Our responsive and professional team goes above and beyond to create comprehensive, thorough, and thoughtful immigration programs for employers.
Today, more than ever, employers seeking to remain competitive in the global marketplace need to attract and retain the best and brightest talent available. This recruiting effort often includes individuals from foreign countries. Being able to successfully navigate ever-changing legal, regulatory, and political environments can maximize your chances of attracting top recruits.
For more than 30 years, our immigration lawyers have been guiding effective immigration programs for clients of all sizes, including a number of higher education entities. Our primary goal is to facilitate the transfer of foreign nationals to the U.S. for employment. We obtain their temporary (and usually more immediate) U.S. work authorization, ensure their compliance with all immigration requirements while in the U.S., and finally secure their permanent resident status. We have advised higher education clients on a wide range of immigration matters including temporary work authorization, faculty permanent residence and immigration compliant recruiting practices.
Awards reflect our outstanding work and excellent service. Our Immigration group has been recognized every year since 2012 in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business. Chambers USA, the worldwide leader in attorney and firm rankings, has been ranking the best lawyers since 1990, and now covers over 185 jurisdictions. No other organization has the strength-in-depth of their editorial and research team when it comes to assessing the world’s business lawyers. In 2016, we were awarded this coveted ranking for our work in New York State, not just the Upstate New York region.
“They’re proactive, they bring key renewals required of our employees to our attention prior to us bringing it up. They also deliver solutions when cases aren’t straightforward, they’re always thinking about creative ways to get things done quicker and more effectively, but all within the law,” is just one of the comments clients said about our Immigration group to the researchers at Chambers USA. Read about Chambers USA and our profile here.
Our role in serving both the short and long-term needs of clients is multi-faceted, and due to the dedication and experience of our practitioners, we are on the cutting edge of critical issues facing immigrants.
Frank Novak is a former member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Board of Governors, and former Chair of the AILA Health Care Professionals Committee. He served on the AILA Vermont Service Center Liaison Committee, which addressed policy and practice concerns on behalf of immigration attorneys nationwide. Frank recently served as President of the Volunteer Legal Services Project in Rochester, NY. Frank’s clients had this to say about him to Chambers USA researchers: "A powerhouse…..deep knowledge of government regulations and policies…very customer-focused.”
Maggie Catillaz, as a current member of the Board of Governors and former President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), has represented AILA as chair of liaison committees interacting with the highest-ranking decision makers in the USCIS, the Department of State and the Department of Labor. Maggie’s expertise has been recognized nationally and internationally, having been named for her work in immigration in Best Lawyers in the U.S., International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers, and The Chambers Group.
This website presents only general information not intended as legal advice. Although we encourage calls, letters and emails from prospective clients, please keep in mind that merely contacting Harter Secrest & Emery LLP (HSE) does not establish an attorney-client relationship between us. Confidential information should not be sent to HSE until you have been notified in writing by HSE that a formal attorney-client relationship has been established. Information sent to us before then may not be treated as confidential by HSE or the court.
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