating entity, the position, supervision, work, wage, ability to meet category-specific obligations, and—in some matters—ownership, funding, qualifying relationships, or ability to pay. The facts should be screened before the company commits.
Are Form I-9 and E-Verify the same thing?
No. Form I-9 is the employment-eligibility verification record employers complete for covered new hires. E-Verify is a separate web-based system that participating employers use after completing Form I-9; it does not replace the form. Whether and how an employer must use E-Verify can depend on its enrollment, contracts, and applicable rules.
May HR tell an employee which I-9 document to present?
Employers should allow the employee to choose from the acceptable document combinations and should apply the process consistently. Requesting a particular document—or extra proof—based on citizenship, immigration status, or national origin may create unlawful discrimination risk. Current USCIS and Department of Justice guidance should be built into training.
What is an H-1B public access file?
It is a set of Labor Condition Application records that an H-1B employer must make available to the public. Department of Labor guidance identifies required items and generally requires public availability within one working day after the LCA is filed. The public file is distinct from other personnel and government-inspection records.
Do promotions, relocations, or remote-work changes require a new filing?
Sometimes. Compare the proposed change with the facts and conditions supporting the current classification and any labor-condition or permanent-residence process. Duties, title, wage, hours, worksite, employer, corporate entity, and effective date may matter. Review the change before implementation instead of assuming a prior approval covers it.
What does the employer control in a PERM case?
For a typical PERM matter, the employer identifies a permanent full-time opportunity and its actual minimum requirements, obtains a prevailing-wage determination, completes required recruitment and notice, considers applicants under the governing rules, preserves records, and submits the labor-certification application. The certified case generally precedes the employer's I-140 petition.
When may a sponsored employee begin work?
It depends on the classification, the person's current status and work authorization, what was filed or approved, and the employer and role at issue. A registration selection, receipt notice, petition approval, visa stamp, pending application, or verbal expectation does not always authorize the proposed employment on the desired date. Confirm the start rule before onboarding.
What should HR do before a layoff or termination?
Review the affected classification, I-94, pending matters, wage and notice obligations, petition-withdrawal steps, possible transportation obligations, final pay, benefits, and employee communications before the effective date when possible. Do not assume a grace period or pending case automatically protects status or employment authorization.
Can counsel help with an ongoing employer immigration program?
Yes. Support may include sponsorship criteria, intake and approval workflows, stakeholder training, portfolio and deadline reviews, I-9 and E-Verify guidance, LCA and public-file controls, employee-change review, travel protocols, permanent-residence planning, and coordinated handling of individual filings.
Information reviewed against official USCIS, E-Verify, Department of Justice, and Department of Labor guidance. Last content review: August 30, 2026. General information only; not legal advice.
Global talent · Practical employer counsel
Make immigration a managed business process.
Tell us what the organization needs to decide, who is affected, what has already been promised or filed, and which date matters. We will help identify the legal questions, operational owners, evidence, and sequence that deserve attention first.
English and Spanish · Employer counsel from Allentown for organizations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and nationwide