Minneapolis Business Immigration Lawyer

Guiding Clients Through Business Immigration Issues

Whether you’re a Minnesota business owner thinking about hiring foreign nationals or an immigrant looking for a job in the U.S., you’ll have to abide by complex immigration laws before entering into any business agreements. Fortunately, you can hire experienced lawyers to guide you through the process of applying for visas, obtaining a permanent labor certification, initiating immigration appeals, and more.

Regardless of the specific immigration services you need, you can rely on SRR Law Group LLC to help you navigate the U.S. immigration system as a business owner or job seeker. If you have questions about hiring skilled workers from overseas or coming to the U.S. to work, contact our Minneapolis immigration law firm today for a consultation.

What Can Business Immigration Lawyers Do for Employers?

While we can assist both employers and employees with immigration issues, the reality is that the employer is typically required to sponsor anyone hoping to immigrate to the U.S. for work. For this reason, many of our clients are Minnesota business owners who need help navigating immigration law so they can legally bring skilled workers to the U.S.

This scenario often means advising clients in leadership positions on the following legal tasks:

Determining which visa types are necessary for foreign and domestic operations
Applying for immigrant and nonimmigrant visas for employees
Resolving merger and acquisition challenges that involve immigration law
Assisting with administrative processing issues
Helping immigrant employees petition for permanent residence and United States citizenship
Navigating the permanent labor certification process required by the Department of Labor
Staying updated on frequent traveler program qualifications
Addressing workplace compliance issues

We offer these and other common business immigration services to our clients across Minnesota, so you can count on us to assist with all the legal details of your case. Whether you need advice on which visa type is best for corporate restructurings or simply need help sponsoring a foreign national to work for your Minnesota business, we’ll streamline the process for you. Contact us today to speak with a trusted Minneapolis lawyer about your immigration concerns.

What Nonimmigrant Visas Are Right for Your Employees?

If you’re thinking of hiring employees on a temporary basis, you can sponsor foreign nationals to get temporary work visas. These are nonimmigrant visas that allow workers to come to the U.S. to work for a specific period of time, as they must leave the country before the expiration date on their visa.

There are several nonimmigrant visas that employers can choose from depending on their field. The following are some of the most common nonimmigrant visas that employers can apply for on behalf of job applicants in other countries:

E-1: Treaty traders
E-2: Treaty investors
E-3: Specialty occupation professionals from Australia
H-1B: Workers in professional or specialty occupations
H-2A: Seasonal agricultural workers
H-2B: Seasonal non-agricultural workers
L-1: Intracompany transferees
O-1: Immigrants with extraordinary ability or achievements in education, business, sports, sciences, the arts, or film and television
P-1: Internationally recognized athletes or entertainers
R-1: Religious workers
TN: Skilled workers from Mexico or Canada

If you’re not sure which of these or similar nonimmigrant visas you need for the employees you wish to hire from other countries, contact our Minnesota immigration law office today. Our lawyer can advise you on which visa will fulfill your needs so you can avoid any compliance issues throughout the business immigration process. You’ll need to ensure that your business and the foreign nationals you plan to hire meet specific requirements before you fill out and file any immigration documents, so call us for assistance from start to finish.

What Employment-Based Immigrant Visas Are Available?

If you want to hire an immigrant on a long-term rather than temporary basis, you’ll need to sponsor them for an employment-based immigration visa. This type of visa allows them to eventually apply for a green card so they can get permanent residence in the U.S. They can even apply for U.S. citizenship after they’ve had their green card for at least five years.

These are the five categories of employment-based visas and who qualifies for them, in order of preference according to the government:

EB-1: This visa is meant for workers with extraordinary abilities in the arts, sciences, sports, education, or business. It’s also available to outstanding professors and researchers, as well as multinational managers and executives
EB-2: This visa is for professionals with advanced degrees and people with exceptional ability in the arts, sciences, or business
EB-3: This immigrant visa is available to skilled workers, unskilled laborers, and professionals with a college degree
EB-4: This type of visa is meant for special immigrants, including broadcasters and certain religious and government workers
EB-5: This visa is available only to immigrant investors who have at least $1,050,000 million to invest in a business that will employ ten or more people full-time or at least $800,000 to invest in a business in a targeted employment area

If you want to petition for one or more employees to get these immigrant visas and establish permanent residence in this country, you’ll first need to get a labor certification from the Department of Labor to prove that you weren’t able to fill the position with a U.S. citizen qualified for the job. After all, officials from the Department of Labor want to make sure U.S. businesses hire citizens when possible, prior to seeking out job applicants overseas. They also want to ensure hiring an immigrant won’t negatively affect the working conditions and wages of the workforce in the U.S., so you’ll need to show you plan to pay a fair wage no matter what country your employees are from.

A skilled Minneapolis lawyer can help you obtain a labor certification from the Department of Labor before you hire one or more foreign nationals. Once this is done, typically within six months to a year, the next step is to apply for the appropriate immigrant visas for your new employees. They and their family members must prove they meet the criteria for admission into the U.S. before the hiring process is complete. If you have questions about any of these steps, contact our Minneapolis business immigration law firm for legal assistance.

Why Should You Hire a Minneapolis Business Immigration Lawyer?

Running a business can be complicated regardless of the industry, but it becomes even more so when you add immigration matters due to hiring workers from other countries. Of course, the advantages of doing so often outweigh the challenges when you’re able to hire immigrants with specialized knowledge, extraordinary abilities, or advanced degrees. Instead of avoiding hiring foreign workers because you’re worried about facing business immigration complications, you should leave the legal details to SRR Law Group LLC.

We’ve assisted numerous Minnesota businesses with the legal aspects of hiring from outside the U.S., so you can depend on us to resolve any issues regarding immigration. Whether you need help applying for visas for your employees, obtaining labor certification, or preparing for government audits, we can assist with your immigration needs concerning your foreign and domestic operations.

We can also help you provide peace of mind for your employees by ensuring they have updated information on applying for green cards, obtaining visas to bring family members here, and eventually seeking citizenship. We understand how confusing it can be for businesses to petition for labor certification, keep track of frequent traveler program qualifications, arrange for intracompany transferees, and complete other legal tasks. If you’re ready to get legal support from a trusted Minneapolis business immigration attorney, call 507-580-7374 today.