Us immigration laws are highly complex. In the last few years, several new developments have added to this complexity, including but not limited to, changing administrations, the attempt to protect jobs for US citizens, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest of the three has had the most severe impact on foreign talent immigration to US-based companies. Although employers are actively looking to access foreign talent, they are overwhelmed by the complex regulatory and compliance needs. Owing to such changes, the entire visa process has become increasingly sluggish. It is becoming quite difficult for foreign employees to enter the United States and for US companies to find appropriate talent.

This is where Perry &Alznauer, P.C.comes in.

Perry & Alznauer is a professional corporation specializing in United States immigration and nationality law. Having over 20 years of experience in the field, the firm’s expertiselies predominantly in the areas of business and investor petitions, employment petitions, and employer compliance matters. Perry & Alznauer, P.C. is committed to providing the best service to help its clients achieve immigration.

In an interview with HR Magazine, Attorney John R. Perry and Attorney Katherina Alznauer share their insights on how the firm helps immigrants throughout their visa process. The latter part of the interview includes a client success story, its differentiating factors, and their future roadmap for the firm.

How has the organization placed itself to help immigrants or companies get their job and required talent, respectively?

We can best describe ourselves as an extension of in-house counsel specializing in more refined issues than a company’s general counsel. We ensure that the employers, employees, and investors have all the resources they need for their immigration goals.

We categorize employment-based immigration into different subcategories.

1. U.S. companies who need work visas or green card processing for their employees (L or H categories to PERM or I-140).

2. Talented individuals (O-1/EB-1/NIW visas)

3. The investors who want to relocate to the US temporarily or permanently with a green card (E, EB-5 visas).

We also take into account other factors such as children’s ages and whether the spouse could have work authorization. All of these considerations are constantly evolving and changing. The process is rarely simple.

We begin with listening to the needs of our clients, be it the companies that want talented candidates or individuals who come to us with their set of questions. Our initial conversation with them later becomes part of a much larger strategy to help our clients. We provide them a bird’s eye strategy of the immigration process. We often use the concept of a Rubik’s cube when advising companies about the complex options involved in designing a successful immigration strategy. We help them keep track of all the priorities, risks, and other scenarios that can get them from point A to point B as effectively as possible.

Could you please share a client success story with us? A couple of years ago, a CEO of a large chain of fitness clubs approached us for his transfer to the US. His initial work visa petition was approved, but the embassy took forever to issue him a visa. He then had to enter the US as a business visitor. Later, we filed for a change of status to the same category, but this time it was denied. Meanwhile, the pandemic began, and he was facing an inevitable and a very inconvenient departure. His business plan was to create hundreds of jobs in a particular area. This permitted us finding a creative solution qualifying him for a National Interest Waiver petition and greencard. With that experience the company became our corporate client, and we now handle the pipeline of work visas and green cards for them. This is what we do on an everyday basis. We come up with creative solutions and tailor them to companies or individuals that help them in their life journey.

What are the key differentiating factors that make Perry & Alznauer, P.C. law firm stand out from other competitors?

John: We bring to the table a special combination of legal experience and individual backgrounds. I am a Certified Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law by the State Bar of California, and before doing immigration law, I practiced corporate law and civil litigation. This background allows me to add real value to our investors and employers. My experience allows me to think from a business standpoint and help our clients accordingly.

Kate: As an immigrant myself, I have first-hand experience of the pain one goes through during the immigration process. This knowledge and experience help me to connect with clients personally. Moreover, my background is in employment-based and business-based immigration almost exclusively for over 15 years. This permits me to bring innovative and out of box solutions to help clients in their legal matters.

What have you envisioned for the future of Perry & Alznauer, P.C?

We are quite excited about President Biden’s administration and its proposed changes to the immigration policy. We are currently in the process of expansion and looking forward to adding more experienced staff members to our bench to position ourselves for growth over the next two years.

As we know, people have been immigrating since the 19th century, and they will continue to do so. We want to serve their needs and help them in their immigration journey regardless of ever changing policies.