Practice Areas

Immigration

McLane Middleton's Immigration Practice Group specializes in immigration and nationality law, with emphasis on business and employment immigration.

The United States has always attracted the best and brightest from around the world, and there are significant numbers of highly educated and motivated people worldwide seeking to work, either temporarily or permanently, for a U.S. company. In a strong economy characterized by low unemployment and rapidly changing technology, U.S. businesses wishing to ride the wave of economic growth and expansion of new technologies are finding that employment of foreign nationals is critical to their prospects for success. Additionally, businesses based abroad seeking to establish a presence in the U.S. marketplace must be able to transfer key employees to this country swiftly and efficiently.Because of the federal nature of immigration practice, the firm’s Immigration Group has the flexibility to represent clients in New Hampshire, throughout New England and the United States, and around the world. Our firm assists corporate and individual clients, whether inside or outside the United States.Some of the more frequent temporary and permanent visas that we have been instrumental in obtaining for our business and individual clients are:

Non Immigrant: Temporary Status

  • B-1 Visitor for Business: A common visa category generally for brief visits. B-1 business visitors are usually admitted only for the period required to conduct their business.
  • E-1 or E-2 Treaty Trader/Investor: Investors/traders and employees may receive E visas to carry on their business in the United States if the home country has a commercial Treaty with the U.S. conferring visa eligibility.
  • H-1B Specialty Occupations: Professionals with at least a bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience may be eligible for this non-immigrant visa if the position requires such a degree or equivalent experience.
  • L Intracompany Transferee: These visas are available to executives, managers and persons holding specialized knowledge who own or are employed by a business abroad if the company has a U.S. branch office or affiliate or intends to create one.
  • TN-NAFTA Professionals: A special visa category for nationals of Canada/Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Immigrant: Permanent Status

  • Diversity: Each year by random selection, 55,000 immigrant visas are issued to applicants from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.
  • Family Sponsored: Available to those who have a qualifying relationship to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
  • Employment Based: Available to those within one of the enumerated preference categories possessing a specific offer of employment from a U.S.-based employer.

Additional Immigration Services

  • Labor Certification (Reduction in Recruitment)
  • Citizenship Matters
  • Educational Credential Evaluation
  • Taxation Matters of Foreign Employees
  • Document Translation
  • Prevailing Wage Determinations
  • I-9 Compliance Reviews

The immigration lawyers at McLane Middleton continually update their knowledge of ever-changing immigration laws and public policies to ensure that they provide employers and individuals with the latest and most appropriate resources and strategies. With decades of combined experience in immigration law, McLane has been successful in providing creative options, enabling foreign nationals to realize their dream of living and working in the United States and enabling U.S. employers to keep pace in a global business environment.

McLane Middleton attorneys assist companies and individuals on a wide array of immigration law issues in the employment context. The firm’s Immigration Law Practice Group manages a large roster of foreign national employees for some of New England’s most important companies, including Lonza Biologics, Velcro Industries, and Hitchiner Manufacturing. Our experience allows us to creatively guide clients through the immigration implications related to employment and business decisions.

We routinely assist employers to ensure I-9 compliance through internal audits and comprehensive training of human resources personnel. As part of a proactive compliance strategy, we help to create and implement effective company policies. The Immigration Law Practice Group also regularly helps employers to comply with the E-Verify requirements. We advise clients on E-Verify compliance, conduct training on how to administer the system, and help them to avoid common pitfalls. We also help companies to work through the complicated steps for obtaining work visas, Green Cards or naturalized citizen status for their foreign worker hires.

McLane Middleton also counsels individuals who are seeking employment opportunities abroad or in the U.S., or who have family connections in the U.S. Depending on individual circumstances, we help clients to obtain temporary work visas, permanent resident status, or naturalized citizen status.

H-1B Visas

The H-1B visa is one of the most popular work visas in the United States, but is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain due to a shortage.  Applications for H-1B visas are accepted on April 1 of each year.  McLane Middleton’s immigration attorneys can help your company complete the applications correctly and on time to prevent the application from being rejected from the lottery.

Shiva Karimi

For additional information, contact Shiva Karimi, chair of the firm's Immigration Group.

Contact Shiva