Our attorneys provide prompt and expert advice on immigration and nationality law to numerous Fortune 500 companies, corporate employers in engineering, financial, pharmaceutical, telecommunications, as well as emerging businesses within high tech industries. Our expertise in these matters involves issues that in-house personnel thought best managed by outside counsel either because of their complexity or the importance to the company of the individual involved.
We believe that our expertise and broad experience with such concerns provides us with unique insight into the types of problems that your company faces in determining how to proceed to obtain competent, cost effective immigration services, and how best to resolve them.
What is New for 2021
As of January 1, 2021, the attorneys of specialty business immigration law firm Dornbaum & Peregoy LLC
have joined Connell Foley LLP to establish a new Corporate Immigration Practice Group, as part of Connell Foley’s accomplished Labor and Employment Practice Group. We will remain in Suburban Essex County, and be conveniently located at Connell Foley’s corporate headquarters at 56 Livingston Avenue, Roseland, New Jersey.
The Corporate Immigration Practice Group at Connell Foley will continue to be co-chaired by Partners Neil Dornbaum and Kathleen Peregoy, who will be joined by their full team of attorneys, paraprofessional and administrative staff.
The firms are well matched and the practices complement one another. Established in 1938, Connell Foley is a
leading full-service law firm with nearly 150 lawyers and 7 offices throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. The firm has built a stellar reputation over 80 year by providing outstanding legal services, while maintaining a firm culture predicated on client service and teamwork. Connell Foley lawyers take a hands-on approach in partnering with clients, offering keen insight and cost-effective solutions to help clients succeed in an ever-changing market. Connell Foley is recognized as a leader throughout the region in numerous areas of law,
including: banking and finance, bankruptcy and restructuring, commercial litigation, construction, cybersecurity and data privacy, environmental, insurance, labor and employment, product liability, professional liability,
real estate, tax and estates, transportation, and white-collar criminal defense. Connell Foley’s clients include Fortune 500 corporations, government entities, middle market and start-up businesses, and entrepreneurs. We look forward to continue our work with an expanded client base and service enhancements for 2021 and beyond.
Immigration law is a complex area, due to the fact that the immigration laws themselves are extremely intricate and undergo changes on a daily basis. There is a continuous flow of federal court and administrative agency decisions that impact daily practice including those issued by the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA), Administrative Appeals Office (AAO), Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), Chief Administration Hearing Officer (OCAHO), and Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR). In addition, regulations are promulgated daily, emanating from various governmental agencies including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Immigration and Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Department of State (State), Department of Labor (DOL), U.S. Information Agency (USIA) and Public Health Service (PHS). Finally, in-depth knowledge of the nuances of local practice, for example, differences in processing times and procedures between States must be drawn upon in order to render proper advice, make appropriate filings and take necessary action to achieve an employer’s immigration related goals.
Our special emphasis is on employment based immigration. Our Practice Group enjoys a national reputation and regularly and expertly handles multi-state matters nationwide. The firm is has achieved Martindale-Hubbell’s highest rating for legal ability and ethical standards and is listed in ” The Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers “, 1994-Present, under Immigration Law. This listing is limited to the top 3% of law firms that have received Martindale-Hubbell’s highest rating. This rating is earned by only 11% of U.S. Lawyers. The rating is based on anonymous peer review questionnaires. Both principals have over 30 years legal experience.
Practice Group Overview
Our practice group provides its clients with a full-service employment-based, family-based, naturalization, consular and litigation immigration practice. Clients include large, medium, and small businesses engaged in the domestic and international transfer of foreign personnel, including executives, managers, and other highly skilled professionals, and those individuals of extraordinary and exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, and athletics, as well as individuals seeking to unite with family members.
Services Available
Our Practice Group offers its clients a full array of employment based immigration legal services including both Immigrant Visas (“green cards”) and Nonimmigrant (temporary) Visas. Our Practice Group also provides its corporate clients with legal services in conducting due diligence and risk assessment for immigration purposes, including I-9 Employment Compliance/Employer Sanctions and the unique immigration issues raised by Mergers and Acquisitions and other forms of corporate restructuring with regard to the employment of foreign personnel.
Immigrant Visas including:
- EB-1 Priority Workers Persons of Extraordinary Ability in the Sciences, Arts, Education, Business or Athletics; Outstanding Professors or Researchers; Multinational Executive and Manager Transferees
- EB-2 Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees; Persons of Exceptional Ability in the Sciences, Arts or Business
- EB-3 Professionals with Bachelors Degrees; Skilled Workers
Nonimmigrant Visas including:
- B-1 Business Visitors
- E-1 Treaty Traders
- E-2 Treaty Investors
- F-1 Student Visas (and Practical Training)
- H-1B Specialty Occupation Professionals
- H-2B Essential Skill Workers
- H-3 Trainees
- I-1 Foreign Media Representatives
- J-1 Exchange Visitors
- L-1 Intracompany Transferees
- O-1 Extraordinary Ability Individuals
- P-1 Athletes and Entertainers
- P-2 Reciprocal Exchange Artists and Entertainers
- P-3 Culturally Unique Artists and Entertainers
- Q-1 Cultural Exchange Visitors
- R-1 Religious Workers
- TN NAFTA Professionals
Family-Based Immigration Legal Services
Our Practice Group offers its clients a full array of family based immigration legal services including both Immigrant Visas (“greencards”) and Nonimmigrant (temporary) Visas.
