Immigration and Compliance

McAfee & Taft’s Immigration and Compliance Group provides a vast array of legal and business advisory services to public and private corporations, companies, nonprofit organizations, and individuals based in the U.S. and internationally. We take a collaborative approach in assisting our clients in navigating and remaining current with our country’s complex immigration and compliance laws. From assisting employers in securing employment-based visas for their foreign workers, to obtaining PERM Labor Certification and U.S. permanent residence (green cards), to providing aggressive representation to individuals in removal proceedings and in the appellate courts before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) and federal circuit courts, our attorneys leverage their experience to work for you.

Uniquely qualified

The firm’s Immigration and Compliance Group is led by Kate Dodoo, a trial and appellate lawyer with more than 15 years of legal experience attained at the federal, state, and municipal levels. Most recently, Kate served as assistant chief counsel in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of the Principal Legal Advisor in San Antonio, Texas. In addition to maintaining a robust appellate practice before the Board of Immigration Appeals, she litigated a high volume of complex immigration removal cases. This experience has provided her with not only a unique understanding of the laws and processes at work, but also with insights as to how to navigate the nuances and complexities of the U.S. immigration system as efficiently and expeditiously as possible.

Wide Range of Services

Our immigration practice is generally focused on two areas:

• Employment-based services
• Individual-focused services

Employment-Based Immigration Services

Our attorneys devote a significant portion of their practice to providing clients with employment-based immigration services. In addition to helping employers fulfill their business needs through the hiring and relocation of foreign nationals and immigrants, we employ a practical, proactive approach to solving compliance issues and developing best practices.

Our worksite compliance practice includes providing guidance to employers on such issues as:

• Compliance with Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 requirements and procedures
• Determining what constitutes “compensation” for I-9 compliance purposes
• Preventing employee anti-discrimination and document abuse complaints
• Correcting technical violations and mitigating monetary fines
• Voluntary use and compliance with E-Verify to electronically confirm the identity and employment eligibility of newly hired employees
• Mandatory use and compliance with E-Verify for employers with federal contracts or subcontracts with a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause
• Conducting self-audits to ensure ongoing I-9 compliance
• Advising on I-9 audits to be conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following the receipt of a Notice of Inspection (NOI)
• Responding to ICE inspection reports, including warning notices, notices of suspect documents, notices of discrepancies, notices of technical or procedural failures, and notices of intent to fine (NIFs)

As part of our employment-based immigration practice, we also assist businesses and other organizations in lawfully hiring and retaining immigrants and nonimmigrant employees. Our work in this area includes assisting employers with:

• Filing petitions on behalf of foreign workers seeking temporary work authorization
• Assisting their foreign workers in obtaining U.S. permanent residence (“green card” status) through employment-based immigration
• Obtaining PERM Labor Certification through the U.S. Department of Labor
• Obtaining approval for various visa petitions for workers seeking to enter the United States to work in a variety of professional positions, including healthcare, science and research, technology, education, finance, nonprofits, and international relief and development
• Compliance with federal requirements related to the ongoing employment of workers with employment-based visas
• Drafting Business-Minded Corporate Immigration Policies as a tool for managing employer-employee expectations about the overall processing of immigration benefits; appropriate procedures for requesting benefits; etc., to ensure an even-handed application of employer-provided immigration benefits
• Other related services also include assisting entities in maintaining compliance with immigration-related federal contracts.

Individual-Focused Immigration Services

Undocumented immigrants, visa holders, and lawful permanent residents (green card holders) can all be placed in removal proceedings for committing certain offenses or failing to comply with certain immigration laws.

Our appellate immigration practice includes assisting individuals with:

• Appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals
• Motions to reopen before the Board of Immigration Appeals
• Motions to reopen before an immigration judge
• Motions to reconsider

We also defend individuals in enforcement and removal proceedings before the U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR). These include:

• Bond hearings
• Masters and merits hearings
• Application for cancellation of removal for certain permanent residents (42A)
• Application for cancellation of removal and adjustment of status for certain nonpermanent residents (42B)
• Defensive asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (Form I-589)
• Voluntary departure

Our services also include assisting individuals and their families with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, including:

• Affirmative asylum petitions
• Family-based immigration