Teri A. Simmons

Teri, a partner and chair of the Global Mobility practice and leader of the German Business team, has practiced at AGG for more than 33 years. She advises individuals and foreign-owned businesses as they invest in operations across the United States. Her practice is multifaceted, encompassing immigration, corporate, compliance, and employment law as she works with clients to manage the legal aspects of their foreign direct investment. As an immigration lawyer, Teri manages companies’ global immigration needs. She utilizes the Employment Law Alliance for global support, managing U.S. immigrant and non-immigrant visa processing for businesses and families, immigration consequences of mergers and acquisitions, and immigration reform and control act compliance.

Fluent in German, Teri manages the legal needs of corporations throughout the U.S. She is often found at the forefront of pressing issues, supporting Atlanta’s relationship and exchange in the areas of economic development, education, sports, and humanitarian aid with cities around the world. She has counseled businesses as large as the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, for which she managed visa processing for thousands of individuals. Under her leadership, AGG’s Global Mobility practice was hailed by The Legal 500 as having “one of the most prominent reputations for immigration law in the Southeast of the United States.” Teri has been individually recognized by The Legal 500, Chambers USA as Band 1 for Immigration, and Chambers Global for her foreign expertise in Germany where one source said, “She’s one of the best legal minds out there in corporate legal practice.” Teri has also been recognized by Best Lawyers, Who’s Who Legal, Women in the Law, and Georgia Trend’s “Legal Elite.”

Teri is an adjunct professor of law at the University of Georgia School of Law where she teaches business immigration law. She also serves on the Boards of the German American Chamber of Commerce; German American Cultural Foundation, Dean Rusk Center for International and Comparative Law and the Latin American Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). The Federal Republic of Germany awarded her the National German Friendship Award, and the City of Nuremberg presented her with the International Prize of Honor in 2008 and 2023.

She is a frequent speaker for the AILA, multiple international chambers of commerce, and foreign associations on international business and immigration law.

Teri has been active in supporting the City of Atlanta’s Office of International and Immigrant Affairs, serving on the Honorary Board of NGO Sister Cities International and as the former chair of the Atlanta Sister Cities Commission.