Burgeoning global commerce combined with the pressure of consumer expectations has made it impossible for enterprises to ignore competent, prospective employees, irrespective of their nationality. However, eager employers soon encounter tiresome hiring procedures due to the complexity of the immigration process, especially regarding compliance, documentation, and adherence to policies. As much as foreign national workers can contribute to business growth, they also create a slew of legal issues. Many companies that hire immigrants could even break the law without even realizing it. Additionally, owingto the bureaucratic nature of the U.S. immigration system, certain elements fall out of the realm of control for most employers, such as ‘already submitted’ applications, wait times, processing procedures, and increased RFEs, to name a few.

At the forefront of business immigration law, Zulkie Partners helps such organizations make strategic decisions when hiring foreign workers and also strives to meet their needs swiftly and effectively. From the beginning of a case through its final approval, the company’s team works with clients every step of the way to help mitigate legal stress and streamline outcomes.

In an interview with Manage H.R. magazine—Paul L. Zulkie, Managing Principal of Zulkie Partners, and Karen C. Selking, Principal of the firm—share their insights and views on the evolution of the immigration process in the U.S., and shed light on how their enterprise helps clients overcome challenges in the space. Led by veterans in corporate immigration law, Zulkie Partners keeps H.R. professionals informed about regulatory changes as they occur, and educates their partners on the ever-changing realm of immigration.

What would you say is a concise overview of Zulkie Partners, and what our readers can expect from your company?

Karen: Our business model has always centered on being extremely responsive to the needs of our clients and delivering positive results. We make continual efforts to listen to and understand the troubles plaguing H.R. professionals and work hand-in-hand with them to create an optimal solution. Our legal solutions encompass immigration compliance and business concerns whether short-term or long-term. Additionally, with COVID-19 in the mix, companies’ and employees’ needs have changed drastically. The situation has forced governments and our clients to evolve, and Zulkie has matched its pace such that we can deliver our services with the same high quality.

Paul: We would also like to highlight our firm’s culture. Not only do we have an extremely low employee turnover, more than 90 percent of our staff is female. We also have a significant number of Asian American, African American, and Hispanic employees. Our diversity is a source of innovation and creativity and key to our success. The nature of immigration law means that we will always have a global customer base in the foreign national employee population and multinational companies we serve. Having a diverse team allows us to effectively understand and accomplish the goals of the diverse population we advise.

What are the critical pain points faced by your clients and your role as an organization in mitigating them?

Paul: When dealing with government agencies, one is bound to encounter innumerable policies and regulations that could possibly hinder an organization’s progress. Historically, our biggest challenge has been navigating around these rules and still delivering positive results to clients. With recent changes in administration and COVID taking center stage, government policies around immigration have been changing almost weekly.

Karen C. Selking, Principal
Paul L. Zulkie, Managing Principal
The Department of Homeland Security, in particular, creates enormous challenges for foreign national employees and their employers alike. But, since the Zulkie team is committed to thinking creatively and providing flexible solutions, we are always equipped to help clients navigate the latest immigration roadblocks. Despite these hurdles, we have successfully helped clients create a path forward and successfully resolve problematic adjudications. Zulkie Partners understands market trends and always anticipates new changes in regulatory measures. This helps us avoid wasting time when planning a new route to serve the hiring needs of clients.

Can you walk us through the process of providing an amicable solution that meets the clients’ needs?

Karen: When prospective clients engage with us, they often first issue a Request for Proposal (RFP). In the RFP response, we highlight what our team can offer and what we have accomplished; we also emphasize our dedication to delivering high-quality out comesand positive results while being extremely responsive to the clients’ needs. After this, Zulkie handles the clients’ information and documents pertaining to corporate immigration, analyzes the situation, and provides advice accordingly.

Since the Zulkie team is committed to thinking creatively and providing flexible solutions, we are always equipped to help clients cope with the latest immigration policies


Paul: During client interactions, Zulkie’s team also strives to understand the client’s corporate culture. Understanding a company’s culture helps us ensure that our services and expectations meet the standards set and expected by the client as well. With multiple meetings and calls, Zulkie can not only understand a partner’s goal but can also further collaborate with them to provide a cost-effective solution that helps them realize their objectives.

Could you share a client success story where your services helped them overcome the specific set of challenges they faced?

Paul: We recently worked with a major multinational company that had undergone a significant corporate restructuring. USCIS regulations required the company to amend hundreds of employee petitions. While Zulkie helped the client deal with the sudden surge in document preparation, our team also helped the client mitigate business concerns. For example, we helped the client significantly control legal and filing fee costs. Additionally, since the corporate restructuring involved bringing together two different cultures, we had to be sensitive to how employees would respond to change. While navigating immigration law requirements, we also helped the client prepare for future issues that could emerge as a result of the melding of two cultures. Now, although the petitions have been approved, we are still working in close partnership with the company to mitigate any new issues that crop up to ensure a successful integration.