Washington, D.C., Business Immigration Lawyer

Cecil C. Harrigan, PC., offers a complete range of services for employers, employees and business professionals seeking legal visa status to work or set up business operations in Washington, D.C., Virginia or Maryland in the United States.

Immigrant (Permanent) Status

Our firm provides experienced representation for many of the region’s leading corporate employers, small businesses, nonprofit and educational institutions seeking permanent residence for their employees or prospective employees. We also represent individuals seeking permanent resident status based on meeting USCIS qualifications as investors or employees with extraordinary levels of job skills and/or education.

For the vast majority of professional and nonprofessional prospective employees being sponsored for permanent resident status in the U.S., the green card process consists of three steps: labor certification, the immigrant visa petition, and an application for permanent residence

Some foreign nationals can receive permanent resident status based upon employment without first obtaining labor certification from the Department of Labor. Those people file an immigrant visa petition directly with USCIS providing evidence of their qualifications under one of the classifications described below including Extraordinary Ability, Outstanding Researchers, Multinational Managers/Executives, National Interest Waivers, Schedule A Cases, Physicians or Investors. Under limited circumstances, it is possible to obtain permanent resident status without either labor certification or an offer of employment.

The following are classes of employment/business based immigrant visas;

• EB-1A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability)

• EB-1B (Outstanding Professors/Researchers)
• EB-1C (Multinational Manager or Executive)
• PERM Labor Certification
• EB-2 Based on PERM (Advanced Degree/Exceptional Ability)
• EB-3 Based on PERM (Professionals, skilled workers and other workers)
• EB-5 (Investor Visa)

Program Electronic Review Management (PERM)

The labor certification process, the first for most individuals seeking permanent residence through a process commonly referred to as PERM. This process usually involves the placement of recruitment in various media over several months. Thereafter, the employer must document all applicants who applied and the lawful, objective, job-related reasons for each applicant’s rejection employers are required to show proof that they have adequately advertised the job opening to the American workforce in the geographic area. They must also show evidence that no qualified candidate met the specific job requirements for training, skills and knowledge, or can be adequately trained in a timely manner to successfully fill the vacancy.

PERM requirements are strict and complex. If you are considering sponsoring a foreign workers for lawful permanent residence in the United States, talk to an attorney at Cecil C. Harrigan, PC. Our attorneys have been working with employers on immigration matters for more than 40 combined years. Since founding our law firm in 2000, we have helped numerous American employers and international businesses successfully navigate DOL regulations and the PERM process.

Flat Fees for Many Services

Unlike many immigration law firms, we represent employers and employees during the three phases of processing for employment related immigrant visas (PERM, USCIS petition, and adjustment of status/consular processing) for a reasonable flat fee. You will know exactly what services you need and what you are getting for your legal fees. In the event you require additional services beyond the scope of the service package, we will make sure exactly what you need, our cost of the service and how long the process will require. We do everything possible to keep our fees reasonable, so there will be no surprise billings.

Bethesda Permanent Labor Certification Attorney

Our lawyers represent clients in Washington, D.C., and surrounding communities in Virginia and Maryland. Call us at 202-387-8866 or contact us by e-mail to arrange an initial consultation with an experienced Washington, D.C., PERM attorney. If you hire us for a package of immigration legal services, the initial consultation fee will be credited to your retainer.

EB 5 Investor Immigrant Visas

The Immigration Act of 1990 (“IMMACT 90”) created the Immigrant Investor Program as the fifth preference category for employment-based immigration, also known as EB-5. This was the first time a category specifically facilitated the admission of immigrant investors as lawful permanent residents and currently remains the only such category to do so. EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program is available to those immigrants who have invested, or are in the process of investing at least $1 million in a new commercial enterprise employing at least 10 full-time U.S. workers. Individuals who invest in a targeted employment area only need to invest a minimum of $500,000.

The EB-5 visa essentially offers a good immigration solution for those who have the financial resources. It does not require an employment offer from a U.S. employer as other EB categories do, nor does it require a labor certificate. After issuing four precedent decisions by the former INS Administrative Appeals Unit in 1998, it became very difficult for investors to qualify under EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. However, with the current economic downturn, USCIS has relaxed its requirements for the EB-5 program as a means to bring in more foreign investment. Most importantly, because the annual quota consistently exceeds the number of applicants, those who qualify for EB-5 status do not typically have to wait long for a visa as there is currently no visa quota backlog.

Nonimmigrant (Temporary) Visas

Nonimmigrant visas are for temporary residence in the U.S., whereas immigrant visas provide for permanent residence. Depending on the visa category, an employer may have to file a petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to obtain initial approval for the individual. If the individual is outside the U.S., he or she presents then this visa petition approval to a U.S. consulate to obtain the appropriate category of visa stamp in his or her passport. Other types of nonimmigrant visa applicants may make their applications directly to the U.S. Consulate.

U.S. immigration laws specify many different categories of nonimmigrant visas based on the nature of the employment, the involvement of training, the special talents of the individual, and/or the nationality of the individual, among other factors. Following an initial consultation, Cecil C. Harrigan, PC provides a thorough analysis of the available nonimmigrant visa options and develops a strategy appropriate for the individual client and circumstances.

Cecil C. Harrigan, PC., offers individualized and legal services for employees and employers seeking non-immigrant visas for temporary job assignments in the United States.

Employer-sponsored non-immigrant visas include:

• H-1B Specialty Occupation
• H-1 Free trade agreement professionals from Chile and Singapore
• NAFTA Free Trade professionals from Mexico and Canada (TN)
• Free Trade E3 visas professionals from Australia
• Inter-company transferees (L)
• Physicians, medical professionals (J, H-1B)
• Visiting exchange professors, scholars and teachers (J)
• Workers performing temporary or seasonal labor (H-2B)
• Religious workers (R)
• O Extraordinary Ability Workers
• P Performers and Athletes
• Domestic employees accompanies by foreign national employer (B-1)
• Au pairs exchange visitors (J)

If you are an employer in the Washington, D.C., area who is seeking to sponsor a worker or group of workers to enter the United States on a non-immigrant, temporary visa status, talk to an attorney at Cecil C. Harrigan, PC. Since we opened our doors in 2000, we have helped a significant number of employers meet their specific employment needs through the various immigration options made available by the USCIS. Attorneys Cecil Harrigan have more than 20 years of immigration law experience.

Arlington Temporary Visas Attorney for Employers · Employment-Based Visas

Our lawyers represent clients in Washington, D.C., and surrounding communities in Virginia and Maryland. Call us at 202-387-8866 or contact us by e-mail to arrange an initial consultation with an experienced Washington, D.C., business immigration attorney. If you hire us for a package of immigration legal services, the initial consultation fee will be credited to your retainer.