Garfinkel Immigration Law Firm

Happy New Year! 🎊 I am filled with immense gratitude and pride for a productive 2024 with our incredible team (my amazing work family!) at Garfinkel Immigration Law Firm. 🫶🏻 Our team has worked tirelessly to empower individuals, families, and companies, navigating complex immigration journeys, with compassion, dedication, and expertise. Together, we’ve celebrated life-changing victories, strengthened bonds with clients, and championed a future of opportunity. 🌎 I’m excited to continue building bridges and delivering on our mission to make big dreams a reality in 2025. Cheers to a new year of growth, resilience, memories, and shared success. ⭐️⚖️

Congratulations to Nam Douglass, who officially became our Firm’s sixth Partner on Jan. 1! Nam originally joined the Firm in 2021 as a Senior Associate Attorney, assisting corporate clients with nonimmigrant visa petitions, green card applications, student visas, the PERM process and other complex immigration matters. She is certified as a Specialist in Immigration Law by the North Carolina State Bar, the highest level of accreditation available in the state, and has previously been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® and Business North Carolina Legal Elite. “I am honored to become a partner at Garfinkel Immigration Law Firm,” Nam said. “Taking on this new role is a responsibility I’m privileged to embrace. I look forward to contributing to the Firm’s continued growth and success while delivering exceptional value and service to our clients.” Learn more about Nam here ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eTXTA9-4

Have a happy New Year! 

𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝟳 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 As the year comes to a close, here is a look back at some of immigration’s hottest topics and our Firm’s seven most read stories in 2024! 1. What is Military Parole in Place (PIP)? Explaining the ‘parole’ program for certain family members of current and former U.S. armed forces personnel: https://bit.ly/4fDg44z 2. Green card retrogressions — How to move forward when the Visa Bulletin is moving backward: https://bit.ly/3VWPtZl 3. The National Interest Waiver process — Advantages for STEM degree holders: https://bit.ly/49XHi4y 4. Artificial Intelligence (AI), the White House, and impact on immigration: https://bit.ly/3W3qof9 5. Latest updates about President Biden’s new policies related to ‘Parole in Place’ eligibility for undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens, work permits for ‘Dreamers:’ https://bit.ly/3BTjIcP 6. Election 2024 and immigration policy — Here’s how employers can prepare for a change in administration: https://bit.ly/4gHhwEn 7. Immigration options for healthcare workers — Nonimmigrant visas, green cards, Conrad 30 waivers and more: https://bit.ly/4fDP9pk

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a final rule in mid-December aimed at modernizing and improving the efficiency of the H-1B visa program. The rule, which is 460 pages, is set to go into effect on Jan. 17, 2025, and “will add benefits and flexibilities, and improve integrity measures,” according to DHS.   Some highlights from the new final rule include:    — Codification of the department’s “deference” policy “when adjudicating a Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker involving the same parties and the same underlying facts.”    — Clarification and modification of the criteria used to define a “specialty occupation.”   — “Additional flexibilities” for nonprofit and government research organizations.   Learn more about the new final rule here ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/e-Asua9Q

Wishing you a happy holiday season! 

𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗝-𝟭 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗮 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 The Department of State published a notice in the Federal Register in early December which updated the Exchange Visitors Skills List pertaining to certain J-1 Exchange Visitor visa holders. The update to the skills list will have many positive effects for both employers and employees. 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀 The update could give employers access to valuable employees from countries removed from the list, such as India and China, without having to wait for the end of their two-year home residency requirement or needing to file a time-consuming and costly J-1 waiver. This could specifically benefit those in the research, science, and other STEM fields, who are typically on the skills list, from the removed countries. 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 It is important to note that the update does not apply to all professions and only applies to J-1 visa holders who are subject to the two-year home residency requirement based upon the Skills List as designated on their DS-2019. For instance, physicians and international medical graduates will still be subject to the two-year home residency requirement, regardless of their home country. International Medical Graduates can still apply for waivers. Nothing has changed in that regard. Find out more here: https://lnkd.in/enUShYr3

H-4 employment authorization document (EAD) approvals are expected to experience delays beginning in early 2025 because of the expiration of a DHS settlement agreement. 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 — DHS agreed in a settlement resulting from the case 𝘌𝘥𝘢𝘬𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪 𝘷. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘢𝘴 in 2022 to return to adjudicating I-539 and I-765 applications together with the I-129 petition, which has served as a major benefit to H-4 spouses and their employers. — That settlement agreement is set to expire on January 18, 2025, and is not expected to be renewed by the incoming Trump administration, which will take office two days later. In that case the Form I-539 and the Form I-765 will revert back to not being processed together with the primary I-129 petition. — This could cause backlogs, delays in processing times (which could exceed six months or more), and the potential for lapses in work authorization for applicable H-4 spouses. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 Applicable H-4 spouses who are eligible to file for their initial employment authorization document, or a renewal, should do so as soon as possible. They should also utilize premium processing, if eligible. H-4 spouses who have pending EAD applications and did not file with premium processing should upgrade, if eligible. Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/grUuXTtz

We are excited to announce that we have selected The Charlotte is Home Center as the beneficiary of our Charitable Fund in 2024! The Charlotte is Home Center — a partnership between ourBRIDGE for KIDS, the Charlotte Community Health Clinic, and the Carolina Migrant Network — “is a collaborative hub where neighbors from around the world can access educational resources and wraparound services in their first language, comprehensive healthcare, and pro-bono immigration legal representation” at one facility. Our Partners created the Fund more than seven years ago in commemoration of our 20th anniversary to return a portion of our profits to the community. The Fund contributes to nonprofit organizations in the Charlotte region that empower economically marginalized and vulnerable people while supporting pluralism and embracing multiculturalism. Learn more about the Fund as well as our other charitable and pro bono efforts in 2024 here: https://lnkd.in/euNUhchr

There’s still time to register for our upcoming “Ready for Round Two? Navigating Immigration in a Second Trump Term” webinar. The webinar is scheduled for tomorrow (Dec. 17) at 1 p.m. and will be hosted by Partner William Hummel and Senior Associate Attorney Nam Douglass. Their presentation will focus on the potential immigration policies Trump could implement in his second term and the best ways for employers and foreign nationals to prepare before he takes office again. Find out more and register here: https://lnkd.in/eUat4HYe