BUSINESS IMMIGRATION LAW FIRM IN HOUSTON

Houston > Business Immigration Law Firm in Houston

HOUSTON BUSINESS IMMIGRATION ATTORNEYS

Davis & Associates are your business immigration attorneys of choice in South Texas including Houston and outlining areas. Our attorneys provide expert legal counsel for all aspects of business immigration law, including H1B visas and employment-sponsored immigration, EB5 investment immigration, employer compliance, temporary visas for work, permanent residence, consular visa processing, waivers, and appeals.

Business Immigration Attorney Davis and Associates Houston Texas

BUSINESS IMMIGRATION PRACTICE

Our business immigration law firm is focused entirely on the practice of US Immigration Law. We counsel businesses of all sizes on employer compliance issues and provide auditing and educational services to reduce their exposure to discrimination suits and audits by the government.

We also help businesses and individuals with:

 

KARLA SANTIAGO

My experience with Davis & Associates was excellent, all the people that works there were very very helpful with me and they were always there answering questions. They walked me and my husband through the process of my paperwork very clear, Davis & Associates they really know what they are doing, I visit 10 immigration lawyers and they were all a scam! I will recommend very highly to go with Davis & Associates for your immigration issues.. they are honest and affordable..they are the best!

BUSINESS IMMIGRATION ATTORNEYS / WORK VISA ATTORNEYS

Navigating the risky waters of US Immigration Law is becoming increasingly more difficult for employers. The safe harbors that were once in place to protect employers from penalties for hiring unauthorized workers are failing. Raids on employers are becoming more regular, with a higher occurrence of management-level employees being sent to prison for hiring unauthorized workers.

Large companies, including Tyson Foods, Wal-Mart, and several other businesses throughout the US, have been raided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and have forced the organizations into litigation and the local communities into disarray. Consequences for hiring illegal workers range from hefty fines to jail time.

Overly devoted employers who refuse to hire someone they believe has no legal status to work in the US may face discrimination lawsuits-- even if the worker was in fact not authorized to work in the US. Employers and their human resources staff must balance the requirements to only employ those authorized to work with the equal protection requirements of the Constitution and federal and state laws. How does a business protect itself from the possible exposure from discrimination lawsuits and from enforcement measures by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the US Department of Labor?

Our business immigration law firm is focused entirely on the practice of US Immigration Law. The founder of the firm, Garry Davis, is certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and our efforts focus exclusively on practicing Immigration Law. Our business immigration attorneys counsel businesses of all sizes on employer compliance issues, and offer auditing and educational services to minimize their exposure to discrimination suits and audits by the government. In the event of an audit by Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Department of Labor, our firm offers representation to help with prompt resolve of the audit with as little inconvenience as possible.

EB-5 EMPLOYMENT CREATION INVESTOR VISA

High net worth individuals who are looking for business immigration solutions may consider an Employment Creation Visa, or EB-5 Investor Green Card. This is an investor visa that the business immigration attorneys in our firm have been handling for years. Find out about an EB-5 Employment Creation Visa or read Attorney Garry L. Davis' recent article "Introduction to the Employment Creation Visa (EB-5)".

H-1B EMPLOYMENT VISA

For many individuals, the most convenient way to get a US Immigration Visa or Green Card is through employment immigration or "work visa".

The H-1B employment visa allows for a person to be an employee of a sponsoring employer to perform duties that require "specialized knowledge." That means that the duties of the job offered to the H-1B employee must call for someone with a higher education and/or specialized work experience. To get more information visit our H-1B Employment Visa page.

GREEN CARD THOUGH EMPLOYMENT HELP FROM CORPORATE IMMIGRATION LAW FIRM

One of the ways a person can immigrate to the US or obtain a green card to live and work in the US is through employment sponsorship. Immigration through employment, or "employment-based" immigration, is very common—so common in fact that there is a serious backlog in the available green cards through employment sponsorship. Business sponsor their employees or possible employees for permanent residence.

For most categories, getting a visa through employment takes many years of processing to get the actual green card. That being said, employment-based green card sponsorship is a process that works. It is effective for those who are willing and eager to try this option and have the flexibility to be patient with the process.

The Immigration through employment process, initiates with a process called Labor Certification. For a Labor Certification application, an employer must first obtain a salary requirement from the Department of Labor, called a Prevailing Wage Determination. Once we have the required salary, the employer must hire for the position as though it were available, by running advertisements in the community newspaper and online. If no qualified US workers apply for the job, a Labor Certification application is filed with the Department of Labor.

The Department of Labor evaluates the recruitment efforts and the employee's qualifications for the role. If the case was handled to its complete satisfaction, the Department of Labor approves the application.

The second action in the employment-based green card process is a petition with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office. The petition must include the approved and executed Labor Certification Application, proof of the employee's education and experience, and proof that the employer has the funds to pay the required wage to the employee upon approval of the green card. If USCIS is satisfied on those points, the petition should be approved.

The final step in acquiring permanent residence through employment support is the actual green card application for the employee. This stage cannot be applied for unless the quota is available for the category of employment-based green card.

The Visa Bulletin is a report that comes out every month from the US Department of State, and can be found at travel.state.gov. The report outlines what cases can start the final process for the employment-based green card, per when the Labor Certification was filed with the Department of Labor.

Once the work visa is accessible, the employee can continue with obtaining the green card. The green card through employment can be processed either in the US through Adjustment of Status, or through the US Consulates, called Immigrant Visa Processing. Which option is more suitable or available depends solely on the employee's background, US immigration history, employment history and other details.

BUSINESS IMMIGRATION ATTORNEYS CAN HELP WITH WORK VISAS

Bringing employees to the US can be a frustrating and difficult process. Whether your business is looking to hire the most proficient candidate, who happens to be from outside the US, or aiming to transfer an executive from your international office, the business immigration attorneys at our immigration law offices can help.

Our firm focuses specifically on executing US Immigration law. Garry Davis, the founder of the firm, is Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Immigration and Nationality Law. We represent corporate clients ranging in size from one employee to hundreds. Whether your company is a start-up, an investment purchase of an existing business, or a well-established company with a need for expertise that can only be found outside the US, our immigration lawyers can help.

Our lawyers have skillfully filed intracompany transfer work visas for executives, managers and those employees with proprietary knowledge of the company's offerings (L-1A and L-1B visas). We also file for professional worker visas and work visas offered under the NAFTA treaty (H-1B and TN-1). For nationals of those countries with whom the US has a treaty of trade and friendly relationship that provides for them, we file E-1 trader and E-2 investor visas. If you are a religious organization and hope to bring a foreign clergyman to direct or initiate an ethnic congregation, we file R-1 religious worker visas.

Once the work visa owner has made it to the US, there are a variety of options allowing that person to become a permanent resident. Our work visa attorneys provide help in moving through those processes, whether the prospect is an individual of extraordinary ability, a multi-national executive, a high net worth investor, or an outstanding professor. Our immigration lawyers also process applications for labor certification. If you are an investor, executive, manager or employer that has a need for work visa processing, the business immigration lawyers in our office will be pleased to give assistance.