Chandler Law Firm LLC

CHANDLER LAW FIRM, LLC, DENVER, COLORADO - A premier immigration and nationality law firm representing companies and individuals with strength, compassion and zeal.

The firm, located in downtown Denver, concentrates its practice on business-related and family immigration matters. These matters typically involve representing clients in the process of obtaining permanent residency or "green cards" and various types of nonimmigrant visas.

Firm personnel are familiar with law and regulations relating to both immigrant (persons moving permanently to the United States) and nonimmigrant (persons coming temporarily to the United States) procedures.  The process of becoming a lawful permanent resident (“green card holder”) may require getting a labor certification using the relatively new PERM process.  Many groups, however, are exempt from labor certification, including investors, persons of extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers and multi-national executives and managers.  Work authorization and travel permission are important to our clients, and we assist with securing those benefits for our clients pursuing permanent residency.

There are nearly as many nonimmigrant visas as there are letters in the alphabet.  We have worked successfully with almost all of them, including B visitors, F, M, and J students and exchange visitors, H-1Bs, H-2Bs, H-3s, K fiancés, L intra-company transferees, O persons of extraordinary ability, P performers, R religious workers and Q cultural visas.  We are also called upon for assistance with TNs, as provided for by the North American Trade Agreement.

Family-related immigration issues, involving non-U.S. citizens brought into a family unit, as in a marriage or an adoption, are also handled by our firm, as is naturalization.  We see many clients from the time they enter as visitors until, years later, they are sworn-in as naturalized United States citizens.

The firm has worked with persons and employees from all over the world, thereby developing expertise and knowledge specific to persons from certain countries, including Canadians and Mexicans, who may be eligible for "TN" status pursuant to the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Whether a client is overseas and considering alternative methods of coming to the United States for the first time or has lived as a lawful permanent resident in the United States for years and is considering the possibility of naturalization, Chandler Law Firm, LLC can help. We enjoy the process of getting to know our clients, developing an immigration plan for them and then working to ensure that the plan becomes a reality.

NEWS

H-1B QUOTA REACHED FOR FISCAL YEAR 2012 (OCT. 2011 - SEPT. 2012)

The annual cap of 65,000 H-1B visas for the 2012 fiscal year, which began October 1, 2011, was reached on November 22, 2011. The window of time to apply for the 2012 visas ran from April 1, 2011 to November 22, 2011; and the next window, applicable to the 2013 fiscal year, will not open until April 1, 2012. As the economy strengthens, it is likely that the quota of 65,000 will be reached well before November of 2012, so plan to file for new H-1Bs as early in the year as possible. Bear in mind that as long as demand exceeds the annual supply of H-1Bs, the start date of new H-1B workers may need to be deferred until October 1, when a new allotment of H-1B visas becomes available. .

Remember that not all foreign workers are subject to the caps. Existing employees applying for extension of current H-1B status are not subject to a cap, and certain employers are exempted. Additionally, certain students authorized for optional practical training ("OPT") may be eligible to continue working in optional practical training status until H-1B visas become available.


EMPLOYMENT VISAS SURGE AHEAD

The China and India second preference cut-off dates have advanced rapidly in recent months. This is welcome news to the Chinese and Indian workers, and their United States-based employers, who have been waiting years to file for U.S. permanent residency.


IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION, 2011

In 2011, several bills were introduced in Congress that relate to immigration issues other than enforcement, which dominated the immigration legislation arena in previous years. Chandler Law Firm, LLC applauds the increased attention to immigration issues and, particularly, to reform of the existing legal immigration system. Easing restrictions on the immigration of highly-skilled persons and entrepreneurs is the subject of several recently-introduced bills.