First-Hand Experience, Trusted Results
Business Immigration & Workplace Compliance
Business Immigration & Workplace Compliance
It is one thing to study and understand the law — it is another to have firsthand experience navigating the same rules your clients face. At Ustun Law Group, PLLC, we aren’t just providing our clients with legal counsel — we are providing them with guidance backed by personal and intimate knowledge of the immigration process.
Our firm is based in Dallas, TX, and offers service to clients across the country. We are owned and operated by Dobrina M. Dobreva-Ustun, an experienced immigration attorney — and an immigrant herself. Dobrina and our team of attorneys and paralegals are committed to helping you achieve legal residency.
Bringing Business & Careers to the United States
H-1B Work Visa
Each year, this program grants 65,000 special class, temporary visas to high-skilled foreign workers with at least a bachelor’s degree who qualify to work in the U.S. for three to six years. For noncitizens with advanced degrees from U.S. universities, another 20,000 visas are awarded. In order to hire individuals through this program, a company with operations in the United States must file petitions and confirm foreign workers will work in conditions similar to other employees and will be paid the prevailing wage rate for their positions.
Who Qualifies for H-1B Visa
Not every profession qualifies for this type of visa. Generally speaking, qualifying “specialty” occupations are those requiring highly specialized and technical knowledge in fields including, but not limited to:
- Accounting
- Architecture
- Biotechnology
- Computing
- Engineering
- Education
- Finance
- Healthcare And Medicine
- Information Technology
- Law
- Marketing
- Mathematics
- Telecommunications
- The Arts
- The Physical & Social Sciences
With one limited exception, foreign nationals cannot self-petition for H-1B visas. Rather, employers serve as the petitioners, with their foreign workers as the beneficiaries.
Who Qualifies for H-1B Visa
Not every profession qualifies for this type of visa. Generally speaking, qualifying “specialty” occupations are those requiring highly specialized and technical knowledge in fields including, but not limited to:
- Accounting
- Architecture
- Biotechnology
- Computing
- Engineering
- Education
- Finance
- Healthcare And Medicine
- Information Technology
- Law
- Marketing
- Mathematics
- Telecommunications
- The Arts
- The Physical & Social Sciences
With one limited exception, foreign nationals cannot self-petition for H-1B visas. Rather, employers serve as the petitioners, with their foreign workers as the beneficiaries.
Our Experience
Our managing partner, Dobrina Dobreva-Ustun, is uniquely positioned to understand and assist you and your corporation with winning H-1B and immigration strategies, as she has worked as an in-house immigration attorney for one of the largest IT consulting companies in the U.S. With that experience, Ustun Law Group, PLLC is here to guide professionals through the complicated H-1B process and the ever-changing legal landscape. We can help you with the following:
- Develop the best H-1B filing strategy for your company by understanding your business model, goals and long-term strategy.
- Establish a robust immigration compliance program by auditing and reviewing your company’s public access files, I-9, and E-Verify. If you are a start-up or this is your first H-1B filing, we will work with you on policies and procedures as required by the USCIS and DOL.
- Review and develop robust RFE (Request for Further Evidence) responses. We have worked on and responded to thousands of H-1B RFEs successfully. During the RFE drafting process, we will work with your organization to collect the most relevant evidence as requested by the USCIS.
“As an immigration practitioner and an H-1B expert, I can attest that the current H-1B landscape is quite challenging. With the “Buy American and Hire American” executive order, we have seen an increase in H-1B RFEs (Request for Further Evidence), visa denials at US Consulates abroad, and overall stricter H-1B regulations imposed by the USCIS. Some of our clients’ biggest challenges are lengthy RFEs based on novel issues we have not seen before, request for robust job descriptions, valid employer-employee relationship in third-party client sites arrangements, specialty occupation, and RFEs raising issues where a Level 1 wage is indicated on the labor condition application (LCA).”
E-2 Investor Visas
This type of visa allows a citizen of a treaty country (a country with which the U.S. maintains commerce and navigation) to be admitted to the United States when investing substantial capital into a U.S. business. Employees of such an individual or of a qualifying organization may also be eligible for this type of classification.
