Employment Visas

Employment-based immigration splits into two tracks that often run at the same time: the temporary work visa that lets someone work in the United States now, and the green card process that leads toward permanent residence. On the temporary side, we handle H-1B petitions for specialty occupation professionals, L-1A and L-1B transfers for executives, managers and employees with specialized knowledge moving within the same multinational company, and O-1 petitions for individuals with extraordinary ability in their field. On the permanent side, the fastest routes sit under EB-1: EB-1A for individuals with extraordinary ability who can self-petition without an employer, EB-1B for outstanding professors and researchers, and EB-1C for multinational managers and executives being transferred by their company. Most employer-sponsored cases fall under EB-2 or EB-3, and for those, the employer usually completes PERM labor certification with the Department of Labor first, showing that no qualified U.S. worker was available for the position, before filing the immigrant petition. An EB-2 case can sometimes skip that step through a National Interest Waiver, for candidates whose work is judged to benefit the United States enough to waive the labor certification requirement and, in many cases, the employer sponsor as well. When a priority date is current, we can often file the immigrant petition and the adjustment application together, which keeps a case moving rather than waiting on each step in sequence. Throughout, we watch the client's status closely, because falling out of status, even briefly, can undo months of work on the underlying petition.

Who we represent

We work both sides of this. The foreign national working through their own visa or green card process, and the U.S. employer trying to sponsor talent without turning their HR team into immigration specialists. Either way, the filing has to be built around the actual job and the actual person, not a template.

Ghoshal Law, Member, State Bar of California. AILA member. Call (512) 456-3536.