Immigrant Visas including:
- IR Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens Spouses, Unmarried Children and Parents
- F-1 Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens
- F-2A Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents
- F-2B Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Permanent Residents
- F-3 Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens
- F-4 Brothers and Sisters of U.S. Citizens
Nonimmigrant Visas including:
- K-1 Fiances/Fiancees of U.S. Citizens
- K-3 Spouses of U.S. Citizens
- V-1 Spouses of Permanent Residents
- V-2 Children of Permanent Residents
Consular Legal Services
Both Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visas are adjudicated/issued at U.S. Embassies and Consulates overseas. Given the extraordinary bureaucratic delays of the Department of Homeland Security – Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (former Immigration and Naturalization Service) in adjudicating Applications to Adjust Status (to Permanent Resident) within the U.S., consular processing abroad of Immigrant Visa Applications often offers individuals and dependent family members a faster track to obtaining their green cards. Our Practice Group offers its clients the resources to effectively deal with every U.S. consular post abroad.
Naturalization Legal Services
After obtaining permanent residence, individuals may elect to pursue U.S. citizenship through naturalization. U.S. residence and physical presence are required for varying periods of time depending upon how one obtained his green card in order to qualify. Other criteria affect one’s eligibility for naturalization often making the process more complex than initially apparent.
Our Practice Philosophy
Meticulous attention to detail, creative problem solving and a result oriented focus are hallmarks of our Practice Group. Our approach to work is always prophylactic – the most effective way to deal with a problem is to prevent the problem before it occurs. Often, careful planning and foundation building at the initiation of a case will ensure a smooth process on the track to the desired result.
We recognize the cost-value of time to our clients, particularly in the world of business where time and money are fungible. We strive to provide legal representation of the highest quality and value to our clients. The unique background of our staff and full array of Immigration Legal Services provide our Practice Group with the specialized tools to effectuate our clients’ business and personal immigration goals in a timely cost efficient manner.
Our Clients
We counsel and represent domestic and multinational companies, universities, research institutions, and
nonprofit corporations in the full range of business and employment-related issues. Our clients operate in diverse industries, including transportation, construction, financial services, medical technologies, software, telecommunications, manufacturing, consumer products, education, entertainment, import/export, and consulting services, among others.
We obtain temporary and permanent visas and employment authorization documents for employees; handle
permanent residence and naturalization applications; advise on immigration issues in corporate mergers and acquisitions; assist in obtaining work visa for employment in foreign countries; and counsel and represent clients concerning I-9 and immigration compliance issues, audits, and investigations.
The immigration attorneys regularly represent clients before U.S. government agencies, including agencies within the Department of Homeland Security, State, Labor, and Justice, as well as numerous embassies and consulates abroad.
Recent Projects
· Processing of H-1B petitions for third party off site placements
· Obtaining approval of blanket L visa petitions for multinational companies
· Securing J-1 and H-3 status for individuals training in the U.S.
· Securing O-1 status for persons of extraordinary ability whose work is in the national interest
· Obtaining United States permanent residence for executives, managers, and professional and technical personnel under the various employment and family-based immigrant visa categories
· Advising on immigration issues and the hiring and retention of foreign personnel as consequence of
corporate mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations, and stock and asset purchases and sales
· Obtaining approvals of alien employment certification applications under PERM filing procedure
· Counseling employers on issues related to the termination of employees working under non-immigrant visas
· Resolution of port of entry problems with Department of Homeland Security,Customs and Border Protection
· Representing clients before the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, regarding H-1
investigations
· Performing I-9 audits and conducting I-9 compliance training
· Representing clients before the U.S. Department of Justice, including the Office of Immigrant and Employee Rights Section, regarding I-9 investigations, immigration compliance, and citizenship discrimination claims
· Handling foreign visa and entry permits for individuals transferred by their U.S. companies to countries
outside the United States
· Advising multinational corporations on issues related to the transfer of non-U.S. citizens overseas and the obtaining of reentry permits for U.S. Permanent Residents transferred abroad
· Counseling clients concerning voluntary or involuntary abandonment of loss of U.S. permanent residence and citizenship
· Advising clients on the immigration consequences of criminal arrests and convictions, and on obtaining visas notwithstanding the existence of criminal convictions
· Handling citizenship and naturalization applications
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