How We Can Help
We welcome the opportunity to guide you through the E-2 visa process. As E-2 experts, Ustun Law Group, PLLC is pleased to offer you the following services:
- Provide advice and counsel regarding your E-2 petition and guide you through the various phases of the visa process.
- Prepare your E-2 visa packet as required by U.S. consulates abroad. We will review your DS-160 application that the consulate will require.
- Prepare you for your E-2 visa interview.
- Prepare and file your E-2 Change of Status (this apply for E-2 applicants who are already in the U.S. on a non-immigrant visa).
- Upon request, we can draft your business plan from scratch, or you can provide us with one. If you provide us with a business plan, we will review and comment on your business plan.
“By far, E-2 visas are some of the most diverse visa types we handle at our office. Our clients come to the United States to open a variety of businesses such as restaurants, gas stations, e-commerce enterprises, online travel platforms just to name a few. Despite the different types of businesses, I see one common issue, which is always raised by the U.S. Consulates abroad and USCIS and that is the ‘source of funds.’ Knowing the importance of showing how the funds ‘traveled’ from the foreign country to the U.S., we work closely with our clients to overcome this hurdle. This requires an in-depth review of each transaction, wire transfer, and deposit.”
TN Visa - NAFTA Professionals
Under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), certain citizens of Canada and Mexico are eligible to enter the U.S. to work temporarily under nonimmigrant TN status.
The following are the requirements to be eligible for the TN Visa:
- The profession must be on the NAFTA list.
- The foreign national must possess the necessary training for that profession.
- The proposed position must be classified as a professional position.
- The foreign national must work for a U.S. employer.
L-1A Visa - Intracompany Transferee Executive or Manager
This classification enables U.S. employers to transfer a manager or executive from one of its foreign offices to an office in the United States. It also enables foreign companies without affiliated U.S. offices to send a manager or executive to the United States with the purpose of establishing one.
O-1 Visa - Individuals with Extraordinary Ability or Achievement
This temporary worker visa classification is granted for individuals who possess outstanding abilities within the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or those who have a demonstrated record within the motion picture or television industry — and has been recognized on a national or international level for their achievements.
In addition to the O-1 visa classification, there are subsequent designations for integral individuals to assist in the main applicant’s activity or production, as well as for dependents of the main applicant.
Employment Based Green Cards
There are five categories of foreign national workers that may seek lawful permanent residence. The categories are referred to as “employment-based” classifications, or “EB.”
PERM Labor Certifications (EB-2, EB-3)
A foreign citizen seeking to establish lawful permanent residency through employment in the United States must be a beneficiary of an approved application for permanent employment certification. In order for the application to be approved, the prospective employer must test the labor market and determine whether the position can be provided to immediately available U.S. workers.
Our Services
We are pleased to announce that Ustun Law Group, PLLC has successfully guided NIW applicants through the process and has secured numerous green cards. For all of our NIW applicants we provide the following services:
- Free evaluation and analysis for your petition. Please send us your CV, resume, and background information (degree, current position, publication, journal, and citation numbers).
- Develop an NIW filing strategy unique to your case. For example, we have successfully received NIW approval for foreign nationals who did not have PhD degrees nor citations. In these cases, we focused on their work and the impact of their work in the industry.
- Provide guidance, templates, and samples for the letters of recommendation.
- Prepare Index of Exhibits, Petition Letter
- Provide information and help with the I-485, Adjustment of Status Application.
Workplace Compliance
I-9 Compliance
E-Verify Compliance
The E-Verify system allows companies to determine the work eligibility of their employees — online. It is easy, fast, and free to use, and ensures employers hire a legal workforce.
LCA / Public Access File Compliance
An employer can also post a notice containing certain information from the LCA, including the occupational classification of workers being sought, the number of H-1B workers being sought, the wages to be paid, the period of employment, the locations in which the workers will be employed, and information on where complaints of misrepresentation and/or noncompliance can be made.
For more detailed information or to schedule a consultation, please contact our firm at 469-994-9407 today.
Ustun Law Group, PLLC
12700 Hillcrest Rd #125
Dallas, TX 75230
The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute an attorney-client relationship.