Washington, D.C., Employment-Based Immigrant Visa 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 for this category.
