Senior Consultant
Fragomen FZ LLC
Total years of experience :2 years, 0 Months
• Provide United Arab Emirates (UAE) immigration guidance and global mobility assistance to a diverse group of major multinational industries including: financial services, information technology, energy, manufacturing,
architecture and telecommunications.
• Assess compliance and implement solutions addressing complex employment and labour laws affecting
each individual client
• Oversee the preparation and filing of all employment resident permit (visa) applications filed in the UAE
Ministry of Labour and UAE General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (Immigration), on behalf of the firm's clientele
• Manage the multi-jurisdictional (Dubai and Abu Dhabi) immigration practice and serve as the firm's
primary point of contact for eligible new employees, assessing all visa categories for the temporary and permanent employment of foreign professionals based on a number of different variables
• Support renewal and cancellation of work visas and filed all visa applications for all accompanying
dependents
• Work closely with corporate, legal, project managers and human resource departments to address the tactical issues associated UAE Labour law compliance and all risks associated with operating in multiple
jurisdictions in the UAE, including security issues that may prohibit an individual from obtaining a work
permit
• Advise client of the risks associated with corporate restructuring, downsizings mergers and acquisitions in the UAE
• Implement and revise internal immigration policies for clients and recommend courses of action for process improvement, increasing the scope of the firm's engagement
• Find innovative immigration solutions for each client's in-scope requests
• Assisted IBM's project executives and managers with all aspects of corporate U.S. immigration, including
preparation of nonimmigrant petitions, labor certification applications, adjustment of status and consular
processing applications with the United States Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS)
• Conducted case initiation with IBM foreign national employees and managers to complete USCIS forms
• Researched, drafted and filed H-1B (specialty occupation) and L-1 (specialized knowledge) visa petition
packages, which included gathering evidence and documentation to draft convincing employer-supported
letters for submission to the USCIS for favorable adjudications
• Successfully responded to numerous lengthy and complex requests for additional evidence, persuading the USCIS that the non-immigrants' experience and education qualifies for the nonimmigrant visas
classification
• Provided counsel and advice to foreign nationals, IBM managers and legal associates, ensuring IBM's
compliance with prevailing wage regulations and I-9 employment legislation
Office of Civil Rights Law Clerk
• Conducted investigations to ensure that state government bodies and non-governmental offices receiving EPA
financial assistance comply with non-discrimination requirements under federal law pursuant to Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964.
• Conducted legal review of discrimination complaints to determine whether a complaint meets the regulatory requirements to be accepted for investigation
• Drafted 3 final EPA agency decisions
• Provided legal analysis and advice to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests
• Participated in policy and legal discussions with case managers, General Counsel and senior executives
• Drafted legal memorandum on jurisdictional criteria to accept complaints and analysis of disparate/discriminatory impacts of granting EPA exploration permits in minority communities
• Attended National Enforcement Training Institute legal training and seminars on administrative
enforcement litigation and observed an EPA permit hearing oral arguments
Focus on Civil Litigation, Environmental law, Energy Issues and Juvenile Law.