Allentown · Pennsylvania · Nationwide counsel
Build the immigration plan before the start date.
Business-minded immigration guidance for employers, founders, HR teams, and professionals planning temporary work authorization or permanent residence.
A job title alone does not choose the category. Duties, degree fit, company structure, nationality, worksite, timing, immigration history, and long-term goals all shape the strategy.
Choose the right architecture
Temporary status, permanent residence, or both.
Many strong plans use one category to support near-term work and another to pursue permanent residence. The sequence matters because filing, travel, job changes, and visa availability can affect each stage differently.
Work-authorized classifications
H-1B, L-1, TN, E-2, and other options depend on category-specific facts such as the position, credentials, qualifying business relationship, nationality, investment, and intended work.
Review temporary optionsPermanent residence through work
Many EB-2 and EB-3 cases involve a permanent job offer, Department of Labor steps, an I-140 petition, visa availability, and then adjustment of status or consular processing.
See the planning sequenceEvidence-driven immigrant options
Certain EB-1 extraordinary-ability and EB-2 national-interest-waiver cases may permit self-petitioning. Eligibility is not based on education or ambition alone; the legal standard and supporting record must be proven.
Identify your first focusImportant: No category fits every hire. Cap rules, professional licensing, maintenance of status, prior filings, worksite changes, company ownership, layoffs, travel, and the monthly Visa Bulletin can materially change the plan.
How we help
A filing strategy built around the real job and the real person.
We connect the legal category to the duties, credentials, company record, immigration history, work location, and business timeline—then keep those facts consistent from filing through onboarding and renewal.
Specialty-occupation strategy
Role and degree-fit analysis, cap and cap-exempt planning, labor-condition coordination, employer evidence, extensions, amendments, and qualifying change-of-employer filings.
Intracompany transfers
Review of the foreign and U.S. entity relationship, qualifying employment abroad, proposed managerial, executive, or specialized-knowledge role, and new-office evidence when relevant.
Professional and treaty options
Category screening for Canadian and Mexican professionals, treaty investors, and key personnel, with attention to nationality, credentials, ownership, investment, and temporary intent requirements.
Permanent labor certification
Position requirements, prevailing-wage planning, recruitment steps, documentation controls, filing strategy, and coordination with the later I-140 immigrant petition.
I-140 and self-petition analysis
EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 review, including extraordinary ability, multinational managers, national interest waivers, employer petitions, ability-to-pay evidence, and priority-date strategy.
Status transitions and compliance
Planning for start dates, I-9 responsibilities, extensions, travel, consular processing, job or worksite changes, corporate transactions, termination, and the final green-card stage.
The planning sequence
Start with facts—not a form number.
Some matters begin with the Department of Labor, some with a USCIS employer petition, some at a port of entry or consulate, and limited immigrant categories allow self-petitioning. The correct sequence follows the selected category.
Define the business need
Identify the actual duties, required qualifications, salary, worksite, reporting structure, start date, company history, and whether the role is temporary or permanent.
Map the person to the category
Review nationality, education, experience, licenses, current status, immigration history, foreign employment, ownership, achievements, travel, family needs, and long-term goals.
Build a consistent record
Prepare the employer, position, and professional evidence so the business documents, forms, support letter, wage information, prior filings, and public-facing facts tell the same accurate story.
File, respond, and maintain
Track government notices, start-work rules, status expiration, travel, onboarding, I-9 steps, amendments, renewals, job changes, priority dates, and the next permanent-residence milestone.
Protect the work authorization
A business change can become an immigration change.
A promotion, new worksite, reduced salary, corporate reorganization, remote-work arrangement, leave, layoff, or termination may affect a filing or the worker's status. Review the immigration effect before implementing the change when possible.
Do not assume work can begin.
A selection notice, receipt, approval, visa stamp, or pending green-card case does not always authorize the specific employment on the desired date. Confirm the document, employer, role, worksite, and effective date.
- Status expiration, I-94 dates, travel, consular stamping, dependent status, or gaps in work authorization
- Changes to duties, title, salary, worksite, remote-work pattern, hours, supervisor, or employing entity
- Company ownership, startup funding, qualifying relationships, ability to pay, layoffs, mergers, acquisitions, or closure
- Priority-date movement, country of chargeability, aging children, marriage, job portability, or a change in the sponsored position
Prepare with purpose
Four records that should agree.
The exact evidence depends on the category. This framework helps employers and professionals find inconsistencies early—before they become a request for evidence, compliance problem, or interview issue.
The employer record
Formation and ownership documents, FEIN, business activity, financial or payroll records, organizational charts, contracts, office or worksite evidence, and prior immigration filings.
The position record
Detailed duties, minimum requirements, salary, hours, worksite, remote-work arrangement, supervisor, reporting structure, permanent or temporary need, and realistic start date.
The professional record
Passport, I-94 and status documents, filing history, résumé, degrees and evaluations, licenses, experience letters, pay records, prior immigration answers, achievements, and travel plans.
The long-term record
Priority dates, PERM and I-140 history, adjustment or consular plan, dependents, aging children, promotions, relocations, job changes, travel, renewals, and document-expiration dates.
Two-minute strategy guide
What should you organize first?
Choose the answers that best fit the situation. The guide identifies a practical first focus—not a visa recommendation or legal eligibility decision—and sends nothing to our office.
Use current information
Official tools for live rules and dates.
Fees, forms, filing windows, processing options, and visa availability change. Use official government pages for current information instead of relying on an old checklist or fixed estimate.
Common questions
Employment immigration FAQ.
These answers explain the structure, but category eligibility, filing strategy, work authorization, and timing depend on the actual employer, position, professional, and immigration record.
Does every employment green card require an employer?
No. Many EB-2 and EB-3 cases require a permanent job offer and employer sponsorship, often including labor certification. Certain EB-1 extraordinary-ability and EB-2 national-interest-waiver cases may be self-petitioned if the person proves the category's requirements.
What is the H-1B cap, and does it affect every H-1B case?
The annual H-1B cap limits many new H-1B cases and generally involves electronic registration and selection before filing. Some employers and filings are cap-exempt, and some workers have already been counted. Check the current USCIS cap-season rules for the relevant year.
Can an H-1B professional start with a new employer when the case is filed?
Some eligible H-1B workers may use portability after the new employer properly files a nonfrivolous petition, but the rule is conditional. Current status, prior H-1B history, timing, work authorization, and the filing itself must be reviewed before the start date.
What facts matter for an L-1 transfer?
L-1 cases require a qualifying relationship between the foreign and U.S. organizations, qualifying employment abroad, and a qualifying U.S. role as a manager, executive, or specialized-knowledge employee. New-office cases have additional business-evidence and duration issues.
Who may qualify for TN classification?
TN classification is for eligible Canadian or Mexican citizens coming to work in a listed USMCA profession who meet the profession's credentials and have qualifying prearranged professional activity. A job being professional in ordinary language is not enough.
Does an E-2 investor visa lead directly to a green card?
No. E-2 is a temporary treaty classification and does not itself create a direct green-card category. Treaty nationality, a qualifying enterprise, substantial at-risk investment, source and path of funds, ownership or control, and the person's role all matter.
What happens in the PERM process?
For many permanent positions, the employer defines the actual minimum requirements, obtains a prevailing-wage determination, completes required recruitment and notice steps, and files the labor-certification application. Certification generally comes before the employer's I-140 petition.
Does an approved I-140 authorize employment or guarantee a green card?
No. An I-140 approval confirms the immigrant petition at that stage; it does not by itself grant status, authorize employment, or guarantee adjustment or visa issuance. The person still needs an available immigrant visa and a valid final-stage process, among other requirements.
What is a priority date, and why does the Visa Bulletin matter?
The priority date establishes the person's place in the employment-preference line. Visa availability depends on the category and country of chargeability and can move or retrogress monthly. USCIS separately identifies which chart applies to adjustment filings.
What should happen after a layoff, termination, or major job change?
Review the immigration effect immediately. Options and deadlines depend on the person's classification, I-94, pending filings, new offer, adjustment stage, and other facts. Do not assume a grace period, transfer rule, or pending case automatically protects status or work authorization.
Employment immigration at a glance
- Who we represent
- Employers, founders, HR teams, and professionals, based in Allentown and serving Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and clients nationwide.
- Languages
- English and Spanish, for every stakeholder in the case.
- Temporary categories
- H-1B specialty occupation, L-1 intracompany transfer, TN under USMCA, and E-2 treaty investor, among others.
- Permanent categories
- EB-1, EB-2 (including the national interest waiver), and EB-3, filed on Form I-140.
- Labor certification
- Many EB-2 and EB-3 cases require PERM labor certification from the Department of Labor before the I-140 is filed.
- Self-petition
- Available in certain EB-1 extraordinary-ability and EB-2 national-interest-waiver cases, where no employer sponsor is required.
- Visa availability
- Set monthly by the Department of State Visa Bulletin, by preference category and country of chargeability.
- Office
- 609 W. Hamilton Street, No. 102, Allentown, PA 18101 · (484) 763-4984
Information reviewed against official guidance from USCIS temporary-worker resources, USCIS permanent-worker resources, the current H-1B cap page, Department of Labor PERM guidance, and the Department of State Visa Bulletin. General information only; not legal advice.
Reviewed and updated
Global talent · Local counsel
From our door in Allentown to the people who move your business forward.
Tell us about the company, the position, the professional, the current immigration status, and the date that matters. We will help identify the questions, evidence, and sequencing that deserve attention first.
English and Spanish · Serving employers and professionals in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and nationwide