Global Mobility

Global mobility is of critical importance to U.S. employers as a growing number of professionals are required to travel internationally. AGG maintains a nationally recognized Global Mobility practice that supports inbound and outbound immigration, including associated corporate and employment requirements.

Overview

AGG’s Global Mobility practice group has supported corporate and individual clients nationwide and around the world with U.S. immigration and nationality law for decades. Our considerable bench strength, relationships in the immigration law community, and broad expertise allow us to guide our clients with reliable and actionable advice so they can navigate the intricacies of the immigration system with confidence. AGG is also a member of the Employment Law Alliance of 3,000 lawyers in over 100 jurisdictions which supports our outbound Global Mobility practice.

Our clients include Fortune 500 companies, mid-size employers, public employers, small businesses, and trade associations. They come from a variety of industries, including accounting & management consulting, automotive, construction, entertainment, hospitality, information technology, public housing, and universities, to name a few.

We help businesses with immigration-related matters, including the development of comprehensive employment eligibility verification and visa compliance programs, securing employment-based temporary and permanent visas, due diligence arising from mergers and acquisitions, import/export controls compliance, white-collar criminal defense, and responding to government audits and investigations. We provide government affairs representation in Washington, D.C., before the U.S. Congress and federal regulatory agencies. We also provide counsel and strategic advice to clients on immigration policy issues such as comprehensive immigration reform, the J-1 program, E-Verify, and international student visa issues.

Our firm supports its legal services with multilingual legal professionals, employing attorneys from Germany and attorneys and paralegals fluent in Dutch, French, German, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Our attorneys are thought leaders in the field of immigration law. Practice group leader Teri Simmons is an adjunct professor of immigration law at the University of Georgia School of Law. We also host AGG’s annual Employment Law Seminar. Lawyers in our practice are widely published in the areas of E & L Visa processing and immigration compliance, speaking internationally and at national U.S. conferences and events. Our commitment to this area of the law also includes robust participation in the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Bar Association, German American Chamber of Commerce of the Southeastern U.S., German Chambers throughout Germany, and the Dean Rusk Center for International and Comparative Law. Our team members serve or have served in leadership roles and on committees and boards of these organizations.

Additional Specialties

  • Employment Eligibility Verification and Visa Compliance
    We develop comprehensive employment eligibility verification and visa compliance programs, and provide counsel and strategic advice to clients on immigration policy issues such as comprehensive immigration reform, the J-1 program, E-Verify, and international student visa issues.
  • Form I-9 and E-Verify
    We assist corporate clients with immigration-related matters, including Form I-9 and E-Verify compliance, due diligence arising from mergers and acquisitions, anti-discrimination matters, and response to government audits and investigations.

Experience

  • Manage global mobility for multinational corporations, including visa and work permit requirements and processing.
  • Manage immigration compliance resulting from corporate reorganizations, including mergers, acquisitions and spin-offs, and visa conversion following the loss of treaty trader status.
  • Represent U.S.-based employers in government audits and investigations related to Form I-9 and E-Verify compliance and the hiring of a legal workforce.
  • Provided counsel and strategic advice to a nonprofit organization representing graduate business and management programs on international student visa issues before the U.S. Congress and Department of Homeland Security.
  • Updated client’s hiring policies and procedures with respect to their compliance with immigration law requirements, including participation in the electronic employment eligibility verification program, E-Verify, and use of the Employment Eligibility Verification form (Form I-9). Also advised them on Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) compliance with respect to their acquisition of a competitor.
  • Represented a human resources manager at a Georgia poultry company in an investigation into the company’s alleged hiring of hundreds of workers without proper documentation. The client was not charged.
  • Represented the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, Inc. in connection with global immigration matters, processing thousands of visas in the areas of broadcasting, IT, culture and the arts, and athletics.
    Client Successes

    Recognition

    Teri Simmons and Anton Mertens are recognized as leaders in Immigration law by Chambers USA and our practice is ranked as exceptional in its field.

     

    Legal 500 has recognized our firm as a leader in immigration.

    WATCH ON DEMAND:

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    Employment Law Alliance | North America Year in Review: United States Immigration Laws Webinar

    Teri Simmons, partner and chair of the Immigration & Global Mobility practice, joined a slate of speakers to present Employment Law Alliance’s (ELA) North America Year in Review: United States Immigration Law webinar, which covered the most significant legal changes in 2021 that impacted U.S. immigration/global mobility, predictions for 2022, and other hot topics. To watch the webinar on demand, please click here.

